If you’ve just started hunting, it would be best to learn how to wash hunting clothes. That’s because hunting clothes require specific washing styles to ensure they stay clean and retain their durability.
In some cases, hunters have learned the hard way that hunting clothes can’t be washed like other clothes.
But don’t worry because you are in good hands. This article looks at how to practice safe and effective hygiene techniques for your hunting clothes.
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How to Wash Hunting Clothes
Detergent Overview
Before even getting further into the topic, let’s first understand detergents’ effect on your hunting clothes.
Most hunters think that scented detergents are the only types of detergents that shouldn’t be used to clean their hunting gear. While that is true to some extent, there’s more to using detergents for cleaning hunting gear than you may think.
First of all, it’s actually true that washing your hunting gear with scented detergents isn’t such a good idea. That’s because animals have a high sense of smell and can easily detect danger from just smelling. This means that the animals being hunted don’t necessarily have to see you to cause them to flee from danger.
Therefore, using non-perfumed detergents is a good hygiene practice if you want to prevent your targets from running away. But besides smell, animals also have a high sense of sight, and they can easily see different colors from long ranges.
And one thing you’ll notice about the hunting clothes is that they are made of camouflage material. This is so that the animals can have a hard time differentiating the hunters from the natural vegetation.
When this happens, hunters can easily take their spot and aim effectively at their goal. Now going back to detergents, you should also know that they are brighteners as well. This means that washing your hunting clothes frequently with detergents ends up brightening them.
And because animals have highly keen vision, they can easily detect danger from the brightened clothes. Therefore, you need to understand the best cleaning practices and resources to ensure your hunting gear stays clean and off the animals’ awareness.
How to Pick a Cleaning Detergent for Your Hunting Clothes?
Now that you understand detergents’ effect on hunting clothes, it’s easy to follow through with what’s coming next. First, hunters should altogether avoid cleaning their hunting gear with detergents rich in scent and UV brighteners. The detergent’s effects on the clothes will easily scare the animals being hunted.
Therefore, you need to clearly read the labels when purchasing a detergent for cleaning your hunting gear. You might find detergents labeled as “eco-friendly” or “natural” scented, but they might also contain brighteners.
Another thing you should know is there are detergents specifically designed for military uniforms or hunters. Those can be a bit pricey, but they are worth it, considering they won’t limit or prevent you from achieving your goals.
Basically, what you want is something that can keep your hunting gear clean and far from raising any concerns to the animals when hunting. Finally, you should also check on detergents that won’t speed up your clothes’ life spans because they too exist.
Washing Technique
Once you’ve found the right detergent for the job, what follows is now the laundry techniques. This section looks at some of the best and most effective methods to help you have a good experience when washing your hunting gear.
Thus, the following are some excellent laundry techniques to help you safely and effectively clean your hunting clothes:
- You can set aside a specific tab or sink for washing your hunting gear rather than using the family washer.
- If you wash your hunting gear in the washing machine, ensure that you first thoroughly clean the washer and dryer to get rid of any detergents or scent.
- Once you are done cleaning your gear, you can add a cup of baking soda to the final rinse water. This helps in completely removing any remaining odors in your hunting clothes.
- After properly washing your gear, you should air-dry them on a cloth line or an outdoor drying rack. And once thoroughly dried, ensure that you seal your kit in a plastic bag before storing it until the next use. This ensures that the hunting clothes don’t get any odors from the surrounding areas where they are stored.
- When cleaning your gear, ensure that you use the same detergents and cleaning procedures on your camping gear and sleeping bags as well.
- Under no circumstances should you use dryer sheets or fabric softeners when cleaning your hunting gear.
- Finally, ensure that you only wear your hunting gear when going hunting only – you shouldn’t be wearing them when driving to the camp or eating.
Wrapping It Up
There you have it, a detailed guide on how to wash hunting clothes. As you’ve seen, hunting doesn’t only boil down to shooting bows or arrows on to the target. It’s a comprehensive practice that needs to be approached strategically.
Remember, the animals being hunted also have clever minds of their own. That’s because they’ve lived in the wild long enough to pick up signs of what’s good and bad. Therefore, they can easily differentiate between danger and safety.
That’s why hunting focuses more on getting the animals off-guard, which is where they are most vulnerable. So, if your hunting clothes pose some sense of insecurity to them, then expect to lose out on some kills.
And no one wants to lose out on such an experience just because of using the wrong detergent. So, this article has been targeted to anyone who wants to know how to wash hunting clothes. You might look sharp and smell nice using detergents on your hunting gear, but the animals don’t care about that.
The primary goal here is to blend in with nature for you to have the best experience during the practice season. And learning how to wash hunting clothes is one of the best techniques to help you achieve your hunting goals.