Hello girlies! I have had an interesting challenge come my way that had me stumped for a few weeks. My activewear all the sudden started smelling horrible when I was working out. Like a musty sour smell, not a sweaty smell. It took me a couple of weeks to figure out what it was that was smelling so bad and I finally discovered it was my sports bras. They only smelled bad when they started heating up from my body heat. Yuck! I also realized that maybe it was time to get rid of the ones that were a few years old (or more). In trying to salvage them I decided to soak them in vinegar and water in my laundry sink for an hour or so. I found this recommendation when searching online for a solution and it was not successful for me, so I decided to toss them all! Unfortunately, sometimes things are just beyond saving.
In my desperation to find something to prevent this from happening I searched and searched for solutions to get my workout clothing really clean and smelling good. So I want to share with you what I am now doing to salvage my current activewear and what I learned through this process.
NO Balling Up and Throwing in the Hamper When Wet!
First, do not ball your clothing up and throw it on the floor or in the hamper or even a nasty gym bag. The clothing needs to be able to dry out. Some people recommended a container filled with water and baking soda to keep it in before you wash it but I knew that was not something I could maintain at this point in my life. But what I can do is hang my clothing inside out when I take it off after my workout to let it dry out. Once it dries I put it in the hamper. Simple and done.
Proper Detergent and Cold Water!
Second, use a good detergent and wash in cold water. As my regular detergent I have always used All Free and Clear because of my families allergies to scents and harsh chemicals and you can get it in bulk at Sam’s Club. In my search for something different I found that most of the Sport detergents have lots of chemicals and scents in them to cover up the odor and that is something I did not want to use.
I was intrigued by a company I found through Facebook advertising called The Laundress so I looked into their Sport Detergent. It is chemical free and made of plant enzymes. Even though it was scented I took the plunge and ordered the 16 ounce bottle that cost me $19 on Amazon. Boy am I glad I did! The results on the feel and smell of my activewear was surprising. In the bottle the concentrate is very stout smelling but when your clothing is finished the scent is DIVINE and very light. Another result I did not expect is my leggings and sports bras were softer than they were previously. I have actually washed some of my other things in the detergent because I loved the smell so much and it was light enough to not bother my family. The best way to describe it is clean, delightful and luxurious! Who doesn’t want to smell luxurious, right?!!
Hang to Dry or Dry on Low Setting in the Dryer!
The third thing I learned was to either hang the activewear to dry or dry in the dryer on a very low setting after it comes out of the wash. If there are any oils or sweat left in the fabric high heat will only bake it into the clothing. The heat also breaks down the fabric a lot quicker. I have dried mine in the dryer for years and will not be doing that anymore. I even dried them on a high heat sanitize setting…oops, probably not a good idea!
Replace When Necessary!
Lastly, it is recommended to replace your activewear after a couple of years or sooner depending on how much you wear them. I do feel that with proper care and cleaning you can prolong your activewear life span. I hope that the new system I have adopted will do that for me. If anyone else has experienced this I highly recommend The Laundress Sport Detergent for it’s cleaning abilities and the smell! I hope to add their regular Classic Detergent and their Stain Solution to my laundry repertoire as well.
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