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Dealing with Workout Laundry

4,560 Views | 35 Replies | Last: 7 yr ago by Aggietaco
Aggietaco
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AG
How do y'all deal with your workout clothes?

I workout around 9 times a week and soak through just about everything I wear whether it's from a run or CG. I typically hang up my wet clothes in the extra bathroom and on any available door handles in the house until they are dry enough to toss in the hamper. This usually ends up with the rib talking loudly in my direction about said clothes. But even after I've let things dry a bit, they end up coming out of the wash with a less than clean smell, especially the cotton shirts due to being put away in the hamper damp.

I've been planning to get a clothes line for the back yard for a while and just haven't actually strung one up but this seems like the best solution.

Do y'all do anything special with your workout gear to keep it summer breeze fresh?
AggieOO
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i dont' work out in cotton, ever. i hang stuff up to dry, then wash. no problems, except for a few really cheap POS tech race shirts.

our biggest problem is that the wife works out as much as i do, so we run out of places to hang workout clothes to dry.
The Pilot
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AG
Yeah, no cotton in any of my workout stuff. Dri-fit stuff dries up pretty quick. I usually have two sets of sweaty clothes per day and simply hang them over the hamper to dry, once dry, toss them in. My problem is when I workout in the gym during the morning and the clothes have to sit in my car for the day.
Sooner Born
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I'm the same as OO. Just hang to dry then wash.
Big Cat `93
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AG
I don't even hang it. I just chunk it in the hamper. Good as new after I wash a load.
BAT2007
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AG
Baking soda and white vinegar are 2 options to consider adding to your wash to help with the smell and will probably be your best natural options. You can also pre-treat the clothes with a white vinegar soak

I like to add the Downy In Wash Scent Boosters to my laundry as well
Downy Fresh Protect
Downy Unstoppables

If you have smells that are set in to the fabric, these will probably only mask the smell and it will reappear when you wear the clothes again and sweat, so I would recommend the baking soda and vinegar options first.
AggieOO
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you can also try Win, which is specifically formulated to get rid of funk. I use to use it all the time b/c I got it free, but don't use it anymore. When I used it, i didn't bother drying my clothes before throwing into the hamper.

http://www.windetergent.com/
CFTXAG10
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AG
Ive been using the Tide Pods that have Febreeze and they work great
Aggietaco
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AG
I'm too cheap to replace all of my free race/CG t-shirts with "tech" fabrics especially since I don't mind wearing them to run/workout. Also too cheap to pay 3X for laundry detergent.

Looks like baking soda tip may help. My shirts always smell fine when I put them on, but just a few minutes into any activity, before the sweat valve gets turned on, they already reek.
AggieOO
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Aggietaco said:

Looks like baking soda tip may help. My shirts always smell fine when I put them on, but just a few minutes into any activity, before the sweat valve gets turned on, they already reek.
maybe its just you that stinks then.
BAT2007
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AG

Yes, definitely try baking soda in the washing cycle and/or a white vinegar soak to help since there are odors (bacteria) that are basically stuck in the fabric and they appear as soon as sweat hits the fabric again.
TXTransplant
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Febreze also makes an in-wash odor eliminator. When I wash my work out clothes, I add regular laundry detergent, a scoop of oxy-clean powder, and a cap of the Febreze. Then I set everything to wash on a cycle that has a soak period. The Febreze stuff does leave a fragrance behind on your clothes - it doesn't bother me, but it might bother someone else.

I've noticed an improvement in the way my workout clothes smell since doing this, but the oldest items do start to give off an odor during my workout, as some of the other posters have noted. This typically happens when I very first start to sweat - I guess the little bit of moisture releases the odors trapped in the fabric. It's worse with sports bras and shirts. My ultimate solution is just to buy workout clothes on the cheap (6pm.com and Kohl's are my go-to places) and throw them out when they get too disgusting.

The other issue I had was with workout clothes stinking up my bathroom (especially since the hamper is in a small closet). I bought these odor absorbent packs at The Container Store that do a great job. I think they are called Fresh Wave natural odor eliminator pearl packs. I put two in the closet and they last a month or a before they have to be replaced. They remove the stink and give off a slight pine odor.
Aggietaco
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AG
AggieOO said:

Aggietaco said:

Looks like baking soda tip may help. My shirts always smell fine when I put them on, but just a few minutes into any activity, before the sweat valve gets turned on, they already reek.
maybe its just you that stinks then.
Show up to a hh and let me know. I usually run before those, so the odor be fresh.
Max06
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AG
I have tried A LOT of detergents- this stuff works the best IMHO. It's completely unscented, FWIW. I've found that a lot of "sports" detergents are just ultra-perfume-ey to cover up the BO stench.



I get it in the bow hunting section of Academy, or Amazon it.
AggieOO
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Aggietaco said:

AggieOO said:

Aggietaco said:

Looks like baking soda tip may help. My shirts always smell fine when I put them on, but just a few minutes into any activity, before the sweat valve gets turned on, they already reek.
maybe its just you that stinks then.
Show up to a hh and let me know. I usually run before those, so the odor be fresh.
haven't been able to do any of the vagabonds b/c they always seem to be terrible timing. might make the next one depending on length and difficulty. I'm racing that following saturday, so don't want to do anything too crazy.
Endo Ag
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AG
I drop it in the hamper and it magically reappears in my drawer. It's a great system.
Sooner Born
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Endo Ag said:

I drop it in the hamper and it magically reappears in my drawer. It's a great system.

Hoosegow
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vinegar, vinegar and vinegar
Girlhowdy
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AG
Add borax to the wash.
RedlineAg08
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Me too!
Endo Ag
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AG
Sooner Born said:

Endo Ag said:

I drop it in the hamper and it magically reappears in my drawer. It's a great system.


I wanted to post this, but didn't have a chance to look for it. I laughed so hard.
gambochaman
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AG
two clotheslines outside
one for sweaty clothes to dry before being thrown in hamper
one for clean gym clothes to dry under the sun after coming out of washer


and just recycle your workout shirts every 6 months or so
RedlineAg08
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My nose may be broke but I don't think my shirts stink.. good old Tide gets them fresh.
aarjon
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I let them soak with soap and water in the sink to kill bacteria and hang them up.
Sooner Born
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So here's a picture of what I use. This is hanging on the back of my door to the basement/laundry room.

NoahAg
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Throw sweaty clothes in the bathtub. Somehow they get cleaned.
91AggieLawyer
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AG
I don't have any issues -- just throw them in a basket and they get washed regularly. More often in the fall when I have my officiating stuff. I basically wash all the same way. My striped (black and white) shirts get washed on cold but everything else on medium/hot. All on a "whites" cycle (i.e. heavy wash) with a double rinse. The double rinse is very important in my opinion. Those complaining about the lack of freshness in washed clothes are probably leaving too much soap in their clothing when washed.

As far as the dryer, I throw everything in other than my officiating shirts and pants (hang both of those; they dry in 30 minutes or less). Everything else does get dried but on "air dry" -- no heat. Do not put any synthetic fabric in the dryer on any kind of heat. Sometimes the socks require an additional cycle but good socks will mostly dry in the dryer then air dry outside on the side of the laundry basket, if needed.

I've washed all my stuff like this for 20 or so years and I still have workout shirts and shorts I bought in the very early 2000s.
YellAg2004
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AG
I hang all my sweaty clothes (no cotton) up to dry (on door knobs, over the hamper, etc.). They'll stay there until the next round of workout clothes is ready to be hung up (next day). Then the now-dry clothes go into the hamper.

All workout clothes get washed on hot with an extra rinse cycle. Either All unscented or Dreft detergent, no fabric softener. No smell issues going on 8 years this way.

Are you putting your clothes into the dryer in a reasonable amount of time (within a couple of hours of washing finishing)? An old roommate would leave clothes in the washing machine overnight until they would sour. He'd then dry them and wear them, so while they were "clean", they freakin' stunk.

Another possibility may be that you are over-filling the washing machine. Same roommate wouldn't do laundry for a month, then would try to shove a month's worth of laundry into the HE washer to run a single cycle. I'm not sure the clothes in the center of the washer ever got more than damp due to the little amount of water being used and the massive amount of clothes he would try to wash at a single time.
shano0603
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AG
I either don't sweat as much as most, or need to work out harder. Or maybe it's because LA Fitness likes to keep the gym at 60 degrees.
Aggietaco
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AG
Smells like my cheap cotton race shirts are the biggest culprits. I'm just trying to find a place to line dry them outside until I can acquire enough free tech race shirts.

And for the record, I sweat like a street walker in church, in Louisiana, in the summer, without AC.
O.G.
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No cotton anything, ever.

After a workout/run I throw everything the shower, and while I shower I give it a minor washing and then
wring everything out, then let it air dry. Then, when I have enough to make a load I wash everything.

Seems to help.
Represent830
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AG
I use foot/body powder dyeing and after. Plus the tingles feel great.
tyunelil
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A natural smelling laundry detergent can help. Gain Flings is known for long lasting smell and also the smell of this detergent is very natural and loved by many people. This detergent has 50% more scent as compared to normal laundry detergents.
bigtruckguy3500
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Do y'all rewear y'all's workout clothes more than once? I usually do for my weight lifting stuff, because I don't sweat it out. And I'll hang up my clothes to dry on a door knob or edge of a door. Give it the sniff test the next time I need a workout shirt.

I've also found that leaving clothes out in the sun really helps keep the stink away.
YellAg2004
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AG
bigtruckguy3500 said:

Do y'all rewear y'all's workout clothes more than once? I usually do for my weight lifting stuff, because I don't sweat it out. And I'll hang up my clothes to dry on a door knob or edge of a door. Give it the sniff test the next time I need a workout shirt.

I've also found that leaving clothes out in the sun really helps keep the stink away.
Absolutely not. First, I have never done a workout that I didn't sweat. Second, I never want to be the smelly guy at the gym, and wearing the same workout clothes twice seems like a really good way to be the smelly guy at the gym. And finally, I have enough workout clothes that I don't need to re-wear anything between laundry cycles.
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