Stinky gym clothes

Try adding Vinegar to your rinse cycle.

Yes to vinegar! Throw in a cup.

If that doesn't work, try half a cup of baking soda to the wash cycle.

So far the TIde Active has been working for me. Same price as the regular tide. I also make sure that the gym bag is never zipped all the way closed (usually leave about 2" open).

Vinegar. I promise it totally works. I have a spray bottle filled with 75% vinegar and about 25% water in the bathroom. When I take off my clothes (and not just my gym clothes) I squirt the under arms and neck of my shirts heavily until saturated. I toss them in the hamper and when the load gets washed, I put vinegar in the bleach reservoir of my washing machine.

Fabric softener, BTW, will over time start building up layers on your clothes and trap the stink in. The vinegar cuts through it nicely. Try vinegar in your whites (towels and sheets too) and it works like a champ. I even wash my husband's bed pillows with a lot of vinegar in the wash since he sweats when he sleeps and OMG his pillows start getting rancid after about 2 weeks in the summer time.

Also, on my white shirts with yellow underarm stains...make a paste with water and oxyclean and scrub it in with a little brush. Let sit overnight. Even shirts that are years old with stains will come bright white again.

Good luck.

I sweat a lot too.

The first thing I learned it to dry them out quickly. Don't let them sit in your gym bag or laundry hamper, it makes them worse. I'll hang them to dry if I am not washing right away.

The other thing I do is use vinegar as others have suggested. 1/4 cup in with detergent. And sometimes 1/4 cup for rinse.

ETA - I also use cold water. This works for me.

I add some Borax and it takes the stink right out of my husband's nasty gym shirts.

I use same, but found Borax doesn't dissolve as well in cold/cold water wash (which is what I use on my own).

Vinegar. I promise it totally works. I have a spray bottle filled with 75% vinegar and about 25% water in the bathroom. When I take off my clothes (and not just my gym clothes) I squirt the under arms and neck of my shirts heavily until saturated. I toss them in the hamper and when the load gets washed, I put vinegar in the bleach reservoir of my washing machine.

Fabric softener, BTW, will over time start building up layers on your clothes and trap the stink in. The vinegar cuts through it nicely. Try vinegar in your whites (towels and sheets too) and it works like a champ. I even wash my husband's bed pillows with a lot of vinegar in the wash since he sweats when he sleeps and OMG his pillows start getting rancid after about 2 weeks in the summer time.

Also, on my white shirts with yellow underarm stains...make a paste with water and oxyclean and scrub it in with a little brush. Let sit overnight. Even shirts that are years old with stains will come bright white again.

Good luck.

I love you I think!

I love the vinegar idea and plan to use it too. I also let mine dry before they go in the laundry basket (much to my husbands great dismay since I hang them over the bathtub to dry and he gets to look at them!) and wash in cold but definitely over time it builds up.

I've always used hot water and a big scoop of baking soda on my son's super-smelly football clothes (that would get used every day for a week between washings) and it always worked to get all the smell out. Don't use fabric softener, it traps the stink in the fabric.

This content has been removed.

I never use fabric softener on workout clothes. Most of mine are wicking material and it is not good for that type of material. It stops the wicking ability.

WAIT WHAT!?

Everything I have that is UnderArmour brand says not to use fabric softener on it, I never really thought about the reason though.

I am so going to try that with the underarm stains on a white shirt. A friend of mine told me that these stains are produced by ingredients in your deodorant. Has anybody else heard this?

I never use fabric softener on workout clothes. Most of mine are wicking material and it is not good for that type of material. It stops the wicking ability.

WAIT WHAT!?

Everything I have that is UnderArmour brand says not to use fabric softener on it, I never really thought about the reason though.

Fabric softner coats the fibers of your fabrics with a waxy coating, which then repels moisture. As a result, the fabric ends up losing its absorbency. Therefore, any fabric you intend to absorb moisture (bath towels, dish towels, workout clothes, socks, etc) will lose its effectiveness over time. Look at your fabric softner dispenser--see that film of ick? That's on your clothes.

I have quit using fabric softner altogether--just put white vinegar in the rinse cycle. My towels no longer get that musty odor, my gym clothes don't smell, and everything is soft and absorbs moisture as it should. And nothing smells like vinegar once they are dried.

(another benefit: vinegar costs pennies per load. Much cheaper than commercial fabric softner)

bump

Bump and thank you.

Vinegar works, but you also may have detergent build-up on your clothes. Try soaking in a vinegar/water mix and rewash, this time with no detergent. Hang the clothes in the sun. You may need to set this set of workout clothes aside for a while to let the smell go away. Also, don't store your wet dirty clothes in plastic bags, or at least take them out when you leave the gym and let them air out.

This content has been removed.