What’s the best way to care for your fencing equipment? We’ll go through each type of item and help you keep everything in ship shape.

Everyday Care

The better you treat your equipment on an everyday basis, the less often you’ll need to wash it. Since washing can cause issues like leather breakdown, conductivity problems, and shrinking, try these tips to preserve your gear between washes:

• Wipe excess sweat off of your mask before putting it away.
• Hang all cloth equipment up in between uses.
• Store blades in a separate pocket from your sweaty equipment to prevent rust. Or, use a weapon protector (pvc pipe or similar) to keep the weapon from touching the gear. It may still rust but at least the rust won’t get back on your jacket.
• For lames, here are your options:
  • Best: Hang it on a hanger and carry it separately from your bag.
  • Good: Wad into a loose ball.
  • Worst: Fold along the same lines every time. This will weaken the fabric and cause dead spots.

Washing Your Stuff

Whites (Jacket, Pants, Underarm)

• Zip all the zippers and velcro all the velcro before washing.
• Wash in cold water and regular detergent.
• Please wash rented/borrowed gear in fragrance-free detergent if possible.
• NO BLEACH, ever. It weakens the fabric.
• Worried about stains? Oxy Clean will remove them without weakening the fabric.
• Best drying method: hang to dry. It takes forever, though.
• If hanging is too slow, tumble dry low. If it takes a few rounds in the dryer, turn it inside-out between rounds.

Mask

• Easiest: Wipe all surfaces with a disinfecting wipe or spray with rubbing alcohol and allow to dry fully.
• Second easiest: Fill a 5-gallon bucket with water and a little vinegar, soak the mask and rub it with your hands. Rinse thoroughly.
• Most thorough: Take out all removable padding, place it in your dishwasher with regular detergent, turn off any heat cleaning or drying, and run a cycle.

Glove

• Some, but not all, gloves are machine washable. Even the washable gloves should be washed as rarely as possible to preserve the leather.
• Washing machine: close velcro, wash in cold water and regular detergent, lay flat to dry.
• Hand wash: Let soak in soapy water for about 20 minutes, then scrub with your fingers. Rinse thoroughly, lay flat to dry.
• GLOVES NEVER GO IN THE DRYER.
• No bleach, ever. Oxy Clean if really necessary.

Chest Protector

• Wipe down plastic surfaces with a disinfecting wipe.
• Spray straps and FIE foil padding with rubbing alcohol.

Lame

• Some lames are supposedly machine washable. Follow manufacturer’s instructions.
• For other lames, fill a bathtub (3″ deep is enough) or 5 gallon bucket with cold water, about 1/4 cup of ammonia (Windex works), and a capful of Woolite. Agitate by hand or soak overnight and rinse thoroughly. Roll it in a towel to gently squeeze extra water. Hang to dry.

Cords

• Wipe with a disinfecting wipe and hang to dry. Be careful that fibers don’t get stuck in the prongs. Cords only need to be cleaned if you think they have been contaminated.

Weapons

• If contaminated: Wipe with a disinfecting cloth, being careful that fibers don’t get stuck in the tip or socket. Allow to air dry.
• If rusty: Rub with a sanding pad or Scotchbrite pad. Rub the blade with light machine oil or silicone wax, and wipe off extra.