How to deal with REALLY smelly, sweaty work out gear?

I have a pair of bib shorts I use exclusively for turbo duties that gets exceptionally sweaty then immediately dumped in the laundry basket at the end of the ride

They’ve been washed (in the washing machine) several times but stink.

What can I do to remove/avoid the stench, which won’t ruin the chamois?

Halo sports wash, although it seems to have gotten very spendy of late

Halo seconded.

Or an anti-bac laundry add-in. I think Detol do one.

Milton tablets are good for getting rid of smells. Cheap too.

White vinegar on the offending item before it goes in the washing machine.

Wash harder.

White vinigar…just put half a pint of white vinigar into the washer drawer, no deturgent as that can cancel out the affect of the vinigar., and wash as normal.

It wont smell either, when you take the washing out, so dont worry about that.

It will also clean your washing machine out at the same time.

£8 for ten litres:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hexeal-VINEGAR-Cleaning-Cooking-Pickling/dp/B08KTPXRZW/ref=sr_1_7?crid=2KOCQJA1N5T7T&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.gDl8i_iRBWRcWno0Q1PPgs9Iu84FpNuBDV5piAjCTBbnxpAegzXjxQWdM1_GNXiQUiGbGOygwroSDNxXCO3T_LSBbeD48zT67kEwukPCtUmFwi7J-XOgwJDpVlNmpNtth7Sd2dPVrJXL-cT4DYIw8UsNzbj7qaTLFpLhzAtT9jPNMPDSw_NUndrEAXD6-1q77JXJUL-ALwXGVaIvVAWgHdaJge-jz9pQjz3tJ1hOpd6Fjj-WJTZDkNz_WdaIVvPtnfYTO8DiASejFo9fZ1AfUGEB1_9sV8yu836-MjvDDMg.h65txs_16_8SyFXFfGs-4Tjv-tOZ5XmQy9lEnHUhkU0&dib_tag=se&keywords=white%2Bvinegar&qid=1729100073&sprefix=white%2Bvinigar%2Caps%2C103&sr=8-7&th=1

It’s also very good for softening towels and bed clothes, as  modern softeners can actually make the material feel more ‘crusty’ as it leaves a residue behind on the clothes.

Dettol antibacterial wash, just add a cap to the washer drawer or a sink full of water and leave to soak. Was on offer in asda £3.75 for 1.5ltr.

Ok, I’m trying the white vinegar trick as I have some already.

Does this need to be done on on “when needed” basis or do you it every time said garments are washed?

Ride naked!

White vinegar can be used in the place of fabric conditioner, it has the added bonus of helping to clear pipes.  Alternative is adding soda crystals to the wash but would need to check on quantity, not much for sure.

Someone on here recommended ASSOS Active wash and I bought some but it’s no good. Would not shift underarm smell on one of my summer cycling jerseys despite several washes. Had to use biological powder in the end. Will try the vinegar trick though…

Anyone used Tide?

White vinegar can be used in the place of fabric conditioner, it has the added bonus of helping to clear pipes. Alternative is adding soda crystals to the wash but would need to check on quantity, not much for sure.

One thing to note:

Vinigar is acidic, and soda cyrystals/baking soda are alkaline, so never use both together as they will simply neutralize each other and the you’ve wasted a load of vinigar and soda crystals.

Use one or the other, or for the nuclear approach…do one wash with vinigar, and then do a 2nd wash with soda crystals.

Ok, I’m trying the white vinegar trick as I have some already.

Does this need to be done on on “when needed” basis or do you it every time said garments are washed?

As and when needed, not all the time.

Vinigar as a detergent is great for fluffing up towels for example.

Supermarket own brand version of Vanish.

You need an enzyme-based cleaner to kill biological unpleasantness.

Bit late, but wash after use. That’s what I do with my commuting kit – washed every night

Dettol anti-bac +1

My sports gear is like this all year round because of the climate. It al goes into a big bucket with a lid to keep it separated from the rest. It gets washed separately using the sports gear cycle on the washing machine but I don’t use anything else other than the normal liquid and it’s fine.

Anyone moved to Dettol from Halo? The cost of Halo is becoming untenable

Does this need to be done on on “when needed” basis or do you it every time said garments are washed?

I do a combination. Dirty kit gets washed immediately (or fairly soon) after use on a sports cycle (20 minutes or something). Then when stuff gets stinky, i do a bigger load of sports kit, and anything even remotely whiffy gets vinegared. My stuff, kids stuff.

reeksyFull Member
My sports gear is like this all year round because of the climate. It al goes into a big bucket with a lid to keep it separated from the rest. It gets washed separately using the sports gear cycle on the washing machine but I don’t use anything else other than the normal liquid and it’s fine.

User name checks out….!!!!!

“immediately dumped in the laundry basket at the end of the ride”

~~~~~

If you can hang the offending garment somewhere first, to air, it will allow evaporation and drying 

dumped immediately in the laundry basket is where it festers 

then wash as soon as practical and with vinegar 

Don’t have an issue. Gear is washed after use, then on the airer and dried with the de-humidifier, for use next day. It works for ride in to work, and ride out, then washed. It’s done on 30c, 45 min quick wash.

I bought a load of pants only cycling shirts of eBay and they work a treat. Only wear bibs on the outdoor bikes.

Bicarbonate of soda works wonders. Also next time put your stinky stuff on a 15 minute wash right after training. No need to wait for a full load.

Supermarket own brand version of Vanish.

You need an enzyme-based cleaner to kill biological unpleasantness.

I agree on the own brand Vanish, but it’s not enzyme based, it’s sodium percarbonate, aka oxygen bleach (as opposed to chlorine bleach). It kills the bugs that cause the smell.

Anyone moved to Dettol from Halo? The cost of Halo is becoming untenable

No I currently use both. Normal Persil wrecks lycra / plastic stuff , so use halo to prevent that. However always found the smell of halo unpleasant and it doesn’t get the stink out.

Dettol gets te stink out but I don’t think it’s sold as a wash thing, it’s there to kill the nasty stuff. I like the smell of it too

i had wondered about using just a wool wash type thing with the dettol.

halo is stupid expensive now , was £4 , now £8. B&M do big bottles of the dettol fairly cheap

Oh, and Vanish and Vanish-like powders are the same stuff as Napisan, and that gets the smell out of, well, nappies…

I agree on the own brand Vanish, but it’s not enzyme based, it’s sodium percarbonate, aka oxygen bleach (as opposed to chlorine bleach). It kills the bugs that cause the smell.

I did not know that.  Thanks.

I do know that it’s the most effective thing I’ve found, including so-called specialist cleaning products, to deal with cat piss.

Do you let the shorts dry before flinging in the laundry basket, or chuck them in while wet?

If they fester in the laundry basket while damp, that probably contributes to them stinking.

I tend to dry my sweaty gear before chucking it in the wash box as we tend to only have enough dirty sports clothes to justify a wash once a week.

Wash the sweaty stuff straight after use. Sorted.

Fire is bright and fire is clean.

Dump the shorts in to soak with the detergent of choice immediately after the workout, have a shower, then finish hand washing them after that? Saves running the machine.

If I’m not washing kit immediately I’ll make sure it dries out before dumping it in the washing machine (or basket) while waiting for the next wash. Letting it fester in a damp environment is just a recipe for stinky kit.

No dawdling time. Give it a good hand rinse in some fresh water ASAP after use. Into the machine with a good amount of powder and maybe heavily scented softener. Immediately out of the machine on completion of cycle and outdoors on the line in a fresh breeze.

Obviously the latter part is weather dependent. If you can’t do this, maybe consider being a bit naughty and using the tumble dryer. In my experience it is time sat in a wet state that makes odours worst.

Or a clothes peg on the nose?

Nikwax do a couple of products similar to Halo.  I’ve used BaseWash before and, while it initially has a slightly chemically smell, it does seem to help with particularly persistent smells. For the teenager I also used their BaseFresh conditioner as a pre-emptive strike on his kit!

Not tried the Nikwax ‘Sports Refresh’ product – I think that’s a fairly new one but looks well worth a try given your (OP) description?

Edit: link to Nikwax stuff

The smell is caused by bacteria. They are killed most effectively by UV sunlight. Next time you wash them, choose a sunny day and hang them outside.

There is a limit though, if they’re so bad that even that doesn’t do the trick, then bin them, and in future you now know how to avoid the build up.

Put them in a bag and then in the freezer for a few days. Defrost then wash.

My two penth

Happily office based for 35 years

In engineering, so fully appreciate the ‘what’s on your drawing board’ interactions (both the ‘learning’ , and then ‘teaching’ side).

But,

My business made such an effort to:

– Bring people to projects, bring projects to people (ie you get deployed to a project ‘anywhere’ as opposed to the ones the people phyisally surrounding you are working on)

–  No-one has a desk.  You sit where there is space.

– ‘Trainees’ are a ‘comodity just like you ‘ engineers’,  we will mate you up as it suits US (you ain’t in a ‘long term relationship).

As reluctant as i was, i fell in line.

Then, in covid, wages were throttled (through threat of ‘redubdancy’).  Accepted / offset / justified by reductions in ‘travelling cost and time’

At then at the tail end of covid management introduced further obstructions, “you need to BOOK a desk”

My view is that they did a great job of persuading me i did not ‘need’ to attend the office every day.

Uninteded consequences and all that.