This story is part of our RE:HACKS series, in which we detail some easy guidelines to help you care for and maintain your PUMA products, so the stuff you love lasts longer.

Grass stains, sweat stains, blood stains, or whatever sticks to your kit after a championship celebration – we’re eyeing you Man City – protecting your activewear is of the utmost importance to the PUMA team. Because these garments tend to be made from synthetic materials like nylon, polyester, elastane, or rayon, cleaning isn’t always the easiest.

That’s why we’ve enlisted the support of our product experts to help guide our athletes through the best ways to wash, dry, and store their jerseys, shorts, pants, even that ‘80s-era headband you’re still rocking on the tennis court. Follow these simple tips and your gear should last significantly longer.

Tip 1: Please read the care labels. READ IT! This should provide some baseline instructions to save your gear. Just in case your label seems to be filled with some indiscernible hieroglyphs, here’s a little explanatory table for those mystery symbols.

Tip 2: Prevent damp or sweat smells from penetrating into your workout clothes. Take them out of the gym bag immediately or just air them out immediately. Better still, wash ASAP.

Tip 3: Wash at a maximum of 30°C and under a gentle spin. Warm water can cause shrinkage, permanently wrinkle prints, and quickly fade your gear. We don’t want that.

Tip 4: Air-dry your clothes, as it’s the easiest way to treat them with the gentleness and kindness they deserve. Also, they tend to air-dry quickly. When you toss your performance gear in the tumble dryer, the heat will lessen the elasticity over time, which means you lose the comfort and support you desperately need when training.

Tip 5: This may sound silly, but store your activewear away from prolonged sunlight. Your clothes will degrade and discolor in extensive sunlight, much like a vampire.

Now, of course, sometimes even extensive cleaning won’t exactly save your gear. Still, let's do our best to make them last.