– 661 Coresaver –

Washing machine or soak in bathtub?

I personally put anything that fits trough the door in the washing machine. This includes pads and body armour amongst other things.

One tip, anything muddy, give them a cold rinse before washing (or just a could rinse if you only want to get the mud out).

I often pop all gear (pads, camelback backpacks etc) on a cold rinse after a muddy ride to get the mud out.

Not sure if it does the machine a lot of good, but ours has so far done 9 years so can’t be too bad (although it is a Miele).

Go on, pop it in the machine! Just don’t wash too hot or on a high spin speed.

My pressure suit goes in the washing machine, no bother. But I’ve seen where a mate’s suit pressed the back protector against the glass of the washing machine on the spin, and melted a bit. Not ideal really.

Find something to put it in. Either a pillow case or, if it’s big, a tack bag from an equestrian shop. It stops any bad accidents with Kevlar getting caught in the drum.

Done mine loads of time. Hose it first to get rid of sand and grit and then just bung it in.

I’d not use fabric conditioner. Or at worst use half the normal amount.

+1 for pillow case. When I was skating, I’d do all my shoes and pads in one to stop them getting smashed up. Do it with cycling kit now