Rugby Kit Care: How to Get Mud Out of Sublimated Kit

Saturday's kit bag comes home twice the weight it left, and too often it sits in someone's boot until Monday. From now until March, that's every week, and someone has to deal with it.

The good news? Mud comes out of rugby kit far more easily than most people think, as long as you tackle it in the right order. And if your kit is fully sublimated, you can wash it hard every week without worrying about your colours, because the design is part of the fabric, not a print sitting on top of it.

Here's our step-by-step guide to getting mud out of rugby kit, plus a simple washing rota to share the load across your volunteers.

Why mud is so stubborn

Mud isn't one stain. It's a mix of fine soil particles and organic matter like grass and plant material. The soil gets trapped deep in the weave of the fabric, and the organic part behaves like a grass stain. That's why a quick rinse rarely shifts it.

Two rules sit behind every step below:

• Get the solid stuff out first, before you add water and detergent.
• Keep heat away from a stain until it's gone. Hot water and tumble dryers can set whatever's left.

How to get mud out of rugby kit, step by step

Step 1: Let the mud dry

It sounds wrong, but don't rinse it straight away. Wet mud spreads further into the fabric when you rub it. Hang the kit up or lay it out flat and let the mud dry overnight.

Just don't leave it zipped in a damp kit bag. Empty the bag the same day, or you'll be dealing with a smell as well as the mud.

Step 2: Brush off the dried mud

Once dry, most of the mud will crumble away. Take the kit outside, give each item a good shake and brush off what's left with a stiff brush. An old washing-up brush or a clean shoe brush works well. Every bit of grit you remove now is grit that won't end up in your washing machine.

Step 3: Rinse from the back

Turn each item inside out and hold the stained areas under a cold tap, with the water running through from the back of the fabric. This pushes the soil out the way it came in, rather than deeper into the weave. Keep going until the water runs mostly clear.

Step 4: Pre-treat and soak

Rub a little biological liquid detergent into each stain with your fingers or a soft brush. Biological detergents contain enzymes that break down the organic part of the stain. A stain remover made for sportswear works too. Spot test it on a hidden area first.

Then soak the kit in a bucket or bath of cool to lukewarm water with a capful of detergent:

• Light mud: 30 minutes.
• Knees, backsides and socks after a wet game: a few hours or overnight.

Step 5: Wash inside out at 30°C

Load the kit inside out and wash at 30°C on a synthetics or sports cycle. Always check the care label first. A few more tips for the wash:

• Skip the fabric softener. It coats performance fabric and can leave it less breathable.
• No bleach. Chlorine bleach can weaken the fabric and dull the colours.
• Don't overload the drum. Kit needs room to move for the water to do its job. A full squad's kit is usually two loads in a standard home machine.
• Wash the muddiest items separately. Socks and shorts often carry the most grit, so give them their own load.

Step 6: Check before you dry

Before anything goes near heat, check the stained areas in good light. If you can still see a mark, repeat steps 4 and 5. Heat can set a faint stain for good, so it's worth the extra soak.

Step 7: Air dry

Hang shirts on hangers or a washing line, away from radiators and strong direct sun. Performance polyester dries quickly, often overnight indoors. Do not tumble dry!

Mud-busting at a glance

"Clubs worry about the mud, but mud isn’t what damages kit. Heat, fabric softener and bleach are. Because the design on our kit is dyed into the fabric, there’s nothing on the surface to crack or peel, so a good soak and a 30°C wash will shift the mud without harming the colours." - Maribel Skelly, Head of Product Development, My Club Group

White rugby shorts and socks

White shorts are the toughest job in the kit bag. Follow the same steps, but give them a longer soak and expect to repeat steps 4 and 5 after a really wet game. Red or clay soils can leave an orange tint that takes a couple of rounds to lift.

For stubborn marks on white or light kit, an oxygen-based stain remover (not chlorine bleach) can help. Spot test first and follow the pack instructions.

Our advice if you're designing a new kit: don't choose white shorts. They look sharp on the first Saturday of the season and grey by the fourth, and the person who pays for that is whoever does the washing. Navy, black or a darker club colour hides a season of mud far better. Our custom rugby kit comes in any colour you like, so you can match your club and make life easier for whoever's washing it.

Why sublimated kit survives the muddiest season

All our rugby kit is fully sublimated. That means the colours, club badge, sponsor logos, names and numbers are dyed into the fabric itself, not printed or stuck on top. So when you soak, scrub and wash your kit every week from October to March:

• Nothing cracks or peels. There's no print layer to break up in the wash.
• Numbers and sponsor logos stay put. Vinyl numbers can lift and bubble after repeated washing. Sublimated ones are part of the shirt.
• Your colours keep their look. The dye is locked into the fibres, so regular washing won't wash your design out.
• It dries fast. Polyester performance fabric doesn't soak up water like cotton, so kit is ready for the next game sooner.

Sublimated kit still needs a little care. Bleach, high heat and fabric softener are the things to avoid. Want to know more about how it works? Read our guide: What Is Sublimation Printing?

A kit-washing rota your volunteers will thank you for

In a lot of clubs, one volunteer ends up washing every set of kit, every week, all season. That's a lot to ask of anyone. A simple rota shares the load, keeps the kit coming back clean and makes sure nothing goes missing.

How it works

• One kit bag per team. Each team keeps its own bag, with a named washer for every fixture.
• Count it out, count it in. Note how many shirts, shorts and socks go home with each washer, and check the same number comes back.
• Set a return day. Clean kit back in the bag by midweek training, so there's time to sort any problems before the weekend.
• Swaps are fine. If someone can't do their turn, they find a swap and update the rota.
• Share it once a month. Post the rota in your team group chat at the start of each month so everyone knows when they're up.

Copy this rota for your team

Fill in your fixture dates and set the return day to your training night.

Kit going missing every season? Keep a few spare shirts in the bag for new players and forgetful ones. Once your design is on file, there's no minimum order after your first, so topping up mid-season is easy. And with a free online club shop, players and parents can order their own training kit (subject to qualification), so the team bag only has to carry match kit.

Rugby kit care FAQs

Can I wash rugby kit at 40°C?

Check the care label first and follow it. In most cases 30°C with a good soak beforehand shifts mud and is kinder to the fabric, so there's rarely a need to go hotter.

Will mud stain sublimated kit permanently?

Rarely, if you deal with it within a few days and keep heat away until the stain has gone. The most common cause of a permanent mark is drying kit before the stain is fully out.

Can I use bleach on rugby kit?

Avoid chlorine bleach. It can weaken performance fabric and dull the colours. For stubborn marks on white or light kit, try an oxygen-based stain remover after a spot test.

How do I get mud out of football kit?

Exactly the same way. Let the mud dry, brush it off, rinse from the back, pre-treat and soak, then wash inside out at 30°C. The steps work for any polyester sports kit, from football and hockey to netball.

Should I wash the whole team's kit in one go?

Usually not. A full squad's shirts, shorts and socks are normally too much for one load in a home machine. Split it into two loads so the water can get through properly.

How do I stop rugby kit smelling?

Empty the kit bag the day you get home and never leave damp kit zipped up. Wash inside out, skip the fabric softener and make sure everything is fully dry before it goes back in the bag.

Clean kit, every Saturday

Mud is part of rugby. Faded, cracked kit doesn't have to be. With the right washing routine and a rota that shares the load, your squad can run out looking sharp from the first fixture to the last. For more general tips, see our guide to caring for your kit.