My Secret Shame

springlering62

Smelly workout clothes. Help!!!!!

AnnPT77

I don't like synthetics/tech fabrics for workouts (heresy), but I've heard people recommend a cup of white vinegar (no, not ACV! ) In the wash. There are also commercial products for the wash.

Febreze or similar sprays, per product instructions, work on shoes. If you look around, you can find unscented ones.

cmriverside

Whelp. It's not a secret anymore.

Chef_Barbell

Lysol Laundry Sanitizer.... works wonders.

ElizabethKalmbach

It does help to check your local water situation and make sure it's working with your laundry solution... My water is *extremely hard* and I discovered how poorly it rinses out my laundry soap when I started cloth diapering my kiddo. I'd wash her diapers a FEW TIMES and the smell would still be there.

I installed an RO system to remove all the dissolved minerals in my water and now my laundry actually rinses clean and the smell difference in "clean" laundry is amazing.

You don't have to overhaul your house to get the job done - there are different types of detergent to be used in different types of water situations, but you may need to do a bit of research to see what kind of water you have and what the solution to that kind of water should be.

In the mean time, I've found that an oxygen bleach helps kill off all the critters that make the stinky smell, and an extra rinse cycle or two on heavily soiled laundry helps reduce the amount of detergent and ick that is still in the laundry.

KDBisme

Norwex Odor Eliminator. Best stuff there is!!

claireychn074

White vinegar - I soak my other half’s running t-shirts and it really works!

aokoye

I typically use a sportswear detergent but perhaps more importantly, I set the washing machine to do an extra rinse cycle.

jhanleybrown

Bro. Not shame. Badge of honor.

dewd2

Hex, Nathan, or similar detergent made for workout clothes (I've tried several they all seem to do the job for me). Do not dry them and never use fabric softener or dryer sheets.

mtaratoot

A product that I use on SCUBA and paddling gear is called Sink the Stink. It works on wetsuit booties and on polypro thermal undergarments. Both get really stink-O. It's an enzyme. After you wash, make a DILUTE solution and soak or spray in to the garment, then let it air dry. The enzyme kills the organisms that make the stink. The solution is only good for 24 hours, so run all your stinky stuff through a rinse if you make a batch, or at least spray everything down you have access to.

You might want to wear gloves if you have sensitive skin. It dries my finger skin out like no tomorrow. Vinegar works too, but this stuff works better and, in my experience, keeps the stink away longer.

Nature's Miracle is intended for pet urine odors, buy it also is an enzyme and might work. If you have some around, give it a try. If it works, please let us know!

DancingMoosie

Try soaking in oxiclean? I've also used Lysol laundry sanitizer or vinegar in the rinse cycle.

LAT1963

Baking soda in the wash water. Half a cup to a cup. Costco has 10 lb bags for cheap, worth getting one for cleaning purposes.

Seriously. Sometimes the old-school cheapo way works best.

sarko15

You might sweat more than me, but I don't do anything special with my gym clothes. I just make sure I take them out of the wash quickly before they mildew and if they're really sweaty (like I've soaked through) I hang them up after wearing so they're not bunched up in my closet. If there's a little stink left (most of my gym clothes have a little odor) I figure most people can't smell it unless they're right up there in my shirt with me. I'll smell like roses AFTER I shower and put on normal clothes. 😋

MikePfirrman

I had never heard of Lysol Laundry sanitizer before. Learn something new everyday. Great tips on here. I have used Tea Tree Oil before and Borax with some success. One kills it (tea tree) and the other is a mildew preventer (the Borax).

psychod787

Gas and fire work well..... I just wash them.... never had an issue.

MichelleMcKeeRN

I just use soap and hot water. If something is extra gross, I let it pre-soak and give it an extra rinse.

neugebauer52

I avoid plastic rubbish clothing and stick to natural fibres.

springlering62

Thanks for all the tips, y’all. I do at least one hot mat class a day, usually two, and often run immediately before the first class, so I change clothes a LOT. I sweat buckets. I sometimes walk home from class trailing sweat drips like breadcrumbs.

It seems to be Champion brand bras and tanks that are the culprit. No problem with their leggings or other brand tanks.

I guess I need to change up my brand but the bras are so comfortable, and I like the way the tanks fit. Other brands’ necklines either flop over my face and gag me during folds or expose it all during inversions.

And I’m cheap. It makes me mental considering replacing stuff that looks like new but smells like a barnyard.

Even my Gaiam mats I can wash in the washing machine with a bit of vinegar and they’re fine. But these tanks and bras..... yuck!!!!!

Btw, speaking of plastic, I treated myself to some expensive leggings made out of recycled plastic bottles. They even feel like plastic. Wash up right well and no stank-stank. Don’t try an arm balance or eagle in them, though. Verrrrrrry slippery.

mtaratoot

Thanks for the information on which fabrics are the worst. I've been increasing my collection now that I'm a little smaller. I have had really good luck at the second hand store, and I ABSOLUTELY give a sniff before buying (or trying on). Some stink is really hard to get rid of. I'll be mindful of that brand -- I did pick up one or two items of theirs, and I'll have to note if they are more offensive than others.

Years ago, we used polypropylene as thermal wear under drytops or even wetsuits for paddling in winter or for cold water in summer. They would really start to stink BAD. There was something about that fabric beyond just harboring organisms that made the stink. In fact, I heard that if you got a brand new garment that was made from a roll of fabric that was old, it would pretty much stink within a couple weeks of ownership. It was some of these fabrics that convinced me how much GoreTex actually does breathe. Odor comes out with the water vapor. Whew. Then, at the end of the day, when you pulled off your drytop or drysuit and had to get your head in there with that garment. Whew! Washing in vinegar would help for a while. It would come back. When off on multi-day trips -- just wow.

Anecdote: One year when we were doing day trips on the North Umpqua River, we got back to camp one afternoon mid-week. I took off my paddling clothes and hung them on a clothes line. Just getting them dry also helps. Anyway, at some point I looked up and noticed a kettle of turkey vultures circling high above camp. I knew what they were thinking: "I don't know what that is, but it HAS to be dead." Oh yeah. I think I still have some of those old fabrics. I should wear one just for the memory....

Orphia

All this extra rinsing...

No wonder there are town water shortages, shrinking lakes and rivers, and bleach and detergent runoff causing algal blooms killing fish and plankton in oceans.

Unless the Stink Police are asking you to leave the gym due to offensive odours, I'd try not to care too much about noticing your own sweat after a workout and needing to nuke the clothes from orbit.

I kindly suggest asking a friend if any bad smell is noticeable nearby after a normal wash before being too ashamed of yourself.