At least most of us now have machines to help with the problem of stinky running clothes.
If your running partners can smell you coming from a mile away (I’m often guilty as charged!), it might be time to take action. Last week, we posed the question of how to get the funk out of running clothes on our Facebook page, and we got about 10 hampers-worth of responses. Here are eight sweet (-smelling) suggestions:
Add a little something-something. Some washer-women add OxyClean, while others toss in white vinegar or hydrogen peroxide, and others swear by baking soda. “But,” as Rachel cautioned, “NOT all at the same time!” (Janine, however, adds eucalyptus oil with white vinegar, which sounds mighty Martha Stewart-y to us. Bonus points for you, Janine!) If you opt for OxyClean, consider going the route Janice does: pre-soaking overnight in the miracle substance, then adding more to the load when you turn on the machine.
A favorite, based on FB comments
Try a sport detergent. Lots of mother runners swear by Tide Plus Febreeze Sport, while others pledge allegiance to Win detergent or Penguin Sports Wash. A fan of Tide Sport, Katie recommends using it on sweaty garb only as, “the detergent smells so strong.” Good to know. Another detergent-additives to consider are Febreeze (there’s a new one just for sport gear), Borax, Biokleen, or Odoban, which is available at Home Depot, according to Tracy who puts a squirt of it in her front-loading washer.
Soak overnight. Several plan-ahead types attest to soaking stinky duds overnight before washing them the next day. Some mother runners use baking soda or vinegar, while Molly uses Rockin’ Green Funk Rock. “It was originally meant to take the funky smell that can build up in cloth diapers out. Works amazingly but it’s not sold in many stores so you have to order it online.”
Don’t overload the washer. Anne Marie insists, “clothes need room to move around.” Makes sense that it allows water and cleaning agents to move more freely–and have less bacteria-poop (ew! But, seriously, it’s the cause of the odor) to combat.
Rinse–and repeat.Several gals, including Kristen, swear by a second rinse cycle.
Sunlight kills odor-causing bacteria (as well as vamps!)
Line dry clothes outdoors. Robin, an ultrarunner, points out that sunlight helps kill bacteria-causing odor. And some gentle breezes never hurt, either. (As long as we’re talking drying clothes, two quick points: Air dry your wicking gear whenever possible. If you put them in dryer, do not use fabric softener, as that hampers the wicking properties.)
Experiment with nature’s scents: Like Janine with the eau du eucalyptus, Kerri goes above and beyond, storing her workout wear with cotton balls dabbed with a few drops of tea tree oil.
Leave your cares behind. Sara and Jennifer are in agreement: “Just run.” They insist no one will say anything if you’re running outdoors. Or take the tact Yeiko does: “I thought I smelled…maybe I can blame it on my clothes.”
Great stuff…Might I add one that is useful….hunters use a no scent wash that kills well icky all sorts of stuff. Two tablespoons and no stinky workout gear. You can get it at sportsmans and I think walmart.
I love Tide Sport. I have tried several of the “sport” washes, WIN, Penguin wash, also Odoban, but Tide Sport is the only one that gets all the funk out. If you’re bothered by strong smelling detergent, though, I can see how it might be too much. Personally, I like the smell, and I often wash my cotton tees in it to keep them smelling fresh in the summer when it’s super hot!!
The strong smells of the sport laundry detergents bother me, so I make a slurry of baking soda and non-scented detergent, which works pretty well. I think what really does in the funk is drying outside. When I can, I rinse out my running clothes right after a run, which seems to help as well.
I find using a simpler soap with less additives gets things cleaner. I use a Canadian brand called Nellies, but anything based on a simple washing soda works. If it gets the stink out of my cloth diapers, it’ll clean anything! Ditto to the sun!
I’m not sure if this is actually keeping my clothes from stinking, but it seems to work. When I take off my workout clothes I always drape them over the tub, so they can dry. I figure, the quicker they dry out the less they will stink later. Once they are dry, I’ll throw them in the laundry pile. Not sure if that is why I don’t have a lingering stench problem, but it seems to work for me.
I find washing soda (another individual posting also mentions this approach) with a regular detergent works fine, particularly if I let the stuff sit in a pre-soak state before the wash. I always hang workout stuff to line dry, as well.
We use perfume, dye and additive free detergent here, since we all have sensitive skin. No softener either *scritch*. This past weekend, my DH ran a Tough Mudder. You want stinky? THAT was stinky. I put the clothes in with just regular detergent, added some vinegar. I set it to medium load, even though it was really a small, and double rinsed.
They came out clean and fresh!
We always do our workout clothes separate from the regular clothes, and I air dry my sport bras and undies. So far, no lingering odours on our stuff! Bakingsoda sprinkled in shoes helps too, for that “eau de feet” smell in the front hallway. :)
I’m happy to say this is one problem I haven’t got (yet). Even though I sweat a lot, my running clothes come out of the washing machine smelling nice and clean.
Love the new layout!!!
I’m with Karin. Running gear comes in the shower with me after a run, gets rinsed, then hung to dry. When I finally schlep it over to the laundromat a week later I have no problems!
Thanks so much for this post! I’ve been having the hardest time with my smelly running clothes — I’ll pull them out of the dryer and wonder why they STILL smell, well, less than fresh. Will definitely be trying some of these tips! :-)
White vinegar, about 1/2 cup per load with the detergent of your choice. Vinegar changes the Ph of the bacteria that causes that funk. Once your clothes come out of the wash, you will never smell the vinegar…or the former stink of your workout clothes. It’s cheap and easy. I keep a gallon of white vinegar on the shelf next to my detergent.