Spring Cleaning

Spring Cleaning

Spring hockey as well as spring weather (hopefully) is right around the corner. This time of year for a hockey parent comes with two very distinct smells. One is the fresh breeze coming through windows that have been iced shut for the past few months. The smell of grass that has been covered in snow and slush since November. The scents of spring time rain getting our gardens ready for the summer. There is one more lingering smell though, and it’s nothing new by this time of year, and its that dang hockey bag.

The season is a long arduous grind. With the lack of time and continuous running around, washing hockey gear may get moved to the wayside for other “more important” things. Hockey bags are filled with junk over the course of the season as well. That is why the gap between the fall season and spring is the perfect time to empty the hockey bag completely and wash everything you can. The smell you’ve become moderately accustomed to is literal bacteria making its home within undergarments, equipment, and the bag itself. Most of the bacteria is nothing new to one’s body, but the amount of it after a long winter and athletic season makes it ripe to attack a body whose immune system has taken a beating. Even worse, it may manifest into something more serious and end up into a rash, or even an infection. Staff infections are no joke and could land a child in the hospital.

Obviously any garments needs to be washed. That is the easy start. After that, many don’t really know what can be washed. Realistically most of your child’s equipment can be washed in a machine washer. Rule of thumb would be that if the piece of equipment has no exposed plastic, it can be machine washed. Helmets, skates, and the exteriors of shin guards should be hit with disinfectant sprays or wipes. Most sets of shin guards have a removeable piece that can be washed. Shoulder pads and elbow pads that have their plastic pieces covered with cloth are also good to go in machines. Gloves, pants/girdles are also safe to be thrown in the machine as well. Another method people use is the good ol’ bathtub. It is usually eye opening after soaking gear in water and detergent and coming back and the water looks like you used a gothic bath bomb.

We hope to see you and your player at any of our youth hockey tournaments. Its never too early to start planning ahead for our biggest and best Hockey Fights Cancer or any of our upcoming fall boys and girls youth hockey tournaments. Happy Spring everyone!