How to Wash Boxing Wraps

Boxing wraps are an essential part of many different martial arts, so you will likely have encountered them if you have participated in any of these sports.

While you might have heard of boxing wraps, it is likely you might not have considered how you clean them.

This guide is packed full of all the information you need to know about washing your boxing wraps to keep them in excellent shape. 

What are Boxing Wraps?

If you have any experience with boxing or MMA, you will be aware of boxing wraps but let’s take a look at what they are exactly.

Boxing wraps are basically just strips of material which is wrapped around the hands and wrists of fighters to provide support to their joints from injuries that can be caused by punching.

It is essential that anybody who practices boxing, even if it is just for fitness rather than competitively, wears boxing wraps as boxing can cause repetitive strain to the wrists which can increase the chance of injury. 

The risk of injury to the hands and wrists increases as your punches grow stronger which makes boxing wraps all the more important. These wraps are also used to compress the bones in the hand.

It has been suggested that this helps boxers hit with greater force and that they feel less pain when wearing them. So now that we’ve established what boxing wraps are, let’s take a look at why you need to wash them.

Why do you need to wash Boxing Wraps?

Now that we’ve established what boxing wraps are, let’s take a look at why you must clean your wraps regularly. The main reason is obvious, you need to wash boxing wraps to keep them clean.

Anybody who has practiced boxing, or any martial art for that matter, will be aware of how sweaty your hands can become during a fight. Even without wearing gloves, or boxing wraps, your hands will likely grow sweaty and this is just increased through the use of boxing wraps and gloves on top. 

Boxing gloves are expensive, and you want your boxing gloves to last for as long as possible. As well as protecting your hands, boxing wraps are a great preventative measure to stop the sweat from your hands from causing damage to the interior of your boxing gloves.

It is difficult to keep boxing gloves clean, but it is easy to keep wraps clean which is why it is important to keep on top of the sweat that enters the fabric of the wraps.

By regularly cleaning the boxing wraps, the risk of sweat entering your boxing gloves is low so your boxing gloves will be likely to last for a long time. Next, let’s take a look at how you clean boxing wraps. 

How to Wash Boxing Wraps

Cleaning your boxing wraps is essential to remove the sweat that has built up inside of the fabric, and to keep the boxing wraps clean and fresh, as well as easily movable. So let’s take a look at how you go about washing your boxing wraps. 

It is likely that after you have been boxing, you will take off your wraps and place the fabric into your sports bag and forget about them. So the first thing you need to do is take the boxing wraps out of your gym bag.

If possible you should try and wash your boxing wraps as soon as possible after using them. If you leave the fabric untouched in your bag it could cause the fabric to grow stiff and make it harder to clean. Leaving the boxing wraps in your bag can also cause them to develop a bad smell, so we recommend cleaning as soon as possible. 

In terms of actually cleaning, the first thing you should do is check the washing instructions for the specific boxing wraps that you own. Different fabrics will be best suited to specific types of washing, and the last thing you want to do is damage the wraps by washing them incorrectly.

However, there are 2 main ways that you will be able to clean your boxing wraps and they are hand and machine washing. 

First, let’s take a look at hand washing. Hand washing is always recommended for sensitive materials as it is a much less invasive method of cleaning than using a machine. As boxing wraps are usually made of sensitive material, we would recommend hand washing unless your cleaning instructions say otherwise.

To do this you should fill a bowl with warm water and a small amount of soap. You should place the hand wraps in the soapy water and leave it to soak for a few hours. After 2-3 hours have passed, you should remove the hand wraps from the water and leave them to air dry, laying them as flat as possible. 

The other option that you have is washing the hand wraps in a washing machine. This isn’t recommended, however, a lot of people who use boxing wraps may prefer this method because of the convenience it offers.

Before you use this method, it is important that you are aware this could reduce the lifespan of your boxing wraps. If you want to machine wash your boxing wraps you should place them in a laundry bag to avoid damage, and wash it on a very low and delicate cycle.

You should not wash them at a temperature that exceeds 40 degrees. 

How to Dry Boxing Wraps

Once you have washed your boxing wraps, either by hand or in the machine, you will need to dry the boxing wraps. You must let the boxing wraps air dry, and if possible try and dry them outside.

You shouldn’t leave the boxing wraps in direct sunlight, however, your wraps will have better access to fresh air outdoors.

You should never place the boxing wraps onto a heated machine, such as a radiator, so it is important that you factor this into cleaning the wraps as they will take a significant amount of time to dry. 

Summary 

In summary, washing your boxing wraps is very easy.

It is recommended that you wash your wraps in a bowl of warm water, however, if you would prefer you can wash them in your washing machine.