keyven

So I was trying to wash a pair of brand new TLD cloth gloves which had been blackened by a week of commuting.

According to a number of sites they claim cold water and liquid soap is good enough. But it has barely removed 10% of the dirt. I haven't tried white vinegar because I had none but how much better would it do?

Does anyone have any advice to improve on this? Thanks.

gregjones

White vinegar is a cleaning product that has been in use for decades longer than any trade name product that you can think of. And......white vinegar doesn't leave a "vinegar" smell.

As far as a number of sites.............the ONE that I would pay attention to is the one of the manufacturer. Have you contacted them?

Looigi

IMO, vinegar (AKA acetic acid) is OK for removing smells, but I find borax or Oxyclean to work much better for cleaning and restoring whites and colors, and also superior to vinegar in removing odors.

FWIW: My gloves periodically go in the washer with normal laundry to remove sweat, snot buildup, and odor. If they come out looking pretty, that's a bonus.

shelbyfv

Wash gloves after each ride, same for shorts of course.

wolfchild

Wear black gloves, they don't show dirt.

gregjones

I only avoid the machine for things that specify "hand wash" and wool. I've never had a problem with a host of different brands and items. Just air dry and everything should be fine. Most manufacturers have a care and feeding page on their site.


I thought of that.....mine could be dirty and I don't even know it.

Looigi

I have a front loading washer. It wreaks less havoc on items then hand washing.

wolfchild

I don't even put my gloves into a washer. I just rinse them in warm water once or twice per year.
Gloves don't have to be washed like underwear or socks.

noglider 

Lower your standards for how clean you want them. They won't look clean again, but you'll be able to remove the stuff that comes off from your touch.

shelbyfv

I guess you are lucky and your nose doesn't run in cold weather. After a couple of days my gloves would be covered in snot! In the summer it would be sweat. Yuck.

keyven

I guess what I was looking for was a confirmation that it would never look pristine again. In that sense I know what to do now.

Sorta knew I had to settle for a dirty palm area and perfectly clean "back of the hand", but was hoping for a miracle cure.

Thanks for the answers guys... much appreciated.

milkbaby

I have a lot of white cycling kit, and like you mention, the palms never become white again and the backs won't be totally pristine again either. However, I use Shout stain remover and that's the best treatment I have found. Spray it on as soon as you can and you can let it sit overnight or longer before laundering. Some stains even start to come out after spraying and rubbing it into the material. I air dry everything too because using the dryer tends to set the stains in.

jputnam

Not knowing the gloves, what fabric are they made from? Anything with lycra limits the range of cleaning methods quite a bit.

My summer gloves, I just throw in the washing machine.

That's hard on the water resistance of winter gloves, so I occasionally hand-wash them in the kitchen sink.

I prefer gloves with black palms so they don't look dirty.

One other tip, microfiber cleaning cloths cut down and mounted with snaps or velcro on the back of the wrist of your winter gloves give you a soft wipe rag that you can swap for a clean one whenever you need.


Winter cycling gloves - removable wipe rag by joshua_putnam, on Flickr

Camilo

I have (at least) three or four sets of everything, including gloves so I can have a couple of sets either being washed or waiting to be washed and still have some to ride in. I just throw everything including gloves n the laundry, top loader, regular cycle, warm water, regular detergent, whenever I have a couple sets that are used. Tumble dry extra low heat or air dry depending on my whim.

I put the gloves in a small mesh bag so the velcro doesn't stick and pill up the other stuff. (I also put the bibs in a separate bag so the straps don't get all tangled up with other stuff).

I don't wash my gloves "every" time I use them, but regularly. I wipe a lot of snot on them because even in mild or warmish temps, my nose tends to run when I'm in the wind. Plus, "I eat with those hands" and just tend to wash gloves to keep them kind of clean inside too. So I do wash them quite a bit. The older I get the more I do $hit like that, just like I used to make fun of my grandpa for doing.

If the palms of my gloves get greasy or especially dirty, for instance if I have to mess with my chain on the road, I just "spot" them with one of the of products I have to spot treat grease and other stains on regular clothes. Or rub them with liquid detergent, maybe use a fingernail scrub brush on them.

As for the pristine question - sure, you can get them clean again, just go after the greasy stuff pre-wash. My 3+ year old gloves (various types and colors, including white crochet cotton) pretty much look broken-in new.

I think people think cycling clothes are way fussier and fragile than they are. Just wash that stuff!

For what it's worth, my favorite gloves, after 40 some years of using gloves and trying many kinds, still tend to be the old school cotton crochet backed ones with leather palms and minimal padding. I like similar gloves in synthetic just fine too, as long as they have minimal padding, but haven't found modern gloves to be preferable. They last thousands of miles and many seasons with the above care.