[Closed] how to wash "functional sports wear" to stop it smelling...?!

Lynx Africa body spray. 8)

hmmm - not sure I want lots of women to throw themselves at me and take their clothes off when I ride past... on the other hand, any men riding with me might enjoy that, I see where you're coming from 😆

Anyone got the ultimate tip how to make it smell nice again??

FWIW, I have never had a 'plastic' baselayer that did not get a faint whiff about it... 🙁

Merino was my answer, and even mrs_oab has commented that post ride / camping trip I don't whiff... 8)

Biological washing powder can help but once an item gets the 'nasty niff' it needs chucking, even if it smells clean when you put it on its starts to hum after an hour or so of even light excercise.

To prevent/delay the niff always wash you clothes as soon as possible, if you can't get to a washer make sure you dry them asap, chucking them in a plastic bag for more than a couple of hours is very bad.

not sure I want lots of women to throw themselves at me and take their clothes off when I ride past

if only it were that simple! (Simon drifts off into pervvy reverie)

2nd merino baselayer (baaaaaaaaaaaaah!)

matt, I agree, the Merino ones I've got are excellent, they never smell!!

Guess I'll just have to live with the "man made" ones going smelly...

there's a solution in last months MBR, involves vinegar and something else. its in the readers section i think?

even if it smells clean when you put it on its starts to hum after an hour or so of even light excercise.

exactly, that's what is so annoying 😐

Stop all this 40ºC nonsense

SFB,

if only it were that simple! (Simon drifts off into pervvy reverie)
2nd merino baselayer (baaaaaaaaaaaaah!)

Neil,

there's a solution in last months MBR, involves vinegar and something else. its in the readers section i think?

Interesting, I tried vinegar in the rinse cycle years ago but found it just made the clothes smell even worse (and the washing machine for the next 3 washes :roll:) Maybe the "something else" is the key to using vinegar...

Eeek, you've just made me remember I have some lycra in a bag that needs washing 🙁

uplink,

wash it hotter? won't it shrink ;-)??

Mine doesn't, but then again - I don't actually do any washing or even know which one is the washer & which one is the dryer 🙂

you including the sheep in your pervy reverie ?

not at the time, the "baaah" referred to the merinos, but now you come to mention it...

I have some lycra in a bag that needs washing

MINGMINGMINGMINGMINGMINGMINGMINGMINGMINGMING 🙁

Try soaking it in Bio occasionally. I have to wash all mine in non-bio though or I get rashes in sweaty places.....

I give mine a soak in some diluted milton fluid every couple of months. You smell like a swimming pool first ride, then its ok for a while.

If you think that base layers cause problems with odour, try the wetboots I wore every day for 6 months of the year once...

having to wash my kit in a non-bio and at 30 doesn't seem to kill the
bacteria that causes the smell. But I have found that adding
a small amount of disinfectant in the fabric softener draw helps.
(only a small amount! unless you like to smell like a hospital)

Dry them outside in the sun. The UV kills the bacteria which causes the smell.

I think I read that man-made fibres are so perfectly smooth that your honking smell particles just lurvvvve to stick to em.

thanks for the Milton fluid suggestion, I'll give it a go - at least I'll smell the way my Camelbak tastes then 😀

druidh,
soaking in bio also sounds good, might try that next...

geoff,
I do dry them outside, unfortunately the sun doesn't always co-operate 😉

[i]Dry them outside in the sun. The UV kills the bacteria which causes the smell. [/i]

I left a load of sweaty commuting clothes in a bag from Wednesdays ride at work. Chucked them all in my car yesterday at work and then headed out in the car with my boss. Later in the day we returned to the car that had been 'cooking' in the sun all day. The smell was weapons grade foul. I think my boss actually gipped!

I have several synthetic tops that say wash at 40. They gradually became unwareable due to smell retention. So having nothing much to loose, I stuck them in the wash at 60 each time. Problem solved. No sign of damage to the clothes. They are all made of polyester or polypropelene. Its that or chuck them out...

I'm washing my stuff at 15°C now - I wonder how that's going to work long term ?

midnighthour,
that sounds great - I think I'll try that on some of my old Helly Hansen ones. Not sure if the Gore top with "Windstopper" material will mind? Maybe I should really just try it and ask for a new one for my birthday if it goes wrong 😛

with all these tips I'll be the nicest smelling mountain biker on the hills soon 😉

Bleurgh - hit the 'extra dirty' button on the washing machine to see if that will work. Luckily the socks smelled worse that the top. I might also be trying the above tips if that doen't work. It was my fave jersey too 🙁

I have to wash my stuff at a higher temp every so often. I have the same problem with a phantom jacket and while it's a great top, it does start to smell quite quickly. The higher temp seems to sort out the problem, but also hang it out on the line helps also.

Washing the clothes straight after exercise helps prevent the nasty smell in the first place.

I find letting my stuff dry naturally after washing seems to help. It either goes on the line or on the airer in the bathroom for 12 hours. The man-made stuff dries quicker than the merino and thus far my soft-shell or jerseys haven't started to pong, even after a winter of heavy usage.

If you've got something really wiffy that you want to save then apparently the best thing to do is to stick it on a hanger and then put it up in the attic for 3 to 4 weeks - somewhere dry and cool where it can air. This comes from a mate who sells very expensive selvedge denim. People buy jeans and then don't wash them for 4-6 months - naturally they tend to get a bit stinky. It's what he tells his customers - apparently it works but never tried it myself.

I throw everything in the bath and leave it to soak for two or three hours with some washing powder rubbed in for good measure. For really stinky things like gloves and kneepads I give them a good dollop of shower gel and rub the vigorously for a few minutes then repeat. Works well and they smell nice afterwards.

replace your man made fabrics with wool and your soft shell stuff with seperate outer shells. not very helpful, but thats what i have done/am doing and the smells are thing of the past.

I don't know if I should be happy that mine do not stink even after 5 hours of mtb in the south of France, or if it's rather humiliating that a girl smells more manly that I do...

So I can't really help you I am afraid 🙁

Maybe your sense of smell is messed up and unbeknownst to you you really stink .

DYLON do some anti-bacterial stuff you can add to your wash, that kills off the bugs & odours 'even at 30degrees'. I bought some at one of our local supermarkets, check yours over.
It worked fine on a t-shirt & fleece I had that were whiffy even after recent regular washing.

UV is good for killing bacteria - hang it (inside out to prevent fading) on your washing line in sunlight. I;ve also heard soaking in a mild TCP solution can help.

Also, You shouldn't use fabric conditioner with performace fabrics - tends to screw up the breathability/moisture tranfer.

milton is just pre diluted bleach, I wouldn't use it on clothes unless you were prepared for colour fade.

I've had good results de-stinking climbing shoes and harnesses by putting a capful of dettol in the washing machine with them even at 30 degrees.

I was in the same boat as Midnighthour. 2 gore phantom tops used daily for commuting were pretty honking. Stuck them in the was at 60 degrees in a nothing to lose fashion and it defo helped (without shrinkage too). I now wash all my gear at 60 every 3rd or 4th wash and avoid putting used sweaty tops directly onto radiators as I found this 'sealed' the smelly stuff in. The tops still have a whiff obviously but I'm nowhere near as paranoid as before.

Odd, my synthetic stuff hardly smells, even the gear I commute in daily. Hang it out to dry. They retain a bit of odour, but its only noticeable if you scrunch it up and jam your face in it.

See - I told you

Stop all this 40ºC nonsense

😀

but its only noticeable if you scrunch it up and jam your face in it.

I do like the "natural no effort" approach like

stick it on a hanger and then put it up in the attic for 3 to 4 weeks - somewhere dry and cool where it can air.

Also interesting about the Dylon stuff, thanks dave_rudabar, I'll check some supermarkets (and the interweb for bulk purchases if it works) 😉

juan,
sounds like your sense of smell only allows pleasant odours to "register", lucky you 😛

I could never understand why 'activewear' like specialist hiking or biking tees & jerseys makes you so effing hot & smelly. This whole 'high wicking' things is a con isn't it? The best biking top is a nice, thin, long sleeved John Smedley (NZ Merino Wool!!)

Well as a matter of fact I can smell other people stinks.
Plus people I climb with have noticed that too. They wondered how come I did not stink after climbing even though I had sweat a fair bit.

Now you all got me very worried 🙁

i used to wash mine at 30degrees with some eco friendly stuff. it never really smelt clean. switched to a higher temp and aerial tabs which smell nice and so my clothes also smell nice.

one other thing i figured out was not to put on a full load.

Mine don't even do that should I be worried?

You're French, of course you stink. You just can't smell it after a lifes diet of garlic, rough red vino collapso and rancid cheese 😉

I HATE musty smelling clothes, I seem to have an over-sensitive nose in that fashion - I can smell someone who hasnt dried their clothes properly from 10 yards.

40 degrees minimum and an anti-bacterial additive is all that will get rid of it properly in my experience. I normally wash clothes on a 30 degree wash but find they never quite smell nice so reverted to 40 degrees. Never found bio/non-bio made any difference.

Napisan in with the powder kills the whiff dead. I think the recommendation is 2 tablespoons to a wash.

Tip in MBR 1 cup of white vinegar and two dessert spoons of bicarb of soda in with the wash don't know if it works tend to wear merino

Give them a hot-ish handwash with Dettol, then wash them twice tyo get the dettol smell out, works a treat.

Give it a wash with Nikwax base wash. It's developed for base layers so is up to the task in hand. It also allows the material to wick as it doesn't leave a build up on the material, unlike washing powders which gradually impregnate the material and affect its performance.

If nikwax is too expensive use a "pure soap" powder like Dreft. Rinse well and off you go.

OR like the woolfans say. Anything with silver used in its manufacture is also Anti bacterial.

unlike washing powders which gradually impregnate the material and affect its performance.

is this true or just marketing hype ?

It's in the nature of detergents to be hydrophilic, meaning that they will be susceptible to rinsing, and my feeling is that an equilibrium level of residual detergent will establish itself.

SFB speaking shite shocker.

Detergent are fatty acid like compounds. They have a hydrophilic head and an hydrophobic tail. Meaning they can bind to
Water
Oil
Water like (polar) component
Oil like (aliphatic) component.

So it's not a straight forward answer. Yes they can be rinse, but on the other hand first layers are mostly plasitcs (aliphatic compounds). You might just get you feeling and get sexual aquaintnances with it.

I posted one like this recently and got recc. oxy clean stuff from vanish in the pink fluo tub, have been using it and it works my kit pongs less for longer!

Um, apologies if this sounds silly but have you tried using another deodorant?

I have a very strong sense of smell and can smell bluebells when others can't (check out The Bluebell Thread)! I don't use a specific ladies deodorant but have found one that seems to work. Let me know if you want the name.

Would definitely agree with the advice about washing clothing asap after use and not using fabric conditioner. Are you using technical clothing together, ie not one item of technical plus a cotton t-shirt?

but on the other hand first layers are mostly plasitcs (aliphatic compounds)

excuse me but plastics are polymers, which are not strictly aliphatic barring polyethylene (ie bin bags), so I wouldn't expect a strong binding by detergents...

The "original" washing powder works - get borax from Boots and wash outdoor clothes in that - works a treat. Vinegar seems to be be useful for everything - there are websites dedicated to it - but never tried it.

Never use bio - wife allergic to it.

Though as above merino is def the way to go

Grangers base layer cleaner, it works

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Grangers_30_Degree_Base_Layer_Cleaner_300ml_Bottle/5360032661/

Soak mine in water and bicarb of soda - wash at 40 deg, works fine. Helps if you soak 'em immediately after removing them .....