How to Wash your Lame

Let us show you how to wash your lame. Washing your lame (pronounced La-may) correctly will extend the life and use of it. If you use your practice lame daily or several times a week then a monthly washing is a must. There are several fabrications of lames for ex. copper, nickel and stainless steel.

Washing your lame is easy
How to wash your lame
 
What you need
  1. Sink or 5 gallon bucket of room temperature water
  2. Woolite or mild liquid detergent
  3. For Copper or nickel lames,  1/4 cup of Windex with Ammonia (if you have green oxidation on your lame it has copper in it) OR One gallon of white vinegar

 Copper or non-stainless steel lames (usually these start to turn greenish with oxidation):  ADD about 1/4 cup of Windex (must contain ammonia-some Windex products do NOT contain ammonia therefore it won’t remove the green oxidation) or 50% white vinegar.

For stainless steel lames (these are usually the more expensive lames) just using Woolite or a mild hand-washing clothing detergent (do not use normal laundry soap).

Directions:
  1. Fill your sink or 5 gal. bucket about 1/2 way with lukewarm water. Add the Woolite or mild hand-washing clothing detergent (see bottle for measurement instructions – usually a capful) to the water and mix it well. If your garment is green with alot of oxidation add the white vinegar (a full gallon) OR Windex, making sure the Windex contains Ammonia.
  2. Take the lame and push it completely underwater. Swirl it around for several minutes. If the non metallic part of the edge of the sleeves is heavily soiled rub and gently scrub that part taking care NOT to rub the metal fabric. 
  3.  Let the lame soak for about 15 minutes (your water will turn a murky blueish green). 
  4. Drain, then rinse well, you may need to rinse several times if the water turned very green. If washing a metallic overglove, use the same method.
  5. Do NOT wring the water out! The easiest thing is to hang it up on a non-metal hanger in the shower. 
  6. Turn on the ventilation fan so the air circulates helping the lame to dry faster. Some people will roll the damp lame in a towel to remove alot of the water then hang it up. The faster it dries the less chance of corrosion.

We highly recommend that you always turn your lame inside out after you wear it at practice so the sweat dries quickly, and hang it up. Do not throw it on the floor or leave it wadded up inside your gear bag. A little care will greatly extend the life of your gear.


See our quick youtube video
on how to wash your lame here