How to keep your gym gear so fresh and so clean.
With your dedication to working out, you wear a lot of fitness gear every week, which ends up soaked in sweat. When you’ve invested in a wardrobe of performance apparel you’ll want to keep it in the best condition possible so it continues to help you reach those goals; this calls for putting in some effort to keep your gear looking and smelling good for the long-term (although keep in mind that certain pieces only last for so long—sports bras lose support over time, for example, and should be replaced every six to 12 months or so). These steps will help keep your gear in great shape.
Hand-wash your gym gear the day you’ve worked out in it.
It’s a pain and can be unrealistic for most people, but it is gentler on your gear.
Dry your gear before tossing it into the laundry hamper.
If you can’t find the time to hand-wash your gear the day of, let your pieces dry before adding them to your pile of dirty laundry. Tossing them in while soaked in sweat will just encourage mildew to grow.
Make it a laundry load of only fitness gear.
Separating your gym gear into its own laundry load allows your pieces to get adequately laundered (since the pieces tend to be about the same weight, meaning they’ll each absorb an equal amount of detergent) and prevent them from snagging and pilling from being mixed with other types of fabrics.
Turn your pieces inside out to wash them.
Your sweat and grime tend to accumulate on the inside of your garments.
Pre-soak in a vinegar mixture.
Before throwing your gear into the machine, consider soaking particularly smelly pieces in two parts cold water to one-part white vinegar mixture. This will help eliminate strong odours.
Don’t overdo it on the detergent.
Extra detergent won’t get your gear extra clean. Too much detergent just builds up on the fabric, making it easier to trap dead skin particles. Use slightly less than what the product recommends for your load size, add a quarter cup of white vinegar for its odour-busting abilities if you need an extra boost, and wash in cold water.
Try a sports detergent.
If you’re finding odour a particular issue, consider getting a sports detergent to tackle the job. These are specially formulated to address smelly concerns. And it’s a good option if you’re finding using vinegar is leaving too much of a scent (although that vinegar smell you may detect upon removing your wet gear from the laundry typically dissipates once it dries).
Skip fabric softener.
These products create a coating on your apparel, which makes it hard for water and detergent to penetrate the fabric to get it clean.
Air dry your gear.
This is the gentlest and best way to dry your high-performance gear. If you must dry in the machine, go with the lowest heat setting. If you opt for a higher heat setting, you could end up with damaged or shrunken pieces...
