Cleaning your gear

[FredMnkyDad10]

Sorry if this was brought up before, I did a search.

What do bring to the field to clean your mask and gear between games. Windex, paper towels or cotton towels.

What do you use to clean everything when you get home?
Windex, lysol wipes, baby wipes, or maybe the new food sprays on the market since covid.

My first day back out on the field after 4-5 years this past Saturday and I forgot a couple of things. Will be better prepared next time with gear and markers.

[Bulldogr6]

I bring 2 spray bottles, one with slightly soapy water the other clean water . Those and some micro fiber towels. Glass cleaner is a no-no for plastic .
At home i clean the whole mask in the sink with mild soap, all gear but the pod pack goes the laundry and hang dry. The pod pack comes in the shower with me.
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[Trbo323]

Water water and more water

No chemicals

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[Havoc]

Plain water for me. Certain chemicals can damage the plastic of the lens. At home the lens comes out and I run the rest of the mask under the sink or bath tub

[Grendel]

50/50 alcohol/DI water to cut the paint residue and wipe off with clean microfiber cloth. As stated many chemicals including alcohol is hard on polycarbonate but short exposures to diluted alcohol is not a big worry. With Alcohol/Water mixes the alcohol cuts the paint residue the water washes it way and the alcohol remaining aids in quickly evaporating the water with limited residue left. For the MSDS safety Nazis that are going to have a fit, this method of cleaning was picked up from a polycarbonate lens manufacturing line engineer so relax. This is how they cleaned off forming release agents and cutting debris. Will my use of alcohol in this way degrade my lenses sure if I was to keep them for multiple season but as I tend to changes lenses a couple times a year anyway.........

Off the field cleaning is done with warm soapy water and water rinse, then air drying with lenses polished with a micro-fiber cloth before being put away.

Dishwasher at home is a great way to clean a lot of our gear especially after getting shot up and covered on dirt/grime. I have been known to tear down a marker to just the mechanical parts and throw them into the dishwasher though I tend to prefer cleaning markers by hand for the therapeutic aspect of being in the moment while cleaning.

[Jonnydread]

I use diluted plant-based (non-ammonia) glass cleaner for my lenses at the field, just plain cold water for cleaning otherwise. I wash 99% my gear on a cold delicate cycle in the washing machine then hang-dry. I've yet to have any noticeable issues from this method and I tend to go through 1-2 lenses per year regardless of whether I'm using cleaner or straight up water.

Biggest thing is making sure to wash your gear that day. You can use cold water and gentle cleaning while the paint/sweat/debris is still fresh and it will clean it just fine, but as the crap sets into the fabrics it makes it a little trickier to clean.

[Jonnydread]

Havoc oh like THAT'S a surprise!

[Mr. Hick]

Havoc You forget that he does all this while doing his nightly Yoga. as crunchy as granola gets, that Jonnydread

[Havoc]

Oh I know this I just like busting him for it.

[glaman5266]

At the field- just a rag. I don't use anything unless I have to, then I've likely got a bottle of water. 99% of the time it's wipe it down, clean it at home.

At home- Water, nothing else. Only exception to that is if I'm cleaning up/rebuilding something for another individual & it's got crap caked everywhere. Then I bust out the soap scum cleaner.

[autococker04]

I hose everything off in the back yard a couple times a year. My pants usually hit a tipping point after a couple weeks where they cant actually get any dirtier so I try to ride that out for a while, then I just wear different tee shirts and wash those like normal clothes. My arm and knee pads I just try not to think about too much, and mask gets a dry microfiber.

[Jonnydread]

This post is giving me a rash

[glaman5266]

^^^Ahahahaha!

I don't wash my armpads unless I have to, but my pants & jersey get it every time.

[autococker04]

There is some method to this outside of me just being lazy. I spray a bunch of picaridin bug repellent onto the pants every time they're clean and that stuff is expensive and lasts a ling time on cloth. The pads are just because I always forget about them and rarely take anything out of my gearbag between playing.

[Cunha]

Pod pack usually in sink with scrub brush or toothbrush to get junk out of it.

Pants usually hose or sink off and then washing machine despite additional wear and tear
Jerseys same thing
Mask gets taken apart and washed individually, lens carefully. Don't use paper towels on lens.

That's every time.

I don't play that much so I guess it makes sense to wash fully, versus someone who may play every single weekend maybe some junk can sit around semi dirty for a while. Putting plastic elastic arm pads on that have been sweated in all day and never fully washed does sound like a great way for some kind of infection lol

[Jonnydread]

I'm guilty of paper towel use. Maybe I'm using the wrong type of microfiber, but I feel like cloths leave more residue than good old fashioned pappy tees

[Cunha]

Paper towels are great at removing residue, but they will cause lots of scratches over time. If you end up replacing your lenses before the paper towel damage kicks in, then it doesn't matter I guess.

Old cotton T shirts or old cotton cloth diapers work the best and are not scratchy. Even microfiber can/will scratch plastic.

[Chuck E Ducky]

Plexus and a microfiber for the lens. Gear I just wash on cold and dry on the delicate setting. I don’t wash my packs much. If I do cold setting and hang dry.

[ChoSanJuan]

I bring a garden sprayer to the field with me to get major gunk off while I'm playing. Doubles as a great way to cool down when chilling out at staging. At home, it's more water and a 50/50 alcohol/water blend in a spray bottle. I shower with most of my gear, tbh. Mask and pack go in with me. Wife asks if it was a hard day when I go in there with my gear. LOL!

[ATBen]

Dish soap.and water in a spray bottle, and wipe it down with a microfiber. For my vests and packs, same thing, just dunk em in a bucket and hit em with my pressure washer on low to rinse. Tippmanns too.

[nobbie333]

Windex ammonia free for my mask and microfiber towel's everything else

[Arthur]

On field, cold water and micro fib.

At home, hot water is plenty for me. Mud sink in the garage for the small stuff. Washing machine for pants, shirt, rig. Run it hawt.

[Drachen]

Vinegar water. Sounds weird, but it's a great window cleaner. I use it all over the place at home too.

I have found that Windex isn't the best thing to use on paintball lense or glasses. I use vinegar water to clean my lense and mask/marker throughout the day but especially at the end of the day before packing up. It does give it a slight smell temporarily, but as long as it doesn't get on the foam/soft bits it goes away quickly. Let everything air out and dry for a few minutes before packing up and you won't have the smell sick around