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Uniform Care
Last Updated: April 11, 2008
"Refinishing" HBT's, circa 1942-43
My Apologies
The tone of this page is rather snippy, crass and testy. Much of it sounds as though it was written for mildly retarded children or asylum inmates. For those of you who possess a modicum of common sense or have an IQ exceeding 62, this may sound rude and/ or ridiculous. Until I worked here, I would have thought so too, but the continuing antics of those less blessed in the gray matter department never cease to amaze me. Bleaching any and everything, paint stripper on leather, helmets in microwaves, wool and boots(!) in clothes dryers and Y-straps soaked in vats of motor oil...the list never ends. Please understand that this section has been made as simple and definitive as humanly possible. In other words, I dumbed it down as much as I could, but my exasperation still shows a bit.
Quick Cleaning Recommendations
Here are our recommendations on caring for and cleaning our products. As for detergents or soap, we have no particular endorsements. Woolite, Arm & Hammer, Tide and baby shampoo have all worked fine.
No Bleach. Ever.
Cotton Uniforms: Cold wash (hand or machine), hang dry.
Wool Uniforms: Dry Clean or hand wash and hang dry.
Canvas and Web Field Gear: Do not wash! Let the dirt dry and brush off.
Leather Gear and Boots: Wipe clean with damp cloth or brush off dirt after it dries.
Oil* or polish as desired.
*Wipe with Neatsfoot oil or mink oil on a rag. This does NOT mean immerse or drown the item in a vat of oil.
NO BLEACH!
Never, ever, EVER use Bleach on any of our products.
This is the A #1 idiot stunt when it comes to uniform care. And people keep doing it. This is not a rare occurence. Why assumedly educated men repeatedly, despite dozens of "NO BLEACH"warnings covering this site, and plain old common sense, continue to destroy their uniforms and then attempt to get refunds for "defective products" is beyond me. Bleach is for removing color. Bleach is for whites. Only whites. Clorox is white power. It's racist. If you knuckleheads bleach our products and then send them back squalling about refunds, we're going to start putting your names up in lights so your friends will know that you don't know how to wash your own clothes.
Do you meatheads think that bleach is actually a trade secret? That it's the best means by which one can "age" a uniform and appear to be a an "old salt"? Just curious? Can't read? Ilitarate? Or just plain stupid? Do you wash your car with transmission fluid? Bathe your kid in Naval jelly? Wash your dishes in diesel fuel? For all of you and those who have some other malfunction that gives you urges to throw your uniform into a tub of Clorox here's what you'll get. A little bleach will give you orange, pink or light brown spots (depending on the color of the fabric) where it hits the item. If you do it right, and really nail the sucker, you'll get this....
A "salty" Marine.
Gunny Teletubby.
Stained..?Why? Why can't people just trust me on this one? If you read about "aging via bleach" on a "forum", find a new one as the contributors to your current one are complete retards. Can you sense my frustration?
As nicely as I can say this...Bottomline.
If you bleach your uniforms,
you're going to fuck them up!
*Offended by my prose?
Sorry, but when one really needs to get a point across to meatheads, nothing works better than profanity. In this situation, this phrase is the clearest and most universally understood one in our language. Even the morons comprehend it...
More detailed Instructions and explanations:
How can I tell what my uniform is made of? (Yes, this section is necessary.)
Wool: Felt type fabric. It's fuzzy, and looks like a well combed poodle, unless it's worsted...
Worsted Wool: Thinner than most wools, but is scratchy and similar to flannel. The most common items made from this are US service shirts, mustard trousers, M1941 field jacket linings, and class A uniforms (Ike jackets and such).
Cotton: Smooth comfortable fabric. It can be a plain weave (fibers are woven horizontally and vertically like a tic-tac-toe board), twill weave (diagonal ribs, like most jeans or dockers) or herringbone twill (looks like rows of little "v"s).
Satin: Smooth, shiny fabric that is visually similar to silk. (Like the panties you oogle at Victoria's Secret.) Used primarily in German tunics as lining.
WOOL UNIFORMS
And uniforms having wool components (namely linings)
German Wool Tunics (all models)
German M43 Caps
German M34 Caps
US M1941 Field Jacket
US Tanker Jacket
German Panzer Uniforms
NO BLEACH!
Dry clean only.
NEVER USE A WASHING MACHINE.
NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, USE A DRYER.
Q: Man, my washer is lookin' pretty cool, and the dry cleaner wants $8 plus I think he's like Hebrew or sumthin'.
A: If you throw any wool uniform in a washer or God forbid a dryer, it will shrink 3 sizes and pill up (get little balls in the wool). Even if it will still fit you, you'll look like a fat green cat covered in hairballs. .
Q: Is there any way to clean it aside from dry cleaning? My tunic is covered with swastikas, knight's crosses, tank destroyer badges and jolly rogers. I'm afraid the dry cleaner will think I'm a skinhead.
A: Yes.
We have cleaned several German Tunics over the years by handwashing them in a small amount of woolite with cold water. Do not even dream of using the dryer on it. Forget the word "dryer". It doesn't exist, OK? Air dry only. This does not mean put it in the dryer on "Air". This means hang the thing on a clothes line, over the back fence, whatever. However, it may still shrink a little. This can be countered by wearing it as it dries. Wool stretches as well as shrinks.Best Choice for Wools
No cleaning of any sort. Allow dirt to dry, brush it off, then allow garment to air out. Outside on a clothesline works well. You'll find that most of the stink you've accumulated at the event will have stayed with your undershirt. The wool garments are very forgiving once they air out awhile. This is NOT bullshit. "Airing out" really honestly works. Try it. It's free and relatively simple....
COTTON UNIFORMS
WARNING!
M41 Field Jackets, Tanker jackets and German Parkas have wool lining. See above for their care instructions. Do not wash or dry these uniforms in a machine. If you wash them in a machine, the lining may shrink more than the shell, resulting in a puckered uniform.
Additionally, although it is made of cotton canvas, US field gear does not wash well. The hardware does not like rides in the dryer.
WARNING!
This includes all types of cotton uniforms manufactured by ATF:
Airborne uniforms***
US HBT (all models)
USMC HBT
German Smocks, Camo tunics, Camo Caps, and Trousers*
German HBT**
German Service Shirts*Do not wash helmet covers in a washing machine. Damage to the clips will result, and they may shrink and thus no longer fit your helmet.
**Remove the buttons from German HBT tunics before putting it in the washing machine, or else the paint will be stripped from the buttons.
***Do not put Reinforced Airborne Uniforms in the dryer. It will leave highlights on the reinforcing fabric. (Light colored streaks). This is a trait of all cotton canvas, not a flaw in the fabric. The fabric is intended to be used for seat covers, tarps, etc.., things that don't fit into dryers.
NO BLEACH!
A few notes first:
1. "Washer dryer safe" means that the garment will survive a ride in the Maytag.
2. "Colorfast" means that the color will not run out of the fabric like food coloring coming off of a bad Easter egg. However, it does NOT mean that the garment will never fade. Several imbeciles went berserk because they determined this to mean "color proof". (The color would never, ever in a gazillion years fade one iota no matter how many times they washed it.) Public schools definitely need an overhaul. Or some culling is in order....
3. We know what bleach does. Bleach + cotton = orange. More bleach + cotton eventually = white. Do not drop acid, bleach, paint stripper, muratic acid or any other caustic chemical on your HBT's, then send them to us howling for new ones.
ERASE THE WORD "BLEACH" FROM YOUR VOCABULARY. DO NOT USE BLEACH ON OUR UNIFORMS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.Care of Cotton: Our uniforms will handle hot wash and hot dryers. However, this will fade the color faster and degrade the fabric more quickly than other options. We take one of each new uniform type and wash and dry it multiple times to be sure of this.
Shrinkage: Yes, they will shrink. But, we oversize all of our uniform patterns to allow for this. Despite our fabrics being "preshrunk", they still have a bit to go. Usually about 8%. When you first receive your cotton uniform, make sure that it is a little large. If it is already snug, and you wash it, it will be much more snug when you try it on next. Washing in cold water and avoiding the dryer may reduce the amount shrinkage, but plan on it regardless. Conversely, if the garment is too large, a wash and a hot dry will shrink it down. On average, trousers, sleeves and jacket lengths will shrink about 2" total. Waist and chest circumference will be reduced by about 1- 1/2".
Best Choice for Cottons
Although the uniforms will survive hot or warm washing, we strongly recommend cold water wash (hand or machine) and hang dry. This will give them the longest life and delay fading. As for detergents, we use the stuff made by Arm and Hammer. The only ones we specifically would discourage are any with the word "bleach" (I know it says "colorfast", but why risk it?) anywhere on the box and the super-cheap dollar store varieties. However, we have never had any specific complaints about any specific detergents. Our fabrics are correctly finished and are designed to be just as low maintenance as the clothes you buy at the Gap or Banana Republic. No crazy chemistry lab notes need be followed to prevent streaking or the color running out on the first wash.
NO BLEACH! EVER!
Canvas and Web Field Gear
Allow dirt to dry and brush off. Although technically washable, the hardware on fieldgear does not take kindly (nor sound nice) to be banged about in a washer or God forbid, and dryer. There is no good reason to wash fieldgear. If you must, then hand wash it in cold water and hose it off.
Leather Gear and Boots
Oil lightly with Neetsfoot or mink oil. Roughout, unfinished boots (Jackboots, German lowboots, Boondockers, Combat Service Boots) are best treated with Sno-seal, boot dubbing or a similar product.
Wet leather should never, ever, under any circumstances be dried in front of an open flame, next to a wood burning stove, in a clothes dryer or any other heating device. The leather will harden and shrivel. Yes, we are very certain. Wet boots can be packed with newspaper and dried at room temperature. If the item has been treated with oil or dubbing before it gets wet, it will be more supple after drying.
