How to get rid of mud and grass stains on sport uniforms

It's soccer and rugby season and you have to clean your children's dirty sports uniforms after their weekend games. Often those nasty mud and grass stains are stubborn and refuse to go away. What to do? Here are some helpful tips:

Soak the items with the mud or grass stains in Vanish nappy san. Vanish nappy san is a type of oxygen bleach in powder form that is great for removing organic stains (stains stemming from plant or animals). Vanish nappy san is readily available in major supermarkets NZ wide.

1) To do this, simply dissolve one scoop of Vanish nappy san in warm water, in the ratio of one scoop to approx. 10L of water. Warm water is critical as if the water is too cold, the nappy san wont' dissolve, and if water is too hot, the nappy san won't work. Add a little bit of washing powder to enhance the nappy san.

2) For uniforms made of polyester, soaking for 2 to 3 hours should suffice. But for uniforms of pure cotton or cotton blends, then 4 hours or more is recommended.

3) Scrub the stained area with a soft brush 2 to 3 times. For cotton blend uniforms, a harder brush can also be used (stick to a soft brush if you want to be safe).

4) Place the soaked items into the washing machine. Use cold water settings for polyester uniforms, but a warmer setting can be used for cotton blend uniforms.

*Note it's very important that in all cases, make sure the uniform can be soaked without a high risk of damage, such as dye colour-running or ironed-on-logos peeling apart. If in doubt, soak the uniforms in cold water (below 25 degrees Celsius), but you still have to dissolve the nappy san in warm water first, then add cold water for the soaking. The result may not be that optimal.

5) After washing, hang dry or tumble dry at the lowest heat (30 degrees Celsius or below). Most of the mud and grass stains should come off. If not, repeat the process.