How To Get Paintball Paint out of Clothes?

Have proper clothes filled with paintball paint? Worry no more because we are going to show you how to get paintball paint out of clothes properly.

Some games of paintball can get quite intense. In fact, the rounds can get so severe that you can get all drenched with the paint.

Even if you have good overalls on the body, the clothes underneath can absorb some of the colors. And nobody wants to wear a cloth that has stains of different colors all over the body.

That being said, even if you do not mind the clothes getting messy, you would not want to throw them away after one game, right? That is why you need to know how to get paintball paint out of clothes. Well, today is your lucky day because this is the right source for knowing that!

We have been playing paintball for about two years now. And we each have a dedicated paintball outfit, which we wear every time we play paintball that gets squeaky clean right after we get back home.

And we are here to let you know all that we know about the process of getting the paint off the clothes.

The Right Way of Getting Paintball Paint off the Clothes

Like us, we would recommend getting into cleaning the clothes right after you return to your home. It will leave considerably less amount of time for the stains to settle in the fibers.

And if the paints do not find the time to settle in, there will be no need to put too much effort into getting them off.

With that out of the way, let us get into the thing you are mainly here for, which is the steps to get the paintball paint off the clothes. And they are as follows:

Step 1: Remove as Much Environmental Debris as Possible

The first step would be to get as much of the environmental debris off the clothes as possible. Here we are referring to the leaves, burrs, sticks, and the loose dirt that might be on the clothes. Please give it a good shake outside, and those would fall right on the floor.

By taking them off, you will make the process of getting rid of the paint a bit easier.

Also, if you leave these on the clothes, they can cause damage to the washing machine. For that reason, you should first ensure that there is no loose environmental debris on the clothes.

Step 2: Pre-treat the Spots

After getting the sticks and burrs off the clothes, you need to move along into the pre-treating spots.

This step will make the paint a bit loose, which will make the cleaning process a bit easier for the washing machine. You can do this using powder detergent, stain remover, or liquid detergent.

However, if none of the three is available, make a mixture of 50 percent of dishwasher detergent and water. Spray it on the stains and leave it for a bit.

Step 3: Scrub the Stains

Now that the stain has soaked up the stain-remover for a bit; scrub the stains vigorously.

This scrubbing will make the stains looser, which will enhance the chances of the paint getting off easily in the washing machine. Make sure to let the colors sit with the stain-remover for about two to five minutes.

Step 4: Put the Clothes inside the Washing Machine

Once you are done pre-treating the stains, it is time to put the clothes into the washing machine. For this, we would recommend selecting the normal setting and the highest temperature.

The high temperature will make the stains come off easily, while the normal setting will remain gentle with the clothes.

If your machine has a sanitary cycle or a super-hot cycle, select one of those if the fabric allows it.

However, if your clothing is not a cotton mix or entirely of cotton, you might want to take a look at the care instructions. The instructions will state the settings and the temperature.

How Can I Remove Paintball Fill from the Clothes?

The main ingredients of the paintball fills are dye, sorbitol, and propylene glycol. Some of the brands are also going to include wax. If you know how to, it is possible to remove each of these elements easily. And you will learn how to in this step:

For Propylene Glycol

Among all of the ingredients, propylene glycol is the highest in ratio. It is a humectant that is colorless.

Because of being a humectant, it will form a bond with water, which is good news. That means it will go off easily with gentle wash inside the washing machine.

For Sorbitol

Much like propylene glycol, sorbitol is a humectant. It is a sugar alcohol that is pretty much available in nature. You can find it in apples, prunes, and pears. And you will also find it in the sugar-free gums and inside the beauty products.

Also, like propylene glycol, you can wash out sorbitol by following the washing guideline that is on the back of the clothing. And as it is going to bond with water, the same gentle wash will allow you to take the sorbitol away from the clothes.

For The Dye

Usually, these are going to utilize food dyes. And food dyes usually wash out entirely out of the clothing.

However, that will only happen if you wash the clothing without letting the dye settle on the fiber. If it does sit on the fabric for an extended amount of time, it will get deeper into the material.

And once it does get deeper into the fabric, the harder it will be to remove it. For that reason, do not let the dye settle in. Instead, take appropriate actions as soon as possible.

Final Words

Now that you know how to get paintball paint out of clothes, hopefully, you will not have to panic that much when you get splattered with paintballs.

However, no matter what you do, do make sure that you start the cleaning process as soon as possible. The longer you let it sit, the harder it will be to take the paint off.