How do I get the smell of sweat out of clothes!

happy35

myh son wears lycra base layers when playing sports and I put these in a normal 40 wash with everything else using powder for coloured clothes, he has had them over a year and they are fine

i think as long as you dry them on the line or an airer so there is no direct heat on them they should be fine

rising_from_the_ashes

There's a couple of really good cycling forums:

http://www.cyclechat.net/
http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/

sure they'll be others around too

Not sure if your OH is registered on one somewhere but if he is, he could ask on there - I'm sure there's bound to be some excellent tips as there are many commuters/serious cyclers on the boards who must have come across similar problems.

If he's not registered, he may be persuaded to sign up a) to ask and b) it's great for picking up tips (just as MSE is!) :DHTH

shelley_crow

My Oh does a lot of running took, when he has the time. He reguarly runs 5k every saturday and gets out for a smaller run a few times in the week. I soak his clothes for an hour in Daz before washing at 30 in Daz, otherwise ripe isn't the word!

[Deleted User]

my dh is due back at 2 after a 60-80 mile cycle with his club. He will go and have a shower and then come down and put all his (lycra) cycling gear into the machine on a 30 minute wash with 2 eco wash balls and no detergent or vinegar, this washes at 4o degrees. It will then go out to hang in the sun today. There is never a sweaty small around his cycling clothes and he has all sorts, including rapha

If there is a delay in getting his clothes washed, then he may use a longer synthetic wash at 40 degrees. Nothing has ever been spoilt. He always uses only the eco balls, the ecozone ones

He will however take extra care of his merino vests and tops if he wears tham this coming winter and he will hand wash etc but again, as soon as he gets home and showered, even before eating

YORKSHIRELASS

Hi, we are quite a sporty family and have an assortment of gear that is supposed to be washed at 30 - or handwashed. I have actually found that most stuff, including lycra cycling gear, is OK washed at 40 with bio powder. Maybe you have just been unlucky with it shrinking because I have never come across this before.

As someone else says it has to be line dryed but thats not a problem and its a good idea to get it washed as soon as possible.

And come on manufacturers - football kits that are meant to be washed at 30 degrees? Yeah right.

zippychick

we do have an existing thread which should help on removing sweat smell from clothes

Ill merge this later

Zip

PixieDust

After you've washed and dried it, put it in a carrier bag and place in the freezer overnight; this will kill the bacteria just as well as a hot wash (I think it woudl be better to do it before you wash it, actually - just not sure how you'd feel about skanky clothes in the freezer )

Seakay

There's an anti bacterial washing liquid called Halo that's non bio and designed for low temperatures. I've not used it on sports gear myself, but this site has very positive sounding reviews for it

http://www.thebabywebsite.com/review.Halo_Sports_Wash.htm

I've used othes in the range:
http://www.halononbio.co.uk/halo-non-bio-laundry-detergent

and found them very effctive on stains etc without setting off allergies such as some people get to bio washing products.

cheapest I've found it is here:

http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/Shopping/FindProducts.aspx?Query=halo&SortBy=3

valk_scot

You need bio powder or a scoop of something like Bio-Tex to take out organic smells. But you can wash cycling gear at 30'C or 40'C, for definate. Just don't tumble dry it! Dry it on the washing line to give it a good blow through too.

Murtle

My OH is an avid cyclist. He washes his kit at 30 degrees with 1 tablet of ariel a little bit of vanish and vinegar. He has done this for years and his kit is fine.

I run, but I was my lycra stuff at 40 degrees