Drying my Gi

[Joey P.]

Ok got a question guys. I have a Sirius BJJ gi, it's preshrunk they say and they still advise me not to dry it. I have heard some people still do this though, I am going to be going to classes three days in a row and want a dry gi, so my REAL question is, how long can I stick it in the dryer (assumingly on low) and get away with it before it shrinks? Any other methods to speed up this process? I live in Kentucky so it's about 60 during the day now and I can't speed it up by sticking it outside. Thanks in advance.

 

[Commissar]

Well, if they say not to put it in the dryer, I would advise you not to put it in the dryer.

 

[denny2008]

Go get a bottle of anti-bacterial Febreze and spray it well each night. First chance you get to wash it, well... Wash it...

 

[lechien]

Go get a bottle of anti-bacterial Febreze and spray it well each night. First chance you get to wash it, well... Wash it...

just buy another cheap gi.

 

[HEAVY GRAPPLER]

Really, another gi is the answer. Mine usually dries overnight. If you have humidity problems, try hanging it near your dehumidifier.

In a pinch, i would suggest you could throw it in the dryer if it is only a little damp. What I've heard in that the reason for not using the dryer is that a heavy, wet gi slams against the inside of the drum, damaging the fibers and reducing the life of the gi. If it is just a little dam, it shouldn't be a s heavy, so drying it should do little damage.

Please do not refrain from washing your gi, though.

 

[chem31]

It dries over night in my living room. And my gi is pretty darn thick.

 

[green_machine]

Go to Target or Bed Bath and Beyond and buy one of those clothes drying racks for like $20. I wash my gi after every class and spread it out over the rack before I go to bed each and and by class time the next day it's always dry.

 

[Belatucadros]

Which gi?

I have a gold weave A3/Sirius (750 gsm)
ultra-lite gold weave A2/plain (550 gsm)
single-weave weave A2/samurai (450 gsm)

Both A2 dry overnight (well, by the next day if I wash that night), the A3 *might* be a little sketchy though.

However, I shrunk my A3 over 3 washes. IIRC, hot water is what causes most of the shrinking, the dryer if anything just reduces garment life, not a significant amount of shrinking.

Anyway, my A3 is *almost* A2 size after 3 hot washes + ~hour in the dryer on high heat.

If you just needed to jump start it, my advice is...right after class:

- cold wash
- switch to dryer on cool air (no heat) for an hour.

Either stay up and hang it, or hang it up in the morning. See what sort of results you get from that.

Next step is to repeat but use low heat, etc.

Alternatively (so many options!), hang it up right out of the washer and an hour before class, throw it in the dryer on low heat and keep an eye on it etc.

As much cool water and cool air as you can get though, for both garment life and non-shrinkage.

BTW did not know they were pre-shrunk - I've WANTED to shrink all 3 of mine and been able to (as I said, the A3 has lost enough mass to be an A2.5 or so)

The A3 I've had for over a year, has held up remarkably well considering until last month I was drying it on high-heat after every cold wash (mind you, already shrunken over 3 washes - it will never get smaller)

There's one minor scuff/tear on the bottom of the left lapel from banging up against the dryer however, and that's when I decided to air dry.

However I live around Toronto, ON and I ordered the A2's from serius last week. Got them in 5 days. I say order a second one

edit: all my gi's (3 sirius as described, medium thickness judo gi(guessing ~500gsm), razor thin karate-ish gi) are in my somewhat damp basement, however I have a portable dehumidifier sitting near the $20 rack I bought from walmart to hang them on.

Karate gi was my emergency gi - dries in no time, handles the dryer and for $40, I don't give a shit if it rips etc. Now that I have 4 'solid' gi's, I never use it except when it's like 40 celsius w/humidity etc etc. (yes, that happens in Canada...rarely, but it does ;p )

 

[fighterforlife]

Use air dry setting on your dryer for a little bit

 

[peregrine]

We have these hangers at work that are made to air out your jacket.
It keeps it open and allows air to pass(somewhat) in the sleeves.
I then use a fan on oscillation and it seems to dry it fairly well, especially if I turn the jacket inside out halfway through.
I was also thinking about using a portable room heater and have the fan blow over the heater onto the jacket to speed the process.

 

[Gerbiljiujitsu]

I find that each kimono shrinks differently, sometimes even between kimonos of the same brand. My suggestion is to air dry it if you can and if you have a spare kimono then try drying it but be prepared to get annoyed when it shrinks up and you look "metro" in your gi

 

[esila]

Go to Target or Bed Bath and Beyond and buy one of those clothes drying racks for like $20. I wash my gi after every class and spread it out over the rack before I go to bed each and and by class time the next day it's always dry.

This. Drying racks are the shit - if you do want to use clothes hangers, buy the heavy duty ones - normal ones WILL snap under the weight of a wet gi.

In addition to green_machine's advice, I would also say:

- put a fan on the gi on drying rack for an hour or so to speed up the process
- keep the drying rack in a separate, dry room where you can close the door. Even though it's not too bad, I don't really appreciate the smell of drying gi wafting through the rooms.

 

[Steelviper]

Whenever the weather allows, I like to air dry the gi outdoors. The sun and fresh air seem to help with the gi smell as well. Sadly, that season seems to be passing. I haven't dried freeze drying the gi yet...

 

[Fedorzilla]

hang it on a rack in front of a fan.