Ok, quick question for you pros. This problem has had me scratching my head for WEEKS! So I’m going to give a “Like” to the person who has the best answer.
Here’s the problem.
(Caveat: I’m WAY behind on getting great uniforms for my guys. The only thing I’ve had is screen-printed white t-shirts, which is fine for 9 months out of the year here. And now it’s cooling down, and they’re wearing their own jackets and stuff over the top of the shirt. 1) they don’t all look the same (professional) anymore 2) some of my guys dress like… well… Merv and Mike Defiel would call them “Thugs”… on their own time. So their personal jackets or hoodies aren’t quite the look I want.)
So… with all that said… the problem is: [B]What color uniform shirts/hoodies should my guys wear???[/B]
White - they get dirty SOOO fast and look like crap.
Any other color - when we Soft Wash (3-5 days per week) they will get all bleach spotted and again (you guessed it!), look like crap.
What’s the solution to this???
I’m especially thinking about getting hooded sweatshirts for the guys to wear as it gets a bit cooler here. They’re a bit more expensive per piece, so I don’t want them to get trashed fast…
and literally guys, I’ve been unable to figure out a simple solution to this for WEEKS!
Hooded sweatshirts, pullover or zip front, their choice. You can layer underneath and keep hat & gloves in the front pocket. Carhart makes a great lined one. Whatever company color you use (ours are red), but darker seems better. We issue a lined parka nobody ever wears, and a set of breathable rain coats/windbreakers that come out for pressure washing, or high work when its windy. Unlike the parka, they’re thin enough to go under tool belts if needed. 18 years of trial and error has got us there, so far.
Are you guys using any kind of rain suit to keep the soft wash mix off your regular clothing? Know it sux with your temps but if it keeps you dry and spot free it may help. I have worn slate blues, earth tone greens and browns for t-shirts, and navy or black sweat shirts crew or hooded, (no bleach work) and have destroyed work pants while working for others that did bleach work). You maybe better off just getting some colored shirts for w/c only and having something light/off-white for your soft wash work.
we have not used anything like that to this point. We wear dickies pants (which do not really spot from bleach) and white shirts, so we haven’t worried about it.
This is not a response as to color or type of clothing. But I have been using a supplier for works shirts and some real nice hoodies this year. You may find a good solution for uniforms on their site. It is queensboro.com . The quality is very good. Also they embroider for free . If you check it out , don’t necessarily buy at the first visit. They are always running sales. A different one everyday it seems.
If you visit and put something in your cart but don’t follow through on the purchase, they will send you a pretty nice offer of some kind to get your business. And even once you do buy, they send out some really good offers. Free shipping, $40 credits, etc…
Either of these would be great for avoiding staining from SH and they can still layer underneath if necessary. I’ve been wearing 100% polyester for washing for 4 months now and all of my shirts look the same as when I purchased them.
I like this suggestion. We have black t-shirts which the guys hate in the summer but they never look dirty or stained until they get worn out. For power washing next year we’ll do white shirts for the power washing crews.
I have a black adidas jacket/hoodie combo (2 separate pieces) that I wear with my info screen printed on it.
I once splashed straight bleach on my jacket and it seeped into/onto my hoodie. The hoodie, which is a cotton, went from black to pink where the bleach landed.
The jacket, which is 100% polyester and the label reads “Do no bleach”, was 100% impervious and showed no signs that any bleaching occurred!
So maybe it’s not a color question, but more of a material question.
Though for me, I prefer black because I can wear the same pieces through many days of window and gutter cleaning without any noticeable dirt.
For a rain suit I’ve found that motorcycle rain suits have worked really well and hold up much longer than anything from Home Depot. I order from Jafrum on Amazon for $30. I’m 5’9", 145lbs and a X-small fits me like a normal Medium would, so order a few sizes smaller.
You hit the nail on the head, my friend! 100% Polyester will not bleach out or stain, nor will a dickies shirt which is a blend of 65/35 or something like that.
What about a reversible hoodie? You could print something different on each side specific to the service you are providing. They make some that are made of different material on each side. Or you could use one side for more dirty work and the other side could be reserved for work that you may want to look more clean. You could go with different colors as well.
I may use this idea for myself. I like the idea of having a dirty stain ridden side for gutters and dirty work and a clean side for windows.
When ordering jackets try to stay away from anything too long. It gets in the way of your tool belts.
And hoodies are nice, however they are not warm enough sometimes.
Colorwise? Anything will stain. We use a dark forest/hunter green. I’ve heard lighter colors get better responses.
I wouldn’t get any coats with hoods, they just get in the way, especially when trying to drap a towel over your shoulder. If you need hoods wear a hoodie underneath and use it’s hood instead.
Keep your coats basic, nothing too fancy with all of the zippers, pockets, etc. Too many things to break.
I just bought a coat at Kohls that matches our colors AND has a removable inside coat, which looks sweet by the way. Extremely warm when put together, and either part is stylish (thats how I roll )
michael, phil beat me to it - 100% polyester ftw. we get the fleece zipper front jackets from queensboro, chlorine won’t touch 'em. any fleece is 100% poly. and warm.
man, i had a long estimate day today in savannah, or i’d a written this a lot earlier and told you you owe me a bison burger @ the crystal beer parlor. guess it’s my turn.
Have you ever thought about asking your guys for what they might want to wear? Present them options you approve of or like of course.
We have this on the agenda for January. I want to change our uniforms a bit and we’re gonna get together and talk about it.
Personally, I like blue or green(we use baby blue t-shirts right now and they clean up fine) and I want to change to polo’s, embroidered with logo and number. prob change the color to a true blue. Our hoodies have no zipper and are dark blue(for gutter cleaning stains) and have our logo huge on the back with our large phone number.
one more quick thing, michael, the fleece will come in any color, and work really well in our climate, i.e.; cold in the morning, mild/warm at midday, cold at evening, making going in and out of them of little concern. ours are gray, and look good with anything.
one more quick thing, michael, the fleece will come in any color, and work really well in our climate, i.e.; cold in the morning, mild/warm at midday, cold at evening, making going in and out of them of little concern. ours are gray, and look good with anything.
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