Forums >General Running>my tech shirt stinks!
John
How do you wash a tech fabric shirt so it does not stink.
I have one I like a lot but it comes out of the washer (air dried in the basement) and it smells before I run in it.
One thing that work was to wash it with me in the shower after a run and then hang it outside for a day to dry in the sun (and moon).
Is it a good idea to dry tech fabric in a dryer?
Looking forward to ideas...
John www.wickedrunningclub.com
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an amazing likeness
Ahhh....Permastinktm....
There are some running/exercise specific laundry detergents that work wonders. But sometimes you just have to give up and trash it. Try searching on "permastink", there's been quite a few previois discussions on this with good information. Here's one.
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I use Tide Febreze Sport. It kills the PermaStink (tm) very well...but a couple wearings and it can return. It's just part of running...
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We have pretty good luck w/just adding some plain old white vinegar to the washer load of stuff....cheap and effective, at least for my personal brand of PermaStink. Maybe a cup or so to a moderate-sized load of clothes?
Like Spaniel says, tho, once you have PermaStink, it's kind of always there lying in wait and will come out again when the conditions are right....so it's always safest to bring a known non-PermaStink shirt to wear when going for beers afterwards (unless said PermaStink will help to clear a space near the keg for you and would be an advantage...).
Yeah - we use this or something similar ... a product designed for tech fabrics.
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Me too!
It's so gross. Just add sweat, and it stinks to high heaven.
- Anya
I have found this works well....
1 As soon as I get into shower after I run, I take my clothes with me. Hang them up after. Yes, they still stink. Once they dry, they get put into the clothes hamper. (I use a specific one for sports clothes.)
2. Before throwing the clothes into the wash, I spray Febreze Sport Extreme Active Fresh Scent Odor Eliminator onto the worst offending areas (under the arms for example). (http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=febreze+sports&hl=en&prmd=ivns&resnum=2&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1160&bih=704&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=3198931970043979440&sa=X&ei=YQI4TqXYNMH00gHr0oHNAw&ved=0CGIQ8wIwAA)
3. I then use a sports detergent (I use penguin brand now only because I cannot find Win anymore which I liked a lot better), and I add some Tide to the wash.
4. Hang dry.
Summer is the only time I have to do all this mess since I have been soaked to the core as of late. I use to do the above without the Febreze, but the stink wasn't going away. It has made a big difference.
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not bad for mile 25
Boy, those tech shirts can reek! I have good luck with just some Downy in the rinse dispenser, but for things the cat peed on, the white vinegar trick works great. It'd probably work for runner's stench as well.
It is also good to realize that running is not a pretty boy's sport. You WILL smell. I don't put excessive wear in my clothes and washing machine by washing running clothes every time I wear them....or every second, third, or fourth time....heck, I'm lucky if I wash the whole heap once every couple of weeks.
I do hang everything immediately after wearing to dry out though. And if I'm going to be running at work and need to cover the short distance through the hallway to get outside...I take cleaner running clothes.
Ah I'm glad it's not just me that has this 'Perma-stink' problem! It's annoying... I usually get rid of it by soaking my shirt in a sinkful of warm water with some handwash powder (I use cheap supermarket brand and it seems to work) for a few hours (while I'm out). It seems to work well, I'm not sure how quickly it comes back though. I haven't taken much notice of that, but it DOES come back!
rectumdamnnearkilledem
The weird thing with tech fabric stink is that I can have 10 different tops and 8 of them won't ever get stinky...but the 2 that do...OMG, BAD! One of my current stinky tops is my favorite bike jersey. All of them are 100% polyester, but there is something "unique" about that one.
We've had good luck with the Tide Febreeze Sport detergent + Borax (which is mostly for our miserably hard water).
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>> Is it a good idea to dry tech fabric in a dryer?
No, and that's one way to 'set' stink forever and ever.
Throw a cup of baking soda in the washing machine w/ the tech stuff. Works great and it's cheap.
Thanks for the suggestions! Looks like white vinegar and backing soda are in my near future.
I will probably dry the stuff outdoors too. The fresh air/sun light seems to have helped too.
I don't mind running with other stinky runners but I hate to show up, smelling, when we are all dry.
I will have to check the PermaStinktm link too.
My wife will disown me (or worse) if I start using Frebreze. She hates the stuff.