8 Tips to maintain and store your Tactical Gear

This is why a good tactical hanger – or several of them – is so important because it can keep your gear clean and in proper working condition. Let’s face it, these items aren’t exactly inexpensive, and the best way to make sure you don’t spend a lot of your hard-earned money replacing them is to take good care of them in the first place.

Some of the things to keep in mind when setting up and maintaining your tactical gear include the following:

Watch Out for the Elements

When you use your tactical kit, all of the gear and clothing inside of that kit can easily be exposed to dust, dirt, sand, mud, and water. This, in turn, can break down the structure of those items and make them much weaker. Simply put, when your gear is exposed to the elements, they’ll break down quicker and won’t last as long. Making sure your gear stays in a cool, dry place is the best way to avoid this scenario.

Watch Out for Salt

While exposure to salt is something many people think little about, it is actually not that uncommon when it comes to tactical gear, especially if you’re out in the field a lot. Using a tactical hanger to properly hang up your gear and equipment when it isn’t being used is a smart thing to do. Of course, much of that gear will have to be properly cleaned and dried first, mainly because salt is highly corrosive and causes disruption of the gears’ purpose and reason for being.

Clean All of Your Velcro Pads

Velcro pads are only effective if they’re clean, so regular cleaning of your Velcro pads is essential when you want your tactical gear and clothing to remain in tip-top shape. When they’re not being used, you should clean, dry, and close the tabs so they are protected from dust and dirt. Keeping Velcro pads clean is important if you don’t want to switch those pads out for patches, which don’t usually look very good on your gear and clothing.

Use the Right Products

For your tactical clothing, use cleaning products that are specially made for this type of clothing. If you use regular cleaning products, the tactical fiber that the items are made of won’t last, and therefore neither will the clothing. The clothes will lose their function quicker than you think, so you should always use cleaning products made just for these items. Using a tactical hanger to hang them up regularly and correctly is also important, and this should be done every time the clothes aren’t being worn.

Burn All of the Loose Threads

Any tactical gear/police tactical gear and clothing that is fabric-based can have loose threads over time, and you should never cut them off or rip off these threads. Instead, burn the ends of the loose threads completely so that they are shortened. Not only does burning the threads make them short, but it also prevents the threads from becoming loose again in the future. In effect, the burning stops the loosening of the threads so you don’t have to worry about it anymore.

Keep the Gear and Clothing Clean

You should immediately clean up any dirt spots, stains, or muddy spots on your gear and clothing. You can use a simple brush to do this because it’s one of the easiest ways to get the job done. Use a mixture of water and filter soap, which contains fewer chemicals, to either brush away those soiled areas or soak the gear in the same type of mixture. Both of these methods work extremely well on any type of dirt spots on tactical gear and clothing.

Make Sure You Pay Attention to the Temperature

While the proper cleaning products are necessary for your tactical gear and clothing to be cleaned properly, you also have to make sure these items aren’t washed in water that is too cold or too hot. Both of these extremes can damage the fabric of the gear or clothing and make them much weaker. When washing any type of gear or clothing items, the best temperature for the water is around 36 degrees Fahrenheit.

A Good Tactical Hanger Can Be Your Best Friend

A good tactical hanger isn’t just appropriate for tactical clothing; it can also take good care of your tactical gear when it isn’t being used. These hangers can also be used to properly store a carrier plate, which is not considered tactical gear but is fairly common in this line of work. To properly clean and store a carrier plate, you should:

• Brush away any loose debris and dirt
• Scrape stuck-on debris with a dull (not sharp) tool
• Spot clean the plate with a soft cloth and a mild detergent
• If you must soak the plate, soak it in water and a liquid laundry detergent. When you rinse it, never use a hose but instead, dip it in water until it is clean.
• Reshape it, then allow it to air-dry either indoors or outdoors in a shady spot

Conclusion

All tactical gear and tactical gear apparel must be treated right from the very beginning if you plan to keep and use it for a very long time. To replace these items can cost a small fortune, and it is simply easier, less stressful, and much less expensive to take care of them from the start rather than replace them later on.