# Anyone have advice for removing sweaty smell from gym shirts? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 8, 2012, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-advice-for-removing-sweaty-smell-from-gym-shirts/637078 "2012-10-08T10:53:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-advice-for-removing-sweaty-smell-from-gym-shirts/637078/21 "2012-10-08T23:21:08Z")
Baking Soda. Seriously. I wash stinky stuff (not exceptionally stinky stuff, but I don’t have any of that) with a oxyclean scoop of baking soda periodically. You can find 4 pound boxes of it in the laundry aisle at Walmart for like $2. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-advice-for-removing-sweaty-smell-from-gym-shirts/637078/22 "2012-10-09T00:12:29Z")
Bleach and borax. (Add borax to the hot water, then soap, then bleach. Soak up to half an hour. Repeat once. Rinse in warm water with borax, then cold water. That should get the stink out. Bleach, borax, and hot water water should keep them clean.) (Um … and soap.) ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-advice-for-removing-sweaty-smell-from-gym-shirts/637078/23 "2012-10-09T11:57:59Z")
I don’t know if you can get it in the US, but I found a soak in [Napisan](http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/#/asda-compare-prices/nappy_accessories/napisan_non_biological_500g.html) finally removed that permanent sweet/sour sweat smell from one of my favourite fleece jackets that had gone a bit funky. Yes, it’s designed for soaking nappies and baby clothes, but I don’t care 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-advice-for-removing-sweaty-smell-from-gym-shirts/637078/24 "2012-10-09T13:08:37Z")
I’ll have to try Napisan. I asked the exact same question [a year ago](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=626803) and didn’t have any success (I haven’t tried zeolite, though!) ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-advice-for-removing-sweaty-smell-from-gym-shirts/637078/25 "2012-10-09T17:03:09Z")
I throw a half-cup or so of Borax into the washer with my elderly mom’s soiled things and the regular detergent, and it really gets the odors out…same thing when the elderly cat was having accidents on piles of laundry. I would think it would work as well for sweat odor, especially if used as a presoak as well. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-advice-for-removing-sweaty-smell-from-gym-shirts/637078/26 "2012-10-09T17:16:13Z")
Try Febreze. My boyfriend has to wear a bullet proof vest for his job, and he can’t wash it because that, well, interferes with the bullet-proofness, so he uses Febreze to keep the sweat stink to a minimum. But to go off in a different direction, are you wearing t-shirts? Because if you are, I would suggest switching to tank tops. I personally hate wearing anything with sleeves while I’m working out. However, even when I’m not working out, I’ve found that sweat gathers beneath my armpits and stains the fabric more with short-sleeved shirts than with either sleeveless or long-sleeved shirts. I think something about the length of the fabric just makes the fabric more susceptible to nest right in the sweaty area. ---
**Author:** ![Neverender](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/848f3c/32.png) [@Neverender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neverender)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-advice-for-removing-sweaty-smell-from-gym-shirts/637078/27 "2012-10-09T20:56:59Z")
Thanks for the replies. I’m going to try borax. I can’t switch to tank tops, I need the sleeves for friction when I’m squatting. I also can’t dry clothes outside in sunlight because I’m in the UK. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-advice-for-removing-sweaty-smell-from-gym-shirts/637078.md?page=1)