Saw one or two recommendations in the recent # of uses till you wash thread. But would like more data. So two parts.
One, does anyone have any good recommendations for something easy to use (dont require pre soak). Just load and go that will easily remove the “stress sweat” smell out. Personally tide doesn’t seem to cut it.
Two, many of the quarter grand+ suits we use (times we live in) have hydrophobic properties that allows water droplets to just roll right off. I believe that’s a coating applied to the suit. Perhaps in a placebo like affect I find that this gets diminished after every wash. So a detergent that is safe would be great. But hey if is this is just an inherent property of the high performance fabric, I’d happily stand corrected and defer to just point one.
most detergents do not work well or are not advised for technical clothing. My understanding is they leave a residue. I have found sodium bicarbonate/ baking soda and sometimes a bit of borax works just fine for me. There is no residue and the odours are gone. If I need to get rid of some dirt I might add just a touch (a couple of mls) of a biodegradable detergent to the sodium bicarb and that does the job. These are really simple and inexpensive solutions that I have found to work for me.
Tide+ sport. Never had any issues with either my regular workout stuff or my try suits (Kiwami amphibian and Ld spider, make sure you soak/hand wash those).
“Sport Suds Sport Detergent | Odor Remover Sport Wash 500g Zipper Pouch 40+ Loads”
Available from Amazon. We have had great results for sports clothing of all types with
only a (dry) Teaspoon used per load and it leaves everything with ZERO smell. As I said in another thread, it also makes me realize that
the big brands puff up the volume their product to make you think you are “getting a big box for your money”.
The most economical is absolutely THE BEST. It is made by Atsko and is called Sport-Wash Laundry Detergent. Their Sensi-Clean laundry detergent is also the exact same product simply marketed to the hypersensitive, non-allergenic crowd. It is a liquid detergent that comes in multiple sizes from 1-ounce (1 load) packets up to 64-ounces (64 loads) bottles.
Clothes come out of the wash smelling like–NOTHING. No residue is left on your laundered clothes. Nothing is left to clog up the pores of the polyester performance fabrics. Clothing will be as soft and as breathable as possible. Just DO NOT ever use fabric softeners on your performance fabrics. They just clog up the fabric.
I’m just a twenty-year, fanatical, raving consumer of their no-nonsense product. Their packaging is low budget. But their science and resulting products have no peers. You can purchase online from the ATSKO website or even from Amazon.
My wife is the ultimate judge of “cleanâ€, and she insists this cleans my super sweaty stuff, and everything else, better than anything she has ever used- never a trace of smell
I am a heavy sweater and sometimes stuff sits for a week before washing. Some of my regular running stuff is a decade old and I have never had issues using any version of tide, but typically use tide sport for the past few years at least. Maybe key is that you hang dry everything. Any time you heat something up it will bring the odors out. Also hand wash anything that may be delicate, I.e. swimskins, trisuits, etc…
Edited to add don’t leave wet/sweaty stuff stay wet like in a heap on the floor or at the bottom of the laundry bin. Let it dry if not washing right away.
Tide+ sport. Never had any issues with either my regular workout stuff or my try suits (Kiwami amphibian and Ld spider, make sure you soak/hand wash those).
I use sweatX. I have the additional misery of having very sensitive skin and hex and tide sport are brutal on me. Rockin green doesnt work nearly as well as sweatX, plus I can use less water and time washing my clothes with that protocol.
Another vote for Tide Sport. Been using Tide Sport for years without issue. But I do hang dry my workout clothes rather than putting them wet into the laundry basket. Once dry, they go into their own basket, and I wash workout stuff once a week. Rinse/spin a second time, and hang dry.
I’ve tried a bunch of the stuff people swear by in this thread with little luck. Some stuff smells fine coming out of wash but once I start sweating the rancid smell comes back. Admittedly most of the problem is with stuff I’ve been running in for years and should probably just move on.
I know the scent, and had that problem BEFORE using Tide Sport, but of course, YMMV. I think letting my stuff hang dry before putting it into the laundry basket, rather than throwing it in there wet, makes a big difference too.
This is what I’ve been doing lately: I “shower” with my workout clothes when I finish a workout. I mean, I just leave them on the floor while I shower, then I rinse and let them air dry before I putting them in the laundry basket. I use regular laundry detergent (Costco). Since I started doing that, my workout gear stopped smelling.
Atsko Sport Wash is great. Originally made for hunters, it’s designed to leave no residue or oder. A regular wash with one extra rinse and you are good to go.
Thanks for all the recommendations guys. I think i’ll give a small bottle of tide sport a try as I’m most familiar with that brand. Might try others if its not great. Hopefully this helps others as well.
