How to Remove Dirt and Odors Your Athletes Leave Behind

While you love cheering on your kids as they take the field, once they get into the house, it’s a whole different story. This time of year is when you can have a lot of dirt and odors in your house.

Running all over the field does not translate well into running all over the house. Dirt and sweat your athletes bring home can put your normal cleaning routine into over time. Here are some house cleaning tips to help you play tough defense and strict offense with dirt in your home.

HOW TO REMOVE DIRT FROM CARPET

Don’t you love being able to track your kids down the hall because you can follow their dirt tracks? No?

We understand that tracking in dirt after practice or a big game is going to happen. So, we’ve outlined some tips on how to get the dirt out of the carpet.

Follow these steps:

1. If the dirt is more like mud, let it dry! You need to pick up almost all of the dirt from your carpet and that’s hard to do when it’s still wet.
2. Vacuum the dirt away, slowly and longer than you normally would. Do not go too quickly because you’ll rub the dirt further into the carpet. The goal here is to remove as much dirt as possible.
3. Remove the spot: mix ¼ teaspoon bleach-free liquid detergent with 1 cup cold water. Blot, don’t scrub, with a white towel and switch towels out as needed when they are too wet.
4. If the stain is still lingering, consider a professional carpet cleaning solution or service.

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR CARPET

There’s a lot going on in your home and it can feel like you’re cleaning your carpet too often. There are preventative measures you can take other than running the vacuum a couple of times a week.

Try these tips:

• To prevent permanent damage when a stain occurs, act immediately with a mild cleaner. Find tips on how to remove stains from carpets here.
• Always use an indoor and an outdoor welcome mat to reduce the amount of dirt that enters your home. Ask guests to take off their shoes.
• We recommend cleaning your carpets every 3-6 months. When we come for a cleaning, we always suggest carpet protection. Our carpet protector acts as an invisible barrier around carpet fibers keeping your carpet cleaner longer.

HOW TO REMOVE MUD FROM TILE AND GROUT

Dirt, odors and allergens can hide, especially in places that are hard to see and clean. Because grout is porous, it can hold onto dirt that gets tracked in after a big game. Here’s how to clean grout and get the dirt out.

Follow these steps:

1. Sweep floors to make sure debris and loose dirt are gone. This ensures you have a surface that’s ready to go.
2. Mix together ½ cup baking soda, ¼ cup hydrogen peroxide and 1 tsp dish soap.
3. Take the mixture and scrub it into the grout in your kitchen or bathroom.
4. Rinse off the mixture.
5. For stains that are extra tough, use a tile and grout cleaner or a professional cleaning service.

HOW TO GET RID OF SHOE ODORS

In addition to getting your floors dirty, your athletes also bring home a lot of smells. You know that smell. Dirty shoes and dirty feet. Those odors can linger and weaken your home’s defense. Here’s how to get the odor out of shoes.

Follow these steps:

1. Make sure the shoes are dry. If they aren’t, air them out.
2. To make the cleaning process easier, make sure the shoes don’t have any excess dirt. Try cleaning the bottom of cleats and sneakers with a toothbrush.
3. Pour baking soda into shoes to absorb odors.
4. Let the baking soda sit overnight.
5. In the morning, pour out any excess baking soda.

HOW TO DEODORIZE SPORTS EQUIPMENT

Oh, and let us not forget the odors in sports gear. Shoes may be a primary suspect in odors from your athletes, but helmets, shin guards and knee pads love to hold on to sweat and smells as well. Here’s how to deodorize sports equipment.

Follow these steps:

1. Always make sure the sports apparel gets to dry. Air drying is the best way to get odors to naturally leave the material.
2. Wash the gear. Gear like shin guards and knee pads can be washed like any other piece of clothing. For helmets, hand wash the interior. However, be careful because this will be worn on the head. Don’t use harsh chemicals that can harm the scalp. Instead, use baking soda or your regular shampoo.

HOW TO REMOVE MILDEW AND SWEAT FROM CLOTHING

Sports apparel gets beat up and sweat in, and if isn’t washed immediately, it can grow mold and mildew from being wet. Those spores can then spread from clothing to other parts of the house. Here’s how to get mold and mildew in clothing.

Try these tips:

• Spot clean clothing with vinegar. Use a solution that is one cup vinegar to one cup water. Hate the smell of vinegar? Add essential oils.
• Spot cleaning not enough? Let clothing soak in a solution of one cup of white vinegar in a bucket of water for about an hour.
• After using vinegar, put clothing through a normal wash.

Tip: Have two separate laundry baskets for your athletes. One for school clothes and day-to-day wear and the other for immediate wash for sports gear and apparel. This will let you know what needs to be washed in 24-hours so clothing doesn't stay damp.