Feeling like a dirty girl...Grrrrr.....

JJ_Jane
JJ_Jane Posts: 4
in Chit-Chat
So I wash my gym clothes every time I use them but when I put them back on as soon as I start working out they start smelling. I am so worried others will smell me and get offended. Any ideas on what I should be washing them with?
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Replies

  • LolliLouUk
    LolliLouUk Posts: 172
    Try a stronger deodorant before you workout?
  • astronomicals
    astronomicals Posts: 1,537 Member
    white vinegar soak.... or new clothes
  • ltgarrow
    ltgarrow Posts: 342 Member
    Noseplugs
  • meandmyface
    meandmyface Posts: 328
    Febreeze!
  • tbrain1989
    tbrain1989 Posts: 280 Member
    anyone else see the topic, think... wahey?

    read the post and though... arghh.. not exactly what i was expecting,

    my advice though, try pre-rinsing your clothes before you wash them? just cold water in the sink, then put them through a machine on a good hot wash (if you can) with a flowery type washing powder/liquid.

    also, if you have time (weather depending) let them hang to dry outside in a breeze..

    this always seems to fix the ingrained smell of my rugby kit
  • LarryDUk
    LarryDUk Posts: 279 Member
    I've been having the same thing with my clothes. A higher temp and pretreatment seems to have solved it. Good luck!
  • Loveisaiah
    Loveisaiah Posts: 51
    towels left in the washer too long they smell
  • LonLB
    LonLB Posts: 1,126 Member
    towels left in the washer too long they smell



    Yep. Use Tide, and move from the washer to the dryer as soon as they are done. Leave the washer door open and exposed to fresh air when not in use.
  • kezza8888
    kezza8888 Posts: 75
    Search "sports wash" or similar - there are products on the market designed exactly for this, as odours are difficult to remove from some techincal fabrics designed for sport.

    Halo is one example......
  • TheBeerRunner
    TheBeerRunner Posts: 2,777 Member
    Wash your clothes in warm or hot water. Toss in some OxyClean or a similar detergent booster. I run my workout clothes through on the 'Active Wear' setting on my machine. If you don't have that setting, run it through the longest cycle your machine has. Should get rid of the bacteria that cause that stank smell. Otherwise, you know... You're in a gym working out and getting sweaty... Sweaty people stink. I'm sure no one notices.
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    Man this thread was a disappointment. *sigh* :grumble:
  • Joe7178
    Joe7178 Posts: 105
    Expectations from title were too high..anyway, a quick spray of perfume for you, cologne for guys, should do the trick
    edit: do this before the gym
  • _Wild_Card_
    _Wild_Card_ Posts: 124 Member
    work out naked, I do.
  • GorillaNJ
    GorillaNJ Posts: 4,024 Member
    how close to people get to you during your workouts? Why care what they smell or dont smell!
  • d2footballJRC
    d2footballJRC Posts: 2,684 Member
    So I wash my gym clothes every time I use them but when I put them back on as soon as I start working out they start smelling. I am so worried others will smell me and get offended. Any ideas on what I should be washing them with?

    They are done for.. You are going to have to burn them to put them out of their misery.
  • harvo
    harvo Posts: 4,676 Member
    Man this thread was a disappointment. *sigh* :grumble:

    ^^^This :cry: :sad:
  • Katrinadionne1808
    Katrinadionne1808 Posts: 95
    Do they dry quickly once washing? Sometimes if they take too long to dry they can smell foisty.

    But if a hot wash isn't getting rid of it, get rid and replace them!
  • Otter1422
    Otter1422 Posts: 162 Member
    Man this thread was a disappointment. *sigh* :grumble:
    +1
  • bsuew
    bsuew Posts: 628 Member
    baking soda or white vinegar in your wash. Even soak over night. Then wash
  • nope31
    nope31 Posts: 174
    work out naked, I do.

    Bro, you give new meaning to "free balling"
  • sevsmom
    sevsmom Posts: 1,172 Member
    There are specially formulated sports washes. . .like someone else mentioned. I think one brand in the States is called Win???

    That should help. Also, try not to leave sweaty clothes in a plastic bag for hours and hours after your work out. Rinse them out as soon as you can. It helps.

    And, realize that working out is a smelly business.
  • kikip
    kikip Posts: 7 Member
    Wear your "smelly" clothes with pride. If you ain't stinky, you ain't workin hard enough. ;)
  • d2footballJRC
    d2footballJRC Posts: 2,684 Member
    Man this thread was a disappointment. *sigh* :grumble:

    tumblr_m8mfkqEKLn1ranhnao1_400.gif
  • digitaljdr
    digitaljdr Posts: 50 Member
    If it doesn't carry, then who cares. You shouldn't go to the gym to impress people by smelling good. I couldn't care what people think in the gym, I'm not there for to mess around or worry what people think they smell (if anything blame it on another person LOL!).

    I have 2 sets of clothes I hang them to dry when I get home and alternate between them for the week.
  • BeachGingerOnTheRocks
    BeachGingerOnTheRocks Posts: 3,927 Member
    Wash your clothes in hot water or burn them and start over.
  • LonLB
    LonLB Posts: 1,126 Member
    If it doesn't carry, then who cares. You shouldn't go to the gym to impress people by smelling good. I couldn't care what people think in the gym, I'm not there for to mess around or worry what people think they smell (if anything blame it on another person LOL!).

    I have 2 sets of clothes I hang them to dry when I get home and alternate between them for the week.



    Not smelling horrible is a common courtesy to those around you.
  • benol1
    benol1 Posts: 867 Member
    Wear your "smelly" clothes with pride. If you ain't stinky, you ain't workin hard enough. ;)

    that is so not true.

    Wearing smelly clothes to the gym means:

    1. You don't respect yourself,
    2. You don't respect other gym users, and
    3. You're serious personal hygiene issue is indicative of some serious personality issue.
  • K_Serz
    K_Serz Posts: 1,299 Member
    Ive had the same issue with cotton tank tops and there could be several reasons causing this problem.

    After working out and you take the clothes off do you throw them in a pile? What type of material is the clothing? Are you using color safe bleach? After washing do you immediately dry them? Are you using fabric softener?

    I recommend hang drying all workout clothes after sweating and stinking them up. Leaving them in a pile allows bacteria and mold to grow that are very difficult in washing out with just regular detergent.

    Try spandex or those dry-fit type outfits as cotton loves to just hold on to that moisture.

    If they are whites, bleach them. It will kill the smelly bacteria. If they are colors and you are worried about ruining them, use color safe bleach. Add a fabric softener to make them smell fantastic.

    Also, If your sweat smells, your sweat smells, sometimes theres no way around that. If all else fails find a nice body spray you like and try that.
  • Coltsman4ever
    Coltsman4ever Posts: 602 Member
    First thing is, don't wash any type of dri-fit or any rapid dry (wicking) fabric with regular detergent. It clogs the pores in the material and causes it to hold onto those smells. Also avoid drying them in the dryer.
    If your clothes have been washed in regular detergent like Tide or whatever else too many times, you may never get the smell to come out.
    Buy a special detergent called Penguin Wash. It's specially made to keep high performance clothing smelling fresh and clean. I've been using it for a while now and it really works.
    You can get it at REI or many other places. Check it out.

    http://www.penguinapparelcare.com/how.html
  • spud_chick
    spud_chick Posts: 2,640 Member
    My husband used to have to soak his running clothes in bleach all the time for this reason. We got a Samsung SilverCare washer a few years ago and the problem came to an end. I didn't start working out until after we got the washer so I've never had this problem. This may not be very helpful since a new fancy washing machine is a major outlay, but it's interesting.

    On another note, some people have said that using fabric softener encourages microbial growth by coating the fibers, and while this was not an issue for smell with us, I did notice after ditching fabric softener that our light-colored clothes develop armpit stains a lot less quickly and the stains are less difficult to remove. So there may well be something to that.

    If you decide to try skipping the softener going forward, you may want to try to remove the buildup on existing clothes by giving them an overnight soak in a sink with degreaser solution like Simple Green (maybe a cup of SG to a large sink of water).

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