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Smelly running clothes in a small hotel room ... phewww! (Read 102 times)

Notne


    Hi -

     

    I am doing a lot of traveling lately, away for weeks at a time in not-so-big-hotel-rooms, and thus don't have a "laundry room" on the other side of the house to store my smelly running clothes after I run. As a result, even though I try to air them out as much as possible, they wind up "contributing to the olfactory ambience" of the hotel room in a not entirely pleasant way!

     

    I've thought about keeping them in a closed plastic bag, but I'm afraid when I open it there will be a germ monster that reaches out and strangles me, so I'm wondering what the best way to deal with this situation might be. There are laundry facilities in the hotel, but it is a hassle to do laundry there, so I generally limit it to once a week - a long enough period of time for the running clothes to "ripen" in my hotel room.

     

    Do you folks have any suggestions maybe?

     

    Thanks!

    Half Crazy K 2.0


      Take everything into the shower post run and at least try to rinse off everything. Then hang it up to dry.

       

      Never tried this, but maybe even soap the clothes up and sort of handwash.

       

      If none of this is possible, at least hang everything up to  dry. You don't want sweaty clothes to pile and fester.

      NorthNorthwest


        Sounds like you already know that the most important thing is to let them dry (that goes for ALL the time with sweaty clothes). I just hang them in the hotel bathroom and keep the door closed. Not the best for air circulation, but most wicking material will dry pretty easily. You can hang them on the shower line, or flip the ironing board over and hang on the feet. This works for me and contains the smell.

        On that note, wear tech materials - cotton will take way longer to dry and may hold on to smells more.

         

        If that doesn't solve it, you could also try getting a travel bottle of Febreze. But you'll still want things to dry eventually.

         

        The hard part is if you traveling to a lot of different places (versus staying at the same room) and have to keep packing and unpacking. For that, I'll bring bags to quarantine the dirty running clothes and put a dryer sheet in with them for the smell.

         

        Half Crazy's idea may help. I've done that as a way to wash my clothes when traveling in offbeat 3rd world areas. But, again, that's just going to make everything more wet. It's the moisture that promotes bacteria growth, and the bacteria is what smells. Good luck!

        lindasaffell


        Fighting senescence

          Shower-washing should work pretty well.  This is what swimmers do a lot of times - I do it after I swim myself.  When I have rinsed off, I roll the suit in a dry towel.  That would help things dry more quickly.  I'm pretty sure it's the ....er..... ripening of the bacteria in dirty wet duds that creates problems with odor and eventually, mold.

          Happy Garmin newbie

          Renewing my interest in running, sloooowly

          John Wood


            I’m on day two of hotel room running right now. Always hop in the shower with my running clothes post run. Soap good, rinse good, wring dry, and hang up. Ready to put on the next day. The only issue I ever have is when I have to hit the road later the same day.

              Always hop in the shower with my running clothes post run. Soap good, rinse good, wring dry, and hang up. Ready to put on the next day.

               

              I have found this to work the best

              "Famous last words"  ~Bhearn

              paul2432


                Yup, I rinse them in the shower then wring them in a towel then line dry.  If my room has a balcony I dry them outside.


                an amazing likeness

                  I wash them with whatever body wash or shampoo is in the hotel, then make sure to rinse well with clear water in tub or sink.  Then roll them up in a dry towel and squeeze the jeepers out of it (usually step on it), then hang them on hangers on the shower rod -- since most hotel bathrooms have vents moving air all the time. Usually when I get back at end of day, they're dry.

                  Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.

                    Washing all your synthetic running clothes with Hex performance laundry detergent once a month actually WORKS to prevent them from getting smelly. You know those shirts you just washed a couple days ago and when you pull it on it already has a smell? that's GONE with the Hex. I think you could actually rinse and wring your sweaty clothes and they would be fine to wear again (and again) if you had first washed them with Hex before your trip.

                     

                    It's impressive stuff, and you don't need to use it every time you wash your gear. I grab all my stuff, clean or dirty, and wash it with Hex once a month or so.

                    60-64 age group  -  University of Oregon alumni  -  Irreverent and Annoying

                    BeeRunB


                      I learned to be a sink or shower clothes washer on vacations. Just bring a little detergent, wash, rinse, squeeze and hang up to dry. It allows me to bring less clothes when traveling.

                      Notne


                        Really awesome hints, thank you folks!

                         

                        And I just ordered some "Hex Anti-Stink" detergent