Care and washing of judo suits

There are a few things to consider when washing a judo suit. These are above all:

  • Temperature
  • Detergents and additives
  • to dye
  • Dryer
  • Frequency

Especially in the case of new suits, it is important to follow the manufacturer's washing instructions first. As a rule, that's 30 degrees. The suit should ideally be washed individually due to the coarse cotton fabric (especially for heavy and large suits).

In principle, suits come in at the first laundry. Depending on the temperature and the model, this is approx. 3 – 10 cm. Pre-washed suits, such as those from adidas or Ippon Gear, tend to be less common. The manufacturer often provides specific information on this, which should be taken into account as a matter of urgency.

If you have trouble finding a suit in the perfect size, you often use the option to wash the suit hot (60 degrees) directly at the first wash to actively reduce the size. E.g. I have the Judo Gi DanRho Kano, which I bought in 175 but am only 172 cm tall. Through hot washing, I was able to adjust the suit perfectly to myself.

Hot washing of the suit also has an important hygenic advantage. If the suit sits perfectly before it has been washed, it can often only be washed at the temperature according to the manufacturer's specifications. At these temperatures, an addition to the detergent is often necessary to remove all stains such as blood or sweat. I have had good experiences with the following products:

Oxy Action for white

Dr. Beckmann Spots Devil's Blood & Protein

A washed suit requires approx. three to four days until complete drying. My recommendation is to wash a suit after each or at the latest every second workout. Therefore, frequent workouts require more than one suit. A suit made of 100% cotton can be worn without any problems two workouts.

The use of a dryer can also create a shrinkage effect of the suit. This should be taken into account as a mandatory factor.

For the competitors among us there are also some tips from me. In the past, extremely hard Mizunos were worn. I was never a friend of it! The advantage of the hard suit, which is difficult for the opponent to grasp, is bought by a restriction of one's own mobility. Hence my tip:

The training can be held with a heavy suit (from 900g/sqm). In the competition, however, a light suit should be used (approx. 750g/sqm). This promotes one's own dynamism and speed in competition.

A judo belt should never be washed! There are two reasons for this:

On the one hand it loses its color and on the other hand, which is even more important, it is traditionally handed down that the belt gathers experience through practice.

A final experience: The more often a suit is washed, the greater its wear. This is especially true for high temperatures. Coloured suits suffer even more intensely when washing and need to be replaced or recolored more often.

PS: By the way, my suits are NEVER ironed. If you prefer wrinkle-free trousers, however, you should do so urgently 😉 If you want a recommendation – for my business shirts I use the following iron:

Tefal GV8461 Pro Express Turbo

Author: Jan