Image of teen boy hitting the baseball during a game.

How to Clean Baseball Pants

Have you ever had to clean a baseball uniform with ground in red clay, mud, and grass stains? I want to share with you the process I’ve found has had the best results for me, and it’s simple enough for you to try at home. You'll find this technique will help you make muddy baseball pants look like new again!

Baseball Moms vs. Clean Baseball Pants

If you’re a baseball mom, then you’ve faced many days of trying to figure out how to clean your child’s dirty baseball or softball pants. I live in the south eastern part of the United States, and we’re known for the red clay in our area.

how to clean baseball pants - Image of a dirty pair of baseball pants.

how to clean baseball pants - Image of a baseball field with orange infield and green grass outfield.

Baseball Fields are Dirty!

Our baseball infields are a nice orange clay, and our outfields are grass and rich soil, all which stain very easily. Since we’re currently in the middle of baseball season, I thought this was the perfect time to show you what I usually do to get his pants clean again.

This pair of pants is probably the dirtiest he has ever given me because he didn’t bring them home from school until after 5 days of practice in the mud!

At the end of this post, I’ll share with you two other methods I’ve used if his white pants needed extra help to get white again. If you’d rather watch the video I put together showing how I actually cleaned this pair of dirty pants, you can watch it below.

how to clean baseball pants - Image of dirty baseball pants.

Watch the full video of How to Clean Baseball Pants on YouTube!

how to clean baseball pants - Image of a bar of Fels Naptha Soap with the wrapper beside it.

Clean Baseball Pants Using Fels Naptha Soap

The soap I’m using is Fels Naptha, and it can be found in most grocery stores or Walmart stores in the laundry section. You can also purchase it through Amazon, and I'll post the link below if you want to purchase it online.

I usually pay between $1.00 and $1.25 for a bar, and I go through about 2 bars a year between school ball and travel ball seasons.

First I rinse the pants to get any solid dirt off of them and to wet the fabric.

Next, I start working on one section of the pants at a time. I usually start with the bottom of the legs first. I use a kitchen sponge with a non-abrasive scrubbing texture on one side of it. If you’re cleaning a fabric that will fray, then you may want to find a soft brush to do this instead of the textured sponge. A soft toothbrush can help with those stubborn areas of grass stains or when there is a lot of dirt in the seams of the pants. I have found that some brands of ball pants are easier to clean than others. The pair in these photos is by Under Armor and is made of 100% polyester.

To keep from having a puddle on my floor, I wring out the fabric for the section I’m working on and spread it flat on my counter. Using the wet sponge, I add some of the soap bar onto the side of the sponge with the textured surface and begin scrubbing the fabric.

I continue to work the fabric in sections until I’ve gotten all the stains out.

how to clean baseball pants - Image of blue sponge and Fels Naptha soap bar.

how to clean baseball pants - Image of the inside of a washing machine with some water and soap suds.

Next Step ... Wash and Dry!

Once I’ve finished working through all of the stains, I rinse the pants and wash them in the washing machine on a regular cycle. I hang them up to dry.

Hopefully my son will remember to bring home his dirty clothes after just a couple of days instead of waiting until the end of the week!

how to clean baseball pants - Image of clean baseball pants.

how to clean baseball pants - Image of an info graphic of the steps to clean baseball pants.

Click to Download "How to Clean Baseball Pants"

2 Bonus Treatments to Clean Baseball Pants

So now you know my "secret" cleaning method I use most of the time, but what about when you have white pants that stay dingy after you wash them? I promised I’d give you my solution to the white pants when they need some extra help, and I’ll share 2 treatments I’ve found to work.

Sometimes the white pants can have a slight residue from the red clay.

how to clean baseball pants - Sign saying Where does the red stain come from? The red clay has iron in the soil, and the rust color comes from the iron!

how to clean baseball pants - Sign saying Where does the red stain come from? The red clay has iron in the soil, and the rust color comes from the iron!

Why Rust Stains are on Baseball Pants

It leaves a rust color like when iron rusts, and it can be difficult to get out of fabrics. I’ve found the best way to get the rest of the rust color out of the white pants is to soak them in a mixture of Iron Out overnight and then launder them again. Be careful to test any colored stitching or stripes on the pants before you soak them as some threads can discolor. I’ve used this on gray pants with good results, but, again, test the solution on the fabric before soaking the pants in case the gray fades too much for you. (I'll post the link to purchasing Iron Out through Amazon below.)

The Iron Out is a good solution to get blood stains out too, but be cautious when using it because the powder needs to settle before you work with it to prevent you from inhaling the powder. You can find Iron Out at most hardware stores in the plumbing section or in the cleaning section where you would find clogged drain treatments. Follow the directions on the container, and be careful not to mix other chemical cleaners with the Iron Out.

how to clean baseball pants - Image of Iron Out product

how to clean baseball pants - Image of a bottle of peroxide and a bottle of Dawn dish detergent

Another Treatment Option

Another treatment I’ve used is a homemade solution that I use for my regular laundry as a pre-treatment for stains. When the grass stains and the black dirt stains are difficult to get out, I’ve used this spray along with the Fels Naptha with good results.

Mix 2 parts hydrogen peroxide with 1 part regular Dawn dish detergent, and spray it onto the fabric as you are working the Fels Naptha soap into the fabric. You’ll have more foamy bubbles as you work. This solution is similar to an Oxi Clean product, which you could use instead if you have some on hand.

how to clean baseball pants - CAUTION: Do not mix this solution with the Iron Out!

how to clean baseball pants - Image of a dirty pair of baseball pants beside the clean baseball pants for a before and after picture of the same pants.

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