If you hit the gym or the local park frequently for a good power walk or run or you may just enjoy wearing workout wear for comfort when doing the housework, you have most likely experienced stinky workout wear. That unfortunate occurrence when the stink lingers after the clothes are clean and dry?
The fibers in workout wear are generally not natural and tend to hold on to odours due to the type of material and how tight the material is woven. It can be hard for detergents to penetrate the tight weave.
The simplest trick to keep the stink at bay
Is to just add an extra rinse. The extra rinse ensures that you remove any detergent and most importantly, any trapped odours.
A few more tips include:
Use a liquid laundry detergent. with enzymes – liquid always works best! It works so well because it’s powered by an enzyme blend that searches out dirt, stains and those nasty odours.
Don’t over use detergent. This is one of the biggest mistakes people make with all laundry, more detergent does not mean cleaner! If you use more detergent than is recommended, the suds might not get fully washed out of your clothes during the rinse cycle. This can be a big problem, as odour-causing bacteria are likely to thrive if any of the soap remains on your work out gear after it has been washed. Unfortunately, the results aren’t going to be very hygienic or fragrant. The cap on the bottle is normally the measuring tool so use this or read the label for the correct measurements.
Cold water. Avoid the heat. Elastic clothing doesn’t like being exposed to high heat, and that heat will also amplify odours.
Never use fabric softener. The fabric softener coats the fibers making it difficult to clean the clothes. Instead you can add 20ml of white vinegar directly to the drum, white vinegar is a natural disinfectant and will banish those odours from workout wear.
Don’t over-dry workout wear. As soon as the clothes are dry, remove them from the dryer. Letting them continue to dry too long just makes really statically and no one wants clingy shorts or leggings. Workout wear dries quickly so even in the winter months on dry days hang it outside to air dry.
Wash workout wear with workout wear. If you can try and wash together and whilst waiting for a fuller load store work outwear together so that horrible smell does not impact other clothing. The clothes will get cleaner this way and it will be so much easier to sort and put away.
