pgjackson

What detergent have you found that gets the sweat stink out? Seems like most of my cycling gear, no matter how often I wash them, still have a slight stank. Starting to bleed over into my regular clothes also.

freeranger

Persil works for me.

Deal4Fuji

Are you letting them dry out completely before going into a hamper? I've noticed polyester and other man made fibers seem to absorb "funk" if they stay damp & dark, but do much better if allowed to dry out. I'm a real sweater and live in high humidity & have really wet cycling clothes after a ride. My 2¢

pgjackson

Interesting. Had not thought of that. Yes, I usually just throw my sweaty gear right into the hamper. I sweat like a crazy person so my stuff is soaking wet after a ride. I'll give this a try.

pgjackson

I almost bought some of that today but got Tide Heavy Duty instead. If the Tide doesn't work I'll try Persil. Thanks.

kahn

Some "nylons" retain odor even after washing. I had some hiking tops where as soon as I put it on and it started to heat up, released it odors immediately. Then Patagonia came up with some material that did not retain odors. Made all the difference on a six day ski trip pulling sleds in Yellowstone.

AdkMtnMonster

Assos makes a cycling clothing detergent that just plain works. Also, consider changing up your body soap periodically to prevent colonizing yourself with certain organisms. Anti-bacterial body wash is very good for this. You’re probably already using it. If so, change brands every 60-90 days for better results.

Sy Reene

This is very likely the culprit. I actually let everything hang dry after a sweaty ride before going into the laundry pile.

shelbyfv

Oxy works for me. I wash everything immediately after each ride. If you let sweaty clothes ferment it will be much harder to get them clean.

gringomojado

vinegar or "unstoppables" and regular detergent works for me

gm

veganbikes

https://biokleenhome.com/laundry-powder-citrus-5

Been using the stuff for years works great on all my stank gear just wash in cold water and everything smells just fine.

drlogik 

I'm old school and the method still works very well without adding extra perfumy odors to your cycling duds. 20 Mule Team Borax! Yep, old fashioned Borax is a great odor killer. In my front-loader I sprinkle in enough to fill the palm of my hand without running off. You don't need a lot. Add that and your regular detergent and boom, no odor.

+1 for letting your clothes either air dry before you load them, or, rinse them in cold water and wring them out a couple of times before they go into the washer. All that wet sweat going in the washer...your clothes are bathing in it.

Toadmeister

I add vinegar to the fabric softener tray. Works great.

canklecat

The toughest odor to remove is mildew. So unless I wash the sweaty stuff immediately when I get home, I always hang my sweaty gear to dry over the tub -- I have one of those travel clotheslines, stretched between the showerhead and towel rack. There's a fan on the shelf next to the tub (plugged into a GFCI outlet for safety), and I turn on the vent fan. Nothing goes into the laundry basket until it's dry.

Same with my running and cycling shoes. After a run or ride I put the shoes on top of a recirculating air HEPA filter to dry. It's a fairly large unit, enough to keep the dust down in a room, with a front facing intake fan and top facing exhaust fan. I put the shoes on top over the exhaust fan. They never get stinky. I use that trick to dry out my headlights, cameras, etc., after a rainy ride too.

After that I mostly hand wash my cycling and running clothing. I vary my liquid detergents a bit, but usually get Tide or Gain -- sometimes the ultra-whatever, sometimes the stuff that's free of dyes and softeners. Both have good enzymes that are essential to getting sweaty kit clean and stink-free. I soak the clothing in a 5-gallon bucket or the tub, when there's too much for the bucket, for about 20-30 minutes. That gives the enzymes time to work. Swish it around the bucket or tub, dump, rinse, hang to dry, done.

Seems like more work than machine washing, but I got into that habit three years ago after I was hit by a car, breaking and dislocating my shoulder. Some of the exercises my ortho doc and physical therapy clinic recommended were identical to the action of hand washing clothing in a bucket or the tub. Why not combine the two? So I'm still doing that. Saves money over the laundromat, my clothes last longer, and my shoulder healed as well as could be expected without surgery.

There are all kinds of homebrew recipes for de-stinking clothes with sweat funk or mildew. Some swear by white vinegar, or hydrogen peroxide, or baking soda, or hanging outdoors in the breeze and sun for a few days. It's easier to avoid it by drying sweaty clothes immediately after a ride or run.

chaadster

+1 on vinegar, though I add it to the soak cycle, once the tub has filled.

rbevansjr

Win Detergent. Buy it on Amazon. I use it on all my workout, cycling and any clothes where I sweat a lot. Before Win I used Tide and the funk would linger in the clothes and become more pronounced once you started sweating during a workout. Now it’s all gone, like a miracle cure.

shrimp123

i have had success with tomato juice soaking to remove skunk spray

Branko D

I generally shower before putting on my kit, and the good stuff I often rinse while showering after a ride. If I don't, I put it in a shallow bin which I just use as a specific hamper for cycling / triathlon kit. Generally I try to wash it as soon as feasible.

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indyfabz

Assuming you shower after getting so sweaty, at least rinse the clothes by starting your shower with them on. That’s a little trick those of us who tour often pull. Just did it again Friday after a very sweaty 60 mile to a campground. Since I wasn’t doing wash, I also used soap to clean them while showering then hung them to dry.

topflightpro

Use vinegar and less detergent, and double rinse.

The detergent thing is counter intuitive, but basically, detergent sticks to synthetic fibers more, trapping in odors. The vinegar and double rinse helps remove the excess detergent.

jamesdak 

Yep, for the modern fabrics just use a soap that leaves no residue, vinegar and NO fabric softener. I use Woolite for all my laundry.

livedarklions

One trick I learned when I had to keep a white medical uniform clean was to wash everything in cold water. Hot water actually cooks proteins and oils and makes them harder for the detergent action to remove. This seemed to work for all visible body fluids, I don't see why it wouldn't work for sweat as well. All I know is I'll leave sweaty stuff around for days before I get around to washing it, and I have no problems, my clothes smell fine when they come out of the dryer. And I'm talking soaking wet, 100 miles in 90 degrees weather sweaty.

I realize this is totally counter-intuitive, but try it before you start listing reasons why it can't be right.

rumrunn6

yeah me too & that's what I do. I also have a spray bottle that I put liquid detergent in & I will sometimes spray the hotspots like shirt underarms, etc. for work clothes I always try to wear a t-shirt because they are expendable. I remember 1 shirt was so bad but I liked it a lot, I had to treat the underarms w/ stain remover & wash it repeatedly before it was safe to wear again. also, for a while I was washing bike, gym & grungy 2nd construction job work clothes separately from my office works clothes. if your machine has a 2nd rinse option you might try that. but if something still has an odor after 1 washing try washing it 2 or 3 times before wearing it & see if that helps. I won't get into personal hygiene but obviously the cleaner our body is the cleaner our sweat will be. but what we eat has some effect. I remember I had to photo a wedding & I was on a no carb diet & I ate a can of tuna for breakfast. since I sweat so much, in that situation, I carried a small washcloth to wipe my face occasionally while I worked. during the wedding, I noticed it smelling like fish! eek!

grizzly59

Fresh water soak and rinse immediately after a ride. Then hang on a towel rack over the a/c vent. Dry next morning, no stink. Use detergent once a week or so.

pgjackson

I have noticed that my sweat stink from a hard bike ride is totally different that the stink from just working in the yard and regular sweat. Man I smell terrible after hard exercise.