How to Wash Dance Costumes
How to clean your dance costumes and the go-to products to use on your dance wear. Recommended by pro cheerleaders.
Dance costumes and cheer uniforms can be intimidating, especially when it comes to washing your garments. Not only are they expensive but they are generally custom cheer uniforms crafted by dance costume companies, an array of colors, frequently covered in rhinestones, and occasionally made of a full sequence material.
The good news is that cleaning your dance costume correctly is simple - as long as you are cleaning them properly and giving them the gentle garment care that they need. So before you throw all of your dance outfits in the washing machine, make sure that you are caring for it properly following our guidance below.
I still remember the very first year I had to wash dance outfits as a professional dancer. It was my rookie dance season, with a set of around ten new dance uniforms. With a game every week, wearing up to four costume pieces a game, I was needing to clean my costumes on the regular. Not having much guidance on how to keep up management on my new dance uniforms..
I put two of my uniforms in the washing machine (as I would wash my regular clothes) and both of my dance costumes came out with a color transfer and I had absolutely no idea how to get this grey hue out of them.
Most often, you want to avoid washing any of your dance costumes in the washing machine, especially together. Lightly hand-washing dance costumes is always a must.
To avoid a dance story like this yourself, we have put together the secrets that keep our uniforms looking fresh and clean as a pro dancer.
Here are the go-to uniform cleaning products, steps, and tips to avoid ever putting on a dirty dance costume again.
Fill a bucket or large bowl with cold water
Start with a bucket for hand-washing clothes or a large bowl that will fit your dance costume.
Use something that you can easily empty and refill but will not transfer any type of color onto the costume.
Make sure to continuously refill the bucket as needed while cleaning any dirty dance outfits.
2. Add in a mild detergent
Mix in about a tablespoon to half of a tablespoon of Dawn or Forever New to the bucket of cold water.
As we mentioned before, our dance wear needs to be handled with care so we must use a mild detergent to clean it. These are the two go-to cleaning products to use on delicate dance wear:
Dawn Dish Soap: This cleaning product is a must-have for dancers when cleaning dance costumes. It is the best product to wash dance clothes with because it is not harsh on your garments yet it is a strong cleaning solution for getting stains out. This is our go-to product for cleaning dance outfits.
Forever New Fabric Care Wash: This product is extremely popular among dancers and cheerleaders. If you have the time, I would order Forever New for your current and future garment care. You can not find this product at most stores, so make sure to order it ahead of time if you want to try it out!
3. Add in Baking Soda
Add in about a tablespoon of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda to the cold water and detergent.
Baking soda for dance wear is a MUST. There are so many benefits of putting baking soda in laundry and it proves even more true with our dance dresses, dance skirts, and everything else in our dance bags!
Baking soda while cleaning dance wear benefits include: brightening clothes, removing odors, removing stains, and it acts as a natural fabric softener.
4. Add in hydrogen peroxide
Add in about a tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide to the cleaning mix.
Similarly to Baking Soda, hydrogen peroxide naturally: whitens whites, brighten colors, remove stains, and removes odors.
5. Mix everything together
Make sure to mix everything together!
6. Hand-wash your dance costume
Now you want to gently hand-wash your dance garment.
Dishwashing gloves with silicone bristles are my absolute FAVORITE investment when cleaning dance costumes. I discovered hand-washing my garments with these gloves a few years ago and it is a night and day difference with how they turn out. They clean my outfits better and avoid soaking my hands for long periods of time (which we know can be annoying when having multiple outfits to wash!)
If there was one product to recommend in cleaning dance wear - it is these silicone scubber gloves. Seriously, you need to try them! (p.s. let us know if you do!)
You will need a way to work out tougher stains that may not come out while gently hand-washing. Since our dance costumes are fragile, we want to be gentle while working out stains so only use a soft-bristled toothbrush.
You have some stains that just will not come out..
Removing tougher stains from your dance costumes: Carbona Stain Devils is a great product for getting tough stains out of dance clothes.
Put a small amount directly onto the blemished spot (or even add a few drops to your mixed cleaning solution) and use a soft-bristle toothbrush to gently work out the stain.
Handling a color transfer on your dance costume: Carbona Color Grabbers and Carbona Color Run Remover is a must if you have any kind of color run or color transfer on any of your dance clothes.
Using the Carbona Color Grabbers, I was able to fix this color transfer with one of my own personal dance costumes. I was able to get the inside of this dance costume back to bright white with a mix of hand-washing in the solution we created in this article and firmly pressing the Carbona Color Grabbers on the white part of the uniform as it air-dried.
Not sure how-to remove dye transfer stains and needing more guidance? We are happy to help further. Reach out via email or Instagram.
7. Rinse your dance costume
Rinse your dance piece in cold water until there is no cleaning mixture remaining in it.
8. Wring clothes by hand
Wring out your dance costume to remove excess water.
9. Pat dry with a towel
Roll or fold the towel around the garment and gently press down to remove as much excess water as possible.
10. Air-dry your dance costume
Hang your dance garment on a drying rack, preferably outside in a closed area.
Now that we have properly cleaned our dance wear and are no longer worrying about embarrassing sweat stains or foundation stains, hang your garment on a drying rack. It may be tempting to throw your dance costume in the dryer after all of that hard work, but it is important that you let your dance garment air dry.
Since dance garments do take a while to clean and you do not want to risk them getting dirty again by falling on the ground, I would suggest investing in a drying rack if you do not already have one.
Make sure that you give yourself enough time between dance performances when washing and drying dance outfits. Clean your dance outfits no later than one full day before they need to be ready to go!
Our recommended products for cleaning dance uniforms and dance costumes:
You can now wash your dance outfits with a bit more knowledge on how to clean and increase the lifespan of your dance wear.
Do you have any tips that you have used on your dance costumes that we did not mention? We love creativity and what saved your dance outfit may save someone else’s!
Make sure to follow us on Instagram for more tips and tricks on all things pro dance and cheer!