I cycle a lot, and the clothes I wear while cycling get pretty sweaty. I’ve noticed that once I’ve worn shirts more than three or four times for cycling (washed after each use, of course), they never smell completely fresh. It’s noticeable when I take them out of the washing machine and they’re still wet, and although the smell pretty much disappears when they’re dry, it reappears when they get damp again - whether from rain or sweat.
It seems like the stinkiness gets absorbed into the fibres and simple washing can’t get it out. I’ve tried soaking them in disinfectant before washing, I’ve tried spraying them with Febreze before drying, but none of that seems to work.
Anyone got any ideas, other than buying lots of cheap T-shirts and chucking them out every couple of weeks?
Get some zeolite at your local health food or pet store. It’s a natural mineral that will take the smell of anything out of anything. Add a couple of tablespoons to your wash.
What fabric are the shirts made out of? With my running gear, I have more problems with regular cotton T-shirts than with “technical” synthetic fabrics.
Try hanging the shirts to dry outside. The sun will take care of a lot of smell/stain problems for you. (Even if the weather is crummy; as long as it’s not raining, you can gain benefit from outdoor drying.)
You can also try adding a little baking soda to your wash. I have also heard people say that borax helps. Additionally, you could try an extra rinse at the end of the wash cycle. One problem that you can get sometimes is that if the soap isn’t getting thoroughly rinsed out of the garment, it will retain odors.
Serious question: does it really matter? I mean, these are clothes you wear specifically only to cycle in and are just going to be sweaty soon after you put them on anway, right? I don’t think you’re going to be wearing these out to dinner later or anything. Does the smell just really bother you?
It does, mainly because I commute by bike and train, so I don’t want to make it unpleasant for other people! A bit of fresh sweat from a 20-minute bike ride to the station isn’t going to stink the place out, but musty odours coming from a damp T-shirt are pretty nasty to me, let alone other people!
MsWhatsit - yes, it’s cotton T-shirts that are the worst culprits. I do generally line-dry my clothes, when weather permits. At this time of year that’s not too often in England (although the past week has been freakishly hot and sunny) but in summer I try to time my washes so I can dry them in the sun.
White vinegar in the rinse cycle (in a top-loader, this means buying a Downy Ball, $1.50 with free shipping at WalMart. com) and in a front loader, in the fabric softener dispenser.
Also OxiClean helps as well.
Never, EVER dry synethic fibers, like bike shorts, gym shorts, yoga pants, whatever.
And for tshirts? Buy em plain white and bleach the hell outta them, along with the white vinegar.
I have a top loader. I also have a cat with, um, dominance issues. (Read: “this is MINE. I will PEE UPON IT!!1!”) About a half-cup of cheap white vinegar on top of the clothes when you first load 'em (or, as the initial water is running in) works well, and anything that can get rid of the smell of cat piss should work for the OP.
I use a laundry detergent formulated for workout clothes. It’s called Sport Suds, and you can buy it online. I’ve used it to get out odours from cat pee and workout clothes, and it also gets out that musty smell you get in your clothes when you leave them in the washer for too long.
Wrap them in a plastic bag and put them in the freezer. Apparently that kills all the odour producing bacteria, wash them in cold water to clean them out and you’re done.
I’ve found this works on socks and/or smelly shoes as well as hockey or football equipment.
No. It’s a natural mineral, and you only need about 2 tablespoons of it. Sometimes it’s sold in cloth “breather bags,” and you just toss the whole thing into the wash.
Bleach is hard on your clothes, though. Your stuff will wear out more quickly if you bleach it in every wash. (I mean, maybe you don’t care, which is cool, but I thought it was worth mentioning.)