Washing smelly sports gear

I’m sure this will have been done, but anyway.

Synthetic sports gear that gets sweaty can take on a rather pungent aroma after some time and rather than throw it out I’d like to remove said aroma

There’s lots of stuff that says it’ll do this, Halo, NikWax Sports Refresh, Gymwash, etc. But before I buy some I thought I’d see if anyone has any experience of it actually working?

We use Halo and it works well. The price jumped up quite a bit but you don’t need to use as much as the bottle suggests per wash.

Dettol Antibacterial Laundry Sanitiser is the only thing that I have found that works. I tried the assos active wear cleanser but it’s not that effective. Others suggest Bicarbonate of Soda and white vinegar but Dettol just goes in the fabric conditioner drawer. Simples.

White vinegar works brilliantly and costs almost nothing. Just splash it on any areas that smell and wash as normal.

We use Halo. Stops stinks but is expensive.

Dettol Antibacterial works for me.

Some cheap options above. I find washing the gear and getting it dry quickly works well. My commuter kit is washed daily. It dries at work in a drying cabinet, with other people’s wet sport kit, and most don’t wash theirs often enough !

After years of being happy with the performance of Halo, but not the price fluctuations and supply issues (basically resorted to buying in bulk.)

we’ve given up and started using Dettol as above.

good stuff, cheap and available

A dose of supermarket own-brand Vanish equivalent in each wash. They’re all (including Vanish) the same stuff – sodium percarbonate, aka oxygen bleach. It kills the bacteria that cause the smell. It’s also the same stuff that Napisan is made of and that’s for cleaning, well, nappies, and things don’t come much smellier than that.

Halo @ 30 degrees. I bought 4 bottles when I thought Sainsbury’s had stopped stocking it and the online price rocketed, but I think it’s back on the shelves now.

Anyone used Persil Wonderwash Odour Defy?

Both that and Halo contain Polycarboxylates – not sure how that ingredient differs to the oxygen  bleach percarbonate stuff in the Vanish type products..

 I’d like to remove said aroma

Drying outside in direct sunlight is the only way to kill the bacteria that produce the smell. If it’s got so bad that hanging them on a line outside doesn’t work then bin them, it’s never going away otherwise.

Need to wash my waterproofs as they are wetting out but also stinking.
I think I’ll stick them in the machine and give them a clean with Nikwax Tech wash – which I’m assuming will also clean out the fabric softener tray, then I’ll give them a spin and put them on a reproof wash with the Nikwax reproofing stuff.
Tech wash should clean the ingrained dirt and get it ready for a reproofing wash.
For my shorts and tops, I do have halo but have been lucky enough that a normal 30 degree wash with non-bio washing up powder seems to do the trick.
My riding gloves are the only things that stink after wearing after a wash, so they tend to get a hand wash in halo then a spin in the machine then hung to dry on a warm radiator.

Lidl do a laundry santister which works quite well. It’s only a couple of quid for a big bottle and can either go in the main wash or be added to the softener draw.

Things like my Rab Borealis don’t wash very well and the pits still smell even if I wash it twice. I’ve found that soaking in the sanitiser (diluted, in a bucket) and then adding more to the wash along with some non bio detergent gets rid of the smell.

I also used it to soak my boots and although they still don’t smell nice, they no longer smell like a dead badger. I’m going to give it another go with a stronger solution next time.

I’m guessing vinegar would do the same thing but I can’t stand the smell.

Nikwax do a Basewash and also a Basefresh, both work well. Currently using the Dettol one mentioned above. We have three teenage boys playing sports and their kit used to take on that aroma but nothing since using the aforementioned product.

Edit: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikwax-Base-Wash-Performance-Cleaner/dp/B000OZNBZ2/ref=asc_df_B000OZNBZ2?mcid=325ecd1ecc0e3e1d91ba6896e2e088ac&th=1&hvocijid=3859010594118966071-B000OZNBZ2-&hvexpln=74&tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=696285193871&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3859010594118966071&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045218&hvtargid=pla-2281435176698&gad_source=1

do the above recommendations work for the damp musty foist smell that storage in a damp garage for a few years has created.

found an old summit series NF softshell i forgot i had at my mums as shes having a clearout.

i’ve washed it in regular soap and still smells.

I’ve heard people talk of this a lot, but its never been a problem for me so I’ve always wondered what’s at play =

• Personal bacteria concentrations / compositions
• Reaction between the above and certain washing products
  • e.g. using fabric softener (or not) results in a stronger smell?

I’ve always used Persil non-bio, and it normally gets the smell out of everything. I do tend to not get particularly smelly (B)) so wondered if that’s the root of the (un)problem.

@pieface, sometimes its the material, i wore a fox tshirt to penmachno last minute trip in august dry day, ardrock had been cancelled from swaledale floods, it was so overgrown and wet,  washed it two days after and to this day it doesnt smell until it touches my skin and i’m back their damp, itchy from shrubbery and on a downer.

Material at play definitely. My running tees (and cycling base layers) smell fine after washing, but as soon as I put them on the telltale pong rises up. But not so with cycling jerseys, which stay pong-free.

Persil wonder wash is currently on offer at Asda and Tesco, just picked up a couple of bottles to try.

Liquid soap. It’s great, about £3.50 a bottle and does about 15 washes per bottle. I’ve only found it online or in Waitrose.

im pretty sure that it is basically tech wash.

Best I’ve found is Dettol Antibacterial Laundry Sanitiser. It isn’t a wash in itself though.

Want to ditch the Halo as it’s not that effective and stupidly expensive, but what to use to wash the clothes that won’t damage them ?

As mentioned by chiefgrooveguru earlier- white vinegar is really good stuff to keep sports clothes unsmelly.

l soak the potentially smelly items in a vinegar solution for an hour before washing them with ordinary washing detergent in the washing machine.

I’m currently using the assos active wear wash with the Dettol sanitiser in the softener/conditioner drawer. I’ve ordered some Persil to try as a cheaper all in one solution as it’s on offer  but the Dettol sanitiser does seem to work.

“ I’m guessing vinegar would do the same thing but I can’t stand the smell.”

There is no smell of vinegar after the wash.

I’m amazed at everyone suggesting far more expensive products when generic white vinegar works so well – but that’s the power of marketing for you!