Can You Wash Paintball Clothes With Other Clothes?

Worried you might ruin your clothes if you wash them with your paintball clothes? There’s no question that paintballing isn’t the tidiest sport around.

Still, plenty of people choose to participate in it because of the excitement and thrill that they can get.

When the time comes for players to wash their paintballing clothes , the question, “Can you wash paintball clothes with other clothes?” often pops up.

In this article, we take a look at the best practices to follow when washing paintball clothes. Hopefully, it will help you avoid damaging your clothes.

What’s Inside a Paintball?

Paintballs  are made of food-grade materials such as gelatin, polyethylene glycol, water-soluble dye, sorbitol, glycerin, and other non-toxic substances.

These balls are designed to be biodegradable and safe in case of accidental ingestion, e.g. if it splatters onto your face and mouth. However, it won’t taste any good, just to give you a fair warning.

Can Paintballs Stain Clothes?

Paintballs don’t stain clothes, in general, because their ingredients are meant to be washed off by water. However, there may be instances when it can leave light stains on your clothes if you leave them on your clothes for too long.

What Could Cause Paintballs to Stain Clothes?

If you haven’t left paintball splatters on your clothes for that long and still they leave a stain, it could be due to any of the following reasons:

• The manufacturers were using low-quality dyes
• The person you were playing against was using very old paintballs
• The paintballs were kept in an inappropriate environment
• You got hit at close range and the paint managed to embed itself on your clothing

Are Paintball Stains Permanent?

Paintball stains aren’t permanent because of the ingredients that are used in making a paintball. Since they aren’t made of paint and are water-soluble, you can wash them out using water. Make sure to do it as soon as possible to keep the paintball color from setting.

How Do I Remove Paintball Stains?

If a paintball color does get stuck to your clothing, pretreating your paintball clothes  before washing is best.

Also referred to as a “pre-wash,” pretreating is cleaning your clothes with plain water or with high-pressure water to remove the majority of the stain. This will make it easier to clean your paintball clothes later on.

Most washing machines come with a pre-wash option; however, you can also do this manually using a bucket of water or a high-pressure water source.

Can You Wash Paintballs with Other Clothes?

Unless you want your other clothes to come out a different color, it’s always best not to throw them in with your paintball clothes. If you’re washing light-colored fabrics, you don’t want these getting mixed up with your paintball clothing.

As much as possible, wash your paintball clothes on their own.

Can I Use the Dryer on My Paintball Clothes?

Whether or not your paintball clothes can be dried using the dryer depends on the material it uses.

If it’s made of cotton or other soft fabrics, there shouldn’t be a reason why you can’t dry it using your dryer. However, if it’s made of rougher fabrics, we recommend letting it air dry for best results.

Rougher or harder fabrics tend to crack or wear under the heat of dryers. To extend the life expectancy of your paintball clothes, air dry is the best choice.

How Long Can I Leave My Clothes Unwashed After a Match?

Leaving your paintball clothes unwashed too long after a match may result in stains that could ruin the appearance of your paintball clothing.

We recommend pretreating and washing your clothes within 24 hours after your game ends. This way, the paint won’t have enough time to embed itself into your clothing’s fibers.

Can Paintballs Stain My Washing Machine?

Most washing machines  are made to wash away wall paints  and other stronger paints. So, if you’re worried that your paintball clothes might stain your washing machine walls, it’s highly unlikely.

In the majority of cases, the paint on your paintball clothes will dissolve in the washing machine’s water.

However, if you get hit with low-grade dyes in cheap paintballs, these steps should help remove residual bits of paint from your washing machine walls:

• Get enough hot water to fill your washing machine and leave it inside for five (5) minutes.
• Once five (5) minutes are up, flush the water out
• With a kitchen towel or the rough side of a sponge, scrub the remaining paint out. It should come off easily after you’ve soaked it in hot water.
• Give it a last rinse with clean water.

Do Some Paintballs Stain More Than Others?

The short answer: yes.

Some paintballs stain clothes more than others. For example, red and pink paintballs cause a stronger stain and, therefore, linger on clothing much longer than other dye colors.

Poor quality paintballs use all sorts of shortcuts to make their product as cheap as possible — which is why it may be no surprise that they stain much more than high-end or good-quality paintballs.

Always double-check the quality of paintballs you’re using during a game to make sure that it doesn’t ruin your gear and clothes.

Finally, keep in mind the manufacturing date of your paintballs. Over time, paintballs lose their normal fluidity, which may cause them to stick more to clothing fibers.

Final Thoughts

Paintballs should not leave stains on your clothing if you wash it immediately. However, it’s best to keep them away from other clothes when washing.

This way, you won’t have to deal with your other clothes getting paint on them.

While paintballs shouldn’t stain, some circumstances may cause them to stain regardless. Pretreating your clothes before washing them can help remove the stains before they become more difficult to deal with.