Keeping your Gym Clothes Stink-Free

Gym clothes are made of performance fabric designed to provide extra comfort and protection for people engaging in vigorous exercise. Athletes and military personnel were the first to enjoy clothing made out of industrially engineered fabrics. Textiles made out of cotton, bamboo, viscose, polyester and other chemically enhanced fibers are the primary choice for any active person. These fabrics can either absorb heat and water or repel sweat away from the body.

However, the sweat kept away from your body stays on your clothes, growing bacteria that causes bad odor. The unique way the fibers on activewear intertwine, allow microbes to multiply. Bacteria thrive when after exercising you shove your damp clothes in a dark gym bag without ventilation. Performance fabrics require a particular level of maintenance to be kept clean and free of bad smells.

After working out, don’t stay in your damp gym clothes

The heat of your body along with the humidity trapped in the clothes will harbor hazardous microorganisms that will make your clothes smell bad and your skin breakout.

Avoid leaving your sweaty gym clothes wet in a bag or a pile

if possible pre-rinse in the shower to flush out as much sweat as you can. If showering is not an option, bring it all home and leave it in a bag in the freezer until you are able to do laundry. You will slow the multiplication of odor-causing bacteria.

Soak workout clothes in a smell-proof solution

a combination of white vinegar and baking soda will probably do the trick. If after 30 minutes in solution the clothes still stink. Try another soak, but this time, add some hydrogen peroxide.

Performance wash your high-tech fabrics

artificial fibers such as elastane and polyester, as well as chemically enhanced natural fibers, are very sensitive to chemicals. Avoid using too much laundry detergent and do not use fabric softener at all. The softener works as a conditioner coating the fibers and preventing your gym clothes from absorbing the sweat later.

If you take good care of your gym clothes, they will last longer and will remain free of smell. We enjoy seeing the results of our workout on drops of sweat, but we are not keeping the sweat on our gear.

April 12th, 2016|

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