By definition, baseball season involves a lot of dirt.  Since it took me a while to learn how to deal with this, I thought I’d share.

First, get a boot/shoe dryer (DryGuy Wide Body Boot and Glove Dryer).  This will not get rid of actual dirt, but it will dry out their cleats and substantially reduce stink buildup.  Note, this is true for any kids footwear.  Our dryers are in use year round.

Second, buy baseball pants.  Baseball pants are relatively cheap for their durability, especially the elastic waistband ones.  And, the grass stains come out of them better than general purpose athletic pants.

Third, find OxiClean gel sticks.  Oxi Clean liquid is pretty easy to find; the gel sticks less so.  Target should have them; your grocery store might.  If you can find a coupon that helps as, in my experience, they almost never go on sale.

Fourth, liberally pretreat the pants.  I do this right before I put them in and start the machine.  I don’t think there’s a need to catch the stain early or let the product soak in for a great length of time.

Fifth, add the OxiClean liquid to your machine and run it.  BEFORE transferring to the dryer check to see if the stain is gone.  If it is proceed to dry.  If not, hang up the pants to air dry.  This will prevent the stain from setting.  Wear the pants for another game (where they will inevitably get further stained) and repeat the process.  The second pass should clear up the original stain.

Note, OxiClean doesn’t pay me to advertise for them.  I’ve just found their product to be much more effective for this type of stain than Resolve/Spray ‘n Wash.  Personally, I find Resolve does better with most stains – like food.  But, OxiClean does better with dirt and grass.