Here’s an idea for the washing machine phobics …

More than one set of clothes to go cycling in…Radical idea I know, but you never can tell, might just catch on.

If I can’t see what colour it is, gets dunked outside and then put through a rinse cycle. Dries a lot quicker without a 1/4″ of muck on it too.
Anything next to the skin will get washed, as a permanently warm person, not even merino will survive a couple of rides without a whiff.

Why would anyone wash out the mud from their outer wear?

It both waterproofs the garment and holds it together.

Lycra shorts/base layers that don’t stink at a push but washed with soap flakes after each ride if possible…

More kit to rotate is the best way to avoid wearing anything that’s still wet through.

So how often do you washing machine lovers wash your shoes?
That could be considered a trolling question but for me I fail to see the difference between my ‘over’ shorts and shoes……. Apart from the blatant obvious

My rule is if it touches my skin it gets washed after each ride. So thats base layers, undershorts, socks and tops. Non waterproof shorts as well.

Anything else hosed down and never touches the washing machine

Find it interesting that somefolks think its ok to not wash a merino base layer, but would feel shorts need washed every ride. I’m completely the opposite

what about commuting? – should i insist that my employer installs a washing machine + dryer at work so that i can wash all my clothes after ‘every ride’?

I wonder how often the “everything after every ride” contingent do ride? I ride my bike every day and I wash kit when I think it needs it, and not a moment sooner. For the bits next to the skin, this may be every day, but isn’t always, depending on the weather, length of ride, sweat levels etc. For the outer layers, it could be weeks. I particularly try my hardest to avoid having to wash waterproofs.

If I washed everything after every ride, I’d be replacing all my clothes (worn out) every month or two!

I wonder how often the “everything after every ride” contingent do ride?

At the moment it’s about three times a week. When I used to commute by bike to work I would be riding 6 days out of 7. I do have a fair few pairs of cycle shorts so it was rare that any single pair would get used more than twice a week. I am cheating a little as practicality dictated that the ride in and the ride home would be in the same kit.

Nothing wore out extra quick, sweat is pretty nasty stuff and will degrade most fabrics in double quick time so there is a sound argument to say that washing more often, on a gentle cycle will prolong the life of sportswear.

I wonder how often the “everything after every ride” contingent do ride?

3x a week (mon, tues, thurs, sat, usualy 3oo4)

Strip of on the doormat and everything goes in on the rinse cycle, shower, cup of tea, throw in the days office clothes and anything else lying around the bedroom to fill up the drum, throw some soap in and wash it. Wake up in the morning and hang it up on the airer. Usually dry by the time I get home from work then either put away or put on and out the door again.

If I’m commuting too then I might not wash outer shorts unless it’s rained, I’d just wear them on a proper ride too, so at most they might go 48 hours (2 days commutes and a ride) without a wash.

So how often do you washing machine lovers wash your shoes?
That could be considered a trolling question but for me I fail to see the difference between my ‘over’ shorts and shoes……. Apart from the blatant obvious

Because smelly shoes, whilst socially unacceptable to leave near the air events in a car if getting a lift, aren’t a health hazard as they tend not to get quite as sweaty as your crotch, and then don’t rub your sensitive areas. If you ride regularly then the last thing you want is nappy rash/saddle sores/cysts/other abrasions or skin conditions then putting them into hot, sweaty close proximity with unwashed clothes? I’d rather spend 5 min washing my shorts than weeks off the bike with infected saddle sores.

You don’t have to wash it, synthetic fibres don’t rot for years!

So if your not washing the clothes you exert yourself in, do you bother washing all your other clothes?

Basil – Member

So if your not washing the clothes you exert yourself in, do you bother washing all your other clothes?

Yep- in my normal clothes, I can wear them all day and they’re still basically clean and fresh, so it’s a reasonable investment in time to clean them- i get a day’s worth of freshnes. Whereas cycling clothes are muddy and sweaty 5 minutes after I put them on, so you only get a tiny amount of freshness, and the rest of the time they’re manky. Once you hit the saturation point, they don’t get dirtier. Like dreadlocks.

Science innit.

Man Science

Dreadlock logic is fitting

My aim is that if it touches my skin it gets washed after each ride. Doesn’t always happen but definitely no more than 2 days in a row. Stuff like jackets and shorts outers just get hosed down. I commute by bike 4 times a week.

If I washed everything after every ride, I’d be replacing all my clothes (worn out) every month or two!

I’ve got a few base layers, jerseys and bib tights that are years old and still absolutely fine, they get washed after every ride. The oldest of them is a Pearl Izumi base layer that’s 17 years old.

Jackets, waterproofs etc get washed when they no longer bead water. Contrary to what some of the filthy feral creatures above seem to believe, waterproof/breathable fabrics tend to work better when the pores aren’t clogged with a years worth of mud…

Shoes off at the door, walk into the kitchen, strip off and kit goes straight into the washing machine – maybe give it a rinse under the tap first or bash off the worst of it outside if they’re really filthy. Kit is out the wash in an hour, hang it up, dry overnight, ready to wear again. Then sweep up in the kitchen if needed.

Shorts, base layers and socks get washed every ride. Tights/baggy shorts etc can often last 2 or 3 rides, jackets get washed whenever they need it – usually every 6 months or so.

Surely it just adds character?

You don’t have to wash it, synthetic fibres don’t rot for years!

True, but the cotton fabric holding it all together doesn’t fair so well you dirty boy. 🙂

Just checked when I bought my O-O merino long-sleeve top and it was May 2011…probably due it’s first wash 8)

Once you hit the saturation point, they don’t get dirtier.

The difference is that’s sweaty/muddy.

Leaving it to fester for weeks is like rubbing your crotch in a well used petri dish.

*shudders*
It’s dawned on me that we dont all wear baggy shorts over our padded lycra. I think everyones in agreement about washing the ‘cloth you touch’.

I go MTBing once a week so that means I wash my outer clothes once a month. As for shoes, can’t really wash those, I remove the laces and take the insoles out to dry them. However I always wear clean socks before a ride and this helps reduce the festering.

I do think the OP has a point though, since it’s the base layers and under shorts that soak up most of the sweat. Out clothes tends to stay clean (mud aside). The thing is though it’s winter; I also have a pair of zymes and I remember in the summer they would smell bad, but they don’t smell now, as I tend to sweat much less in winter.

An example here I remember not washing my 661 knee pads for about 6 months, they smelt rank, and the smell would cling to my knees even after a shower, they also made my skin a bit itchy.

Washing all my clothes after every ride wastes energy and water.

I wash base layers after each ride, gloves and knee pads every time they start to stink (maybe 8-10 rides), outer layers (waterproof type stuff) every 4-6 rides or if its proper minging hose them off and chuck them through a low temp synthetic cycle.

Shoes get hosed off if saturated and caked in mud otherwise left to dry in the garage stuffed with newspaper

Normally dry most of my stuff on hangers in the airing cupboard.

I started washing my gloves regularly when I noticed they were attracting flies.

/”That and they last longer because they’re not washed to death.” Actually it’s the grit and mud grinding which wears out clothes..and chains, cogs and suspension…
How many of you none washers also don’t clean their bikes after a ride, just brush the dried mud off before the next ride then?

Sadoldsamurai – Member

How many of you none washers also don’t clean their bikes after a ride, just brush the dried mud off before the next ride then?

I clean the chain and suspension parts. Sometimes I brush the mud off.

How many of you none washers also don’t clean their bikes after a ride, just brush the dried mud off before the next ride then?

I may just be quilty of that too. Although i do soak the chain in petrol periodically and i have washed the bike more recently than some of my (outer)kit

How many of you none washers also don’t clean their bikes after a ride, just brush the dried mud off before the next ride then?

Got a point there; I do that or hose it down if it’s wet already. However important moving parts get regular servicing.

If cleaning it isn’t vital then why bother, it’s a mountain bike not a ferrari 458.