Kinda embarressing.....

lkaun · July 2013

I have the same problem! It is not the body smelling, it was you smell inside your nose. My clothes do not smell like mildew, no one else can smell mildew on me. I am highly allergic to mildew and just assume that after I work out inside that my nose is super sensitive to the mildew around. It is everywhere, you can't escape mildew/mold. It can be in the air. I don't have this problem when I exercise outside, I assume it is because the constant fresh air being circulated. I know how frustrating it is! Esp. when you are in the shower and that is all you can smell is mildew, it is gross!!!

SkipMid · February 2016

I think I found the answer to mildew/sour/vinegar sweat smell! After a year or two, and much experimentation, I realized my sweat didn't smell so much like mildew as vinegar. When I searched this our, I found one site that said its your pH balance being off - not so uncommon - and the solution was 1/8th teaspoon of baking soda in a glass of water for 2-3 weeks - mine went away after 3 days! Try it, it's such an easily solution for such an embarrassing and seemingly difficult problem!

Hornsby · February 2016

rayleansout wrote: »

It kinda smells like amonia, This explanation is from bodybuilding.com

Your body uses amino acids for energy every day. There is no way to avoid this. Your body constantly goes into catabolic (tissue breakdown) and anabolic (tissue building) phases. When you accumulate mass (lean or fat), your anabolic phases exceed your catabolic phases, but you still experience both phases. When your body uses an amino acid for energy, it must convert the amino acid to a useable form of energy.

It does this by stripping the nitrogen atom off of the molecule. The skeleton molecule that is left behind is then further converted into glucose and used as fuel. In order to get rid of the excess nitrogen, your body typically processes the nitrogen in your kidneys and forms urea, CO(NH2)2 - basically, a carbon dioxide molecule bound to nitrogen and hydrogen. Urea is then excreted in the urine. If your kidneys cannot handle the load of nitrogen, then the nitrogen will be excreted as ammonia in your sweat.

One other factor to consider is water intake. The methods used for getting rid of excess ammonia, such as urine and sweat, all require water as a transport mechanism. If you are not getting adequate fluid, then the solution (ammonia + water) will not be diluted. Therefore, water plays a definite role. If you are not drinking enough fluids to have at least one or two clear urinations every day, you should drink more.

Based on this explanation, it is clear that your sweat will smell like ammonia only if an excessive amount of amino acids are being used for energy, or you are not receiving adequate water.
The key to avoiding that ammonia smell is to ingest sufficient carbohydrates. If you eat an ample amount of carbohydrate with every meal, then you should have plenty to fuel your exercise activity. Even people who work out on an empty stomach should have some glucose in their bloodstream upon rising - unless they subscribe to the myth that cutting out carbohydrates before bed helps you lose fat. If you find that the ammonia smell persists (even when you consume carbohydrate with every meal), try having a low glycemic carbohydrate before you workout.

A little oatmeal, a small apple, or even a piece of sprouted grain bread can provide the fuel that your body needs. Remember, your body requires fuel to burn fat! So don't think that providing some carbs before cardio is going to eliminate the fat burning process

This is what I was gonna post.

tnm7760 · February 2016

Not sure if anyone suggested this, but do your clothes ever get left in the washer too long? If so, you might not smell it when you move it to the dryer or air dry them, but later, if they get damp they'll smell. Sour, rotten, like a wet dog or stinky cheese.

If that happens, rewash them with a bit of vinegar. About 1/2 cup. Just put it in with the detergent. Or sometimes I put it where the liquid softener or bleach goes. I use white vinegar. It'll take out the mildew smell and you won't end up with any lingering vinegar smell unless you use too much vinegar.

I actually wash almost every load with vinegar because it's such a good deodorizer. Gym clothes, gardening clothes, towels, dish rags... Etc. It's also great for front loaders that are smelly.

But if my clothes/towels are left in the washer longer than 4-5 hours I ALWAYS rewash with vinegar.

stealthq · February 2016

emccand wrote: »

Thanks everyone for the responses, I work out at home, so Im the only one who uses my elliptical and I wash all my clothes and towels right away, Im really picky about laundry soap and how good the clothes smell when they come out of the drier lol. I will try cleaning my washing machine, and upping my water intake and see if that helps any, thank you!

Do you use dryer sheets or liquid fabric softener?

They leave residue on clothes. Most clothing, it's not a problem but with some of the wicking fabrics in sports gear it is a big problem and they don't do their job anymore. Sweat builds and smells faster.

BluGnat · February 2016

I take the vinegar a step further, and have some in a spray bottle, to spray the pits of every workout article of clothing, in addition to adding it to the load.

provencal73 · February 2016

If it is the clothes and not dehydration or what-not, you might try soaking your workout gear in baking soda for 30 min and then in vinegar for 30 min before washing.

WaterBunnie · February 2016

SkipMid wrote: »

I think I found the answer to mildew/sour/vinegar sweat smell! After a year or two, and much experimentation, I realized my sweat didn't smell so much like mildew as vinegar. When I searched this our, I found one site that said its your pH balance being off - not so uncommon - and the solution was 1/8th teaspoon of baking soda in a glass of water for 2-3 weeks - mine went away after 3 days! Try it, it's such an easily solution for such an embarrassing and seemingly difficult problem!

I get this sour vinegar smell if I haven't been able to shower straight after and it's definitely not originating from my clothes because its worse if I rub my hands through my hair and then smell my hand. I'm sure it's just normal body fluids and nothing to worry about. Might try that baking soda tip though! Hopefully it's fat cells escaping! :-)

gdyment · February 2016

WaterBunnie wrote: »

Might try that baking soda tip though! Hopefully it's fat cells escaping! :-)

"That's not sweat - it's your fat cells crying." - someone funny.

ASKyle · February 2016

cynthiaj777 wrote: »

Another thing to consider is Candida (yeast) growth on your skin and clothes. I know that when I sweat a lot I tend to get a candida overgrowth in the areas where the sweat tends to sit the most (under the twins, navel, crotch area). It can produce a very yeasty/musty smell on your skin and in your clothes. If you notice red itchy patches in any of those areas, you might want to try an application of a product for yeast infections.

Maybe that's my problem! I get super smelly crotch working out. Never any other time despite the amount of sweating. If not working out, it is hard to make it smell at all. SOOOO weird. Never thought about it being a normal/natural bacteria!!!

I love your honestly here. I do too. No shame in my game, though! I just don't wear anything more than once without washing. Some of my friends can wear the same pair of spandex 2-3 times, not me!

drachfit · February 2016

if you are on a low carb diet it can result in an ammonia-like smell from your sweat. this is not an indication of anything wrong healthwise, it's just a side effect of very low carb diets.

not sure what you mean by "mildewy" since that can mean a lot of different things to different people. ammonia is commonly used to clean mildew, so it could be that you associate that smell?

Kinda embarressing.....

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