Nothing says you’re committed and dedicated to your BJJ practice like showing up every single class in a clean Gi. A clean Gi implies that your BJJ belt is clean and washed as well. There’s no point going to practice with a dirty or stained belt that might give you and your classmates an infection.
To make sure your BJJ belt is looking its best all the time you need to wash it in lukewarm to cold water and rinse it in similar water. Don’t soak the belt since that will fade the colors and probably make the stripes come off. Both machine wash and hand wash are fine. But if you care about your BJJ belt, then gentle handwashing will give you the best results.
That said, there are many superstitions circling around the BJJ world about how washing and drying your BJJ belt might have adverse effects on your progress or performance in a competition. We’ll address all these misgivings and how you the best ways to wash and dry your BJJ belt.
How often should you Wash your BJJ Belt?
Let’s jump head first and deal with these rumors and superstitions that some players harbor around the topic of washing and drying your BJJ belt. It’s unfortunate that even some of the champions of the sport don’t have a healthy attitude toward their belt’s cleanliness. It just doesn’t give young practitioners the right impression about what BJJ as a discipline is all about.
Washing your belt is part of your general and personal hygienes. Just as you make sure to have a shower after every class and wash your Gi regularly, your belt should have the same care and maintain the same level of cleanliness as your body and Gi. It might be wrapped around your waist, but it still gets soaked in sweat, gets stained, and worse.
Some players go as far as to wash their BJJ belt every time they wash their Gi which is after every class. That might be more than your belt requires though. Once a month is more than enough. Even though your belt gets its fair share of rough treatment and grappling, that’s still not on the same level as what your Gi gets. Not to mention that the belt is often more sensitive to washing, detergents, and drying than the Gi.
Another issue with belt washing is the prospect of the stripes falling off. It’s more than a possibility that when you pull your BJJ belt out of the washer dryer it will be missing some or all of your stripes. But we’ll deal with this issue later and show you how to take care of that pesky issue and keep your stripes intact.
How to wash your BJJ Belt?
So how would you go about handling this delicate task of washing your BJJ belt? There are a few things to consider and prepare before you dump your belt in the water. From the water temperature to the right detergent or chemicals, to whether to soak the BJJ belt or not. Let’s go through them one by one.
Water Temperature
The last thing you’d want to do is drop your BJJ belt in hot water. That shrinks the material and gets the stripes off the belt in no time. Experts recommend you use either cold or lukewarm water. Cold water is often the best since it maintains the structure and colors of the belt. Your belt will look brand new even after many washing cycles. You might need to use lukewarm water if the belt is particularly smelly or very filthy.
Machine Washing
Both machine and hand washing are fine as far as your BJJ belt is concerned. If you don’t like to get your hand wet especially in cold water, then your washer dryer will get the job done without a hassle. Use a gentle setting and don’t mix the belt with other items of clothing that would either shed color or lint.
Hand Washing
Hand washing is always preferred over machine washing. At least for the BJJ belt. It’s a small item, doesn’t require a lot of scrubbing, and won’t take more than a few minutes to get it clean as a bell. Don’t leave the belt in the water more than it needs to. Rinse it well a few times. Don’t twist the belt to dispel the water, just fold it and squeeze it gently between your hands.
Detergents
Alfred Hitchcock once famously said that actors were a necessary evil. The same axiom applies to detergents. You just can’t wash without them. Although you have to be judicious and cautious with your approach to detergents. They’re good but they might do more harm to your BJJ belt. So you might want to invest in organic detergents. They’re mild by nature and don’t have an excess of chemicals that would damage your belt.
How to Remove Tough Stains and Blood?
Once in a while, you get in the kind of scrap that leaves you all bloodied. I’m not talking about getting mugged in a rough neighborhood. Even in the lofty classes of the BJJ academy, players get hurt and they bleed too. It’s not common but an inexperienced player trying an unusual move might lead to a bleeding nose.
Blood stains on your precious BJJ belt are something you’d want to get rid off at the nearest opportunity. And this is where it gets tricky. When blood dries up, it becomes harder to remove it. So before you tumble your belt in the washing machine, give it a good scrubbing by hand in cold water. If the blood is not dry yet, you won’t have trouble removing it. Then you can wash it as normal.
As for other tough stains, you might need to use a strong detergent. Again don’t try to wash the belt and hope the stains would come off in the washing. You’ll need to give it the hand treatment first. Organic detergents work wonders and don’t cause the belt to shrink or the stripes to come off.
How to Wash a Hemp BJJ Belt?
Some players prefer to wear Gis and BJJ belts made of hemp. Maybe it’s the comfort of the material or the texture. Whatever the case, if you’re wearing a hemp BJJ belt, you need to know it is way different than belts made of other materials such as cotton or polyester.
For one thing, hemp belts tend to shed the fabric when you wash them. This happens when the belt is new and hasn’t been washed before. So you need to wash the hemp belt separately. It would be better if you stick to handwashing it for the first few times and not mix it with other items of clothes.
Don’t use bleach when washing them either by hand or in the washing machine. This same rule applies to all other belts no matter what fabric or color. Bleach has a destructive impact on the color and material of the belt. As for water temperature, it should be cold since hemp is sensitive to hot water.
Washing Colored Belts
As you progress on your BJJ journey, your belts start to become more colorful. You start with a white belt which is easy to wash. Just wash it with other white clothes and you’re done. But when the purple color adorns your waist, it’s time to worry about how to wash your colored BJJ belt.
Colors do run. Be it your BJJ belt or other colored items. These things happen. So the best way to keep your peace of mind is not to mix colors. If your belt is purple, then wash it with similarly colored items. Throwing red socks or a brown towel in the mix is a recipe for disaster. As you know, your belt color is sacred. You can’t leave class with a blue belt only to show up for the next one with a purplish belt.
How to Dry your BJJ Belt?
As for washing the BJJ belt, you have two ways to go about drying it. You can do it in the dryer or just hang dry it. Each method has its own advantages as well as drawbacks.
The easiest way to dry your BJJ belt is to hang it out on a clothesline. That way you let nature and the sun to take their course, blow the moisture out of the belt and leave it dry and crisp. This works better for white belts however more than colored ones. Just keep in mind when hanging the belt to avoid folding it near the stripes since that can make them crumble and fall.
Not everyone has enough space or sunlight to dry their clothes. In the winter months or if it rains a lot where you are, there’s no point in hanging your BJJ belt to dry. In this case, the dryer is a better option. The dryer doesn’t make your belt stiff. However, it does have the risk of separating the stripes from the belt.