How to Care for Sublimated Sportswear: Washing, Storage & Longevity

A sublimated jersey looks flawless on day one, but how a club or business cares for it afterwards is what decides whether it still looks that way by the end of the season. Sublimation prints don’t sit on top of the fabric the way screen print or embroidery does, which makes them tough in some ways and surprisingly easy to damage in others if the wrong wash routine or storage habit becomes the norm. This guide covers exactly how to wash, dry and store sublimated sportswear so your kit’s colours and print stay sharp for as long as possible.

What Is Sublimation, and Why Does It Need Different Care?

Sublimation is a print process where dye is turned into a gas and fused directly into the fibres of the fabric, rather than sitting on top of it as ink or thread does. That’s why sublimated prints won’t crack or peel the way a screen-printed transfer can — but because the colour lives inside the fibre itself, aggressive washing, high heat and direct sun exposure all affect the print and the fabric at the same time, not just the surface layer.

How to Wash Sublimated Sportswear: Step by Step

Follow this sequence every time a sublimated jersey goes through the wash:

1. Turn the garment inside out before washing. This protects the printed surface from direct friction against zippers, buttons or other garments in the load.
2. Wash in cold water, on a gentle cycle. Hot water accelerates colour fade in sublimated fabric far more than in plain-dyed garments, so cold water should be the default, not the exception.
3. Use a mild detergent with no bleach or fabric softener. Bleach attacks the dyed fibres directly, and fabric softener leaves a coating that reduces the moisture-wicking performance most sublimated sportswear is designed for.
4. Wash sublimated kit separately from rough fabrics such as towels, denim or Velcro-strapped items, which can pill or abrade the printed surface during the cycle.
5. Skip the tumble dryer. Air dry instead — heat is the single biggest cause of early fading and fabric distortion in sublimated garments, more so than sunlight or normal washing.

Drying and Storage: What to Avoid

Beyond the wash cycle itself, most damage to sublimated kit happens during drying and storage rather than washing:

• Don’t dry in direct sun. UV exposure fades sublimated dye over time in the same way it fades outdoor fabric and signage; dry in shade or indoors instead.
• Don’t fold and store while damp. Trapped moisture encourages mildew and can cause colours to bleed slightly where fabric layers are pressed together.
• Don’t leave kit balled up in a bag for extended periods, especially after a wet training session or match — hang or lay flat as soon as practical after the final whistle.
• Don’t iron directly on the print. If pressing is unavoidable, iron on a low setting from the reverse side, or use a pressing cloth over the printed surface.

What Causes Sublimated Prints to Fade Early

Most premature fading comes down to three habits: regular hot washes, regular tumble drying, and long-term storage in direct sunlight or a hot space such as a car boot or unventilated kit bag. Individually, none of these does obvious damage after a single wash — the effect is cumulative across a season. Garments sold in Australia carry care labelling required under Australian Consumer Law, so the wash and dry instructions on the label are a reliable baseline to check this guide against. Fading over repeated washing is also the kind of variation covered by textile colour-fastness standards such as ISO 105-C06, which is part of why even well-cared-for kit shows some gradual change over a full season.

Reordering vs Repairing: When Kit Has Had Its Life

Good care extends a sublimated kit’s life significantly, but it doesn’t make it last forever — heavy-use training kit typically fades well before a lower-use match-day set does. Once fading or fabric wear start affecting how the kit looks as a set, it’s usually more cost-effective to reorder against the original design than to keep patching up ageing pieces. Our Reordering & Resizing guide covers running that process without re-doing work that’s already been done.

How Sublimation Compares for Long-Term Durability

Sublimation isn’t always the most durable choice for every use case — it performs differently to embroidery, screen print and DTF depending on fabric type and how the garment gets used. If you’re choosing a decoration method for a new order rather than caring for an existing one, our decoration comparison guide sets out how each method holds up against wear, washing and cost.

Ask Us About Care & Durability

Sublimated sportswear rewards a bit of routine: cold washes, air drying, and storage out of direct sun will keep colours sharp for far longer than a hot wash and tumble dry ever will. If you’ve got questions about caring for kit you’ve already ordered, or want decoration advice for an order that needs to survive a full season of hard use, ask us about care and durability and we’ll talk you through it.