How to Clean Your Snowboard, Skis, Winter Clothes, and Gear with Dr. Bronner’s

Winter weather is approaching! That means families and snow enthusiasts will soon be dusting off their gear from summer storage. As you may know, snowboards, skis, sleds, and winter clothing require special care to maximize their use and preserve them for the years to come. This season, don’t waste money on buying overpriced, specialized cleaners for each item. Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds Cleaner is an excellent, environmentally-friendly tool that works great on prepping, maintaining, and preserving nearly all your snow-related gear. Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds Cleaner is a concentrated all-purpose cleaner. Made with plant-based surfactants and natural fir needle and spruce essential oils, it’s effective on grease and tough stains and contains no synthetic dyes, fragrances, or preservatives.

How to Clean Your Snowboard, Skis, and Sleds

Who doesn’t love the feeling of carving big powder turns while flowing down a beautiful snowy landscape? Experts advise washing and cleaning the tops and bottoms of your snowboards, skis, and sleds after every use or two to remove dirt, mud, grime, salt, and rust flakes. Cleaning followed by hot waxing makes them shine and fly faster over the snow.

For nearly all your cleaning needs, we recommend making spray bottle of diluted Sal Suds to last the whole snow season for gear cleaning. Here’s how:

• Add 1 Tbsp. (15 mL) Sal Suds in a quart (1 L) of water. Hint:
• Put water in the bottle first.
• Optional: For extra antimicrobial punch, add 1/4 tsp. (1.25 mL) tea tree essential oil.  
  
  
• Check out: Sal Suds Cleaner in a Spray Bottle.

To clean grime, dirt, and rust flakes from your snow riding gear:

1. Apply warm water and a few sprays of the diluted Sal Suds.
2. Wipe down the tops and bottoms of your equipment using a cloth or a sponge.
3. Thoroughly dry your equipment, especially the edges, to prevent rust which can damage your equipment and compromise your performance.
4. After cleaning, be sure to store your equipment indoors to also prevent rust.

*For skis, don’t get the Sal Suds solution into the internals of the ski bindings.

*For snowboards, take off the bindings and wash them separately if you’d like a deeper cleaning. In addition to cleaning, many snowboarders and skiers regularly wax their gear to reduce friction and help them slide faster on the snow without sticking. 

How to Clean Snow Clothing

Snow coats and pants can get heavy use depending on how much time you spend in the snow. While regularly washing these items probably isn’t necessary, you’ll likely want give them a clean a few times per season. Sal Suds also functions as an awesome snow season laundry solution for all your snow clothing!

To clean your outer snow wear:

1. Pretreat Stains: Apply Sal Suds directly to stain(s), about enough to cover and soak in. Let sit 30 minutes or more. For heavy stains, spray with a solution of half Sal Suds/half water.
2. Add 2-3 Tbsp. (30-45 mL) of Sal Suds for a large load in your washer. Optional: For extra whitening/brightening, add ½ c. (120 mL) baking soda to wash cycle and/or 1 c. (240 mL) vinegar to rinse cycle. Halve these amounts for HE washers.
3. Wash winter outerwear clothes on the gentle cycle.
4. Air dry thoroughly away from direct sun. Don’t ever put snow clothes in the dryer!

• Check out: Green Laundry Care with Dr. Bronner’s
• Check out: Pretreating Laundry Stains with Dr. Bronner’s

To clean your delicates:

1. Add 1/2 capful (1/2 Tbsp. or 7.5 mL) of Sal Suds in about 1 gallon (4 L) of water.
2. Swish gently, let soak 10 minutes, and then swish again.
3. Rinse with clean water.
4. Gently press out excess water with a towel. Hang clothing or lay flat to dry.

• Check out: Handwashing Delicates with Dr. Bronner’s

*Be sure to check your snow clothing labels for cleaning instructions. Some waterproof snow clothing like jackets, shells, pants, neck warmers, gloves, etc., are best hand-washed and air dried. Winter outerwear is often made with special fabrics and waterproof materials, so you'll want to know how to wash them properly without causing damage.

How to Clean Your Snow Boots, Poles, Helmets, and Snow Chains

Your other gear, like boots, ski poles, helmets, and chains, can all be pretty much cleaned using the following method, which is great at removing hard-caked salt and dirt. Just be sure to remove the liners on your boots before cleaning:

1. Mix a solution of equal parts water, Sal Suds, and white vinegar.
2. Dab the solution on the affected areas.
3. Rinse your gear off with a wet cloth.
4. Wipe dry and then allow to air-dry completely.

When storing your boots at the end of the season, make sure to buckle them up so they retain their shape and strength. We wish you awesome and clean snow adventures this winter season!

Sal Suds cleaner shows >60% biodegradation after 28 days per ISO 14593.