4 rules to abide by and 5 best practices to follow

Playing sports is very important for one’s physical and mental well-being.

And to make the best of it, it is essential to choose the right sportswear: in fact, it is the garments made of technical, comfortable, stretchy, breathable fabrics that allow you to practice any sport in total comfort.

Technical clothing, however, has a drawback: often after prolonged use it comes to give off that nasty smell of sweat, typical of sports fabrics, which seems to resist washing.

And the bad odor not only affects sportswear in close contact with the skin (such as T-shirts, shorts and underwear), but also lingers on the outer “layers,” even to the point of involving sportswear such as technical running and cycling jackets or so-called hiking and ski “shells.”

The reasons why garments made of technical fabrics continue to release a foul odor of sweat, even after washing them, are not necessarily related to “wrong” washing or poor washing machine hygiene, which, after several uses, definitely needs a cleaning of the drum and/or filters to return to making the laundry smell good after each wash.

Instead, the most common CAUSE of the bad sweat odor typical of technical fabrics after prolonged use has to do with the “composition” of our sweat.

Well yes, very often the unpleasant odor emanating from sportswear is due to the presence of fat residues, salts and proteins that accumulate in specific places on technical garments and can even go so far as to cause yellow halos to form on the fabrics themselves.

When we sweat we transfer bacteria on our skin to the fibers of the clothing we wear.

Specifically, our sweat transfers to the fibers certain bacteria that degrade lipids and steroids found on the skin.

This transfer to the tissues causes a biotransformation that gives rise to the emergence of odorous volatiles which are precisely responsible for the odor.

Unfortunately, technical sports fabrics–compared to natural fabrics such as cotton, wool and linen–appear to be capable of creating more favorable conditions for bacterial growth, absorption of volatiles, and consequently tend to smell more than a garment made of natural fibers.

This should not deter us from using such practical technical fabrics for our sports practice.

In fact, there are some GOOD PRACTICES to prevent that bad sweat smell from forming.

Here are some rules, practical tips and effective remedies for how to best wash technical textiles, keep them smelling fresh longer or restore our favorite sportswear to its natural freshness.

Here are 4 good general rules to always keep in mind when managing your sports laundry:

Rule No. 1 – Always read the label

It sounds trivial, but the first rule for proper cleansing of sportswear, avoiding compromising its technical structure as well as its freshness, is to read the label carefully. There, in fact, we will find valuable information on how to wash and temperature and find out whether it is advisable to wash the garment in water, by hand or in a washing machine.

Rule No. 2 – Airing

In addition to the general rule of etiquette (actually valid for any type of fabric), there is a second one that is just as trivial as it is fundamental: let’s remember to let sportswear get a “breath of air” after sweating in it!

It is not at all uncommon for people to hastily stuff sweaty sports garments into their duffle bags, only to forget about them once they get home… Given the almost airtight closure of the bag, bacteria quickly multiply on the garments, thus making the typical sweat smell heavier and more persistent.

To remedy this problem, it is a good idea to lay out dirty clothes for a few hours before putting them in the washing machine so that they can be exposed to the beneficial action of the air.

Those who can take advantage of a balcony or a garden can even expose these cloths to fresh air overnight and then wash them the next morning.

Rule No. 3 – Timeliness

Third good rule: wash technical clothing as soon as possible, ideally immediately after use. The less bacteria are allowed to act in an ideal environment such as technical fabrics, the less sweat odor will be released and the less it will impregnate technical fibers.

Rule #4 – Soaking

Unfortunately, washing sportswear right away is not always possible, even for the good practice of not doing a wash with just a T-shirt and a pair of shorts used for running…

While waiting for machine washing, therefore, technical garments can be left to soak in cold water. Warning: cold water, not hot water! In fact, hot water could on the contrary promote the penetration of bacteria into synthetic fibers, emphasizing the problem rather than eliminating it.

Then when it comes time to machine wash sports laundry, there are 5 very useful PRACTICES to make the final effect more effective, maintain the much desired freshness and preserve the technical characteristics of the fibers.

Let’s see which ones:

1. Resort to natural “anti-odor” remedies such as adding baking soda or hydrogen peroxide to the detergent tray or a few drops of Tea Tree Oil to the fabric softener tray (the latter, in particular, will also maximize the antibacterial action of the detergent)

2. Always turn garments upside down before putting them in the drum: this is a useful practice in general but absolutely essential for sportswear, which is soaked in sweat and toxins, since the part of the fabric in direct contact with the skin is precisely the inner part and therefore the one most susceptible to absorbing odors; turning garments upside down before the cycle in the washing machine thus ensures a deeper cleaning of the fibers since critical areas will be more easily reached by the detergent.

3. Always opt for a gentle low temperature wash: if your washing machine allows it, choose the specific “sport” or otherwise “synthetics” program and still select a temperature that does not exceed 30°, so as not to ruin technical fabrics and their protective filters

4. Forbidden for technical fabrics is the use of fabric softener: instead of making washing easier, fabric softener risks compromising the elasticity of technical fibers. This is because fabric softener tends to create an invisible but almost impenetrable layer on technical fibers, which also makes it more difficult to remove sweat odor from the fibers themselves.

5. Last but not least… Use products that have sanitizing and odor-eliminating powers: there are now many products on the market that claim to be “anti-odor,” but let us remember that while these products can be really effective against bad odors, in most cases they are very polluting to the environment (as evidenced by the typical danger signs on the packaging).

So if you care about both the freshness of your technical garments and the preservation of the environment in which you love to play sports, be careful about the products you choose.

Our advice is to always check the packaging for warning signs (especially the familiar exclamation mark enclosed within a red and white rhombus).

If you rely on the Green Puffer line, you can rest assured that you won’t have to choose between the best solution for your sports laundry and the best solution for nature because you will find them both encapsulated in one product!

In particular, for your sportswear we recommend the use of our water-soluble concentrated eco-detergent

Green Puffer Washes + Softens

, endowed with sanitizing power (thanks to plant extracts of Thyme, Rosemary, Sage, Neem Oil, plants known for their antibacterial properties) and naturally softening fibers (thanks to extracts of Witch Hazel and Argan Oil, known for their softening, softening and restructuring action on fibers).

For an even more optimal result, then, we recommend that you strengthen the effect of the eco-detergent by adding

Green Puffer Laundry Essence

in the fabric softener tub: in fact, our precious natural eco-perfumer is equipped with a unique sanitizing and odor-eliminating technology, capable of fighting the bacteria that form with excessive sweating, the real culprits of bad odors on technical fabrics.

Let’s add a few more practical tips for the “after-wash” of technical clothing:

1. remember to lay out your sports laundry so that the seams are not ruined and creases are not created
2. it is always a good idea not to expose technical textiles to direct sunlight, rather let them dry in a sufficiently ventilated place
3. do not use the dryer, as the excessive heat may damage the technical properties of the garments and fix stains and odors on the fabrics even more
4. avoid ironing technical clothing
5. don’t forget that the bag in which you store your sports clothes also needs a wash every so often, so as to prevent unpleasant odors from forming inside!

Finally, we greet you with a “top tip” to further emphasize the freshness of your sportswear: before storing your favorite technical garments in your duffle bag, spray Green Puffer Essenza Bucato Rossa inside it. It is enough to recycle an old trigger (washed well so that it has no residue of the previously contained product) and screw it onto the aluminum bottle of the Green Puffer sanitizing eco-smell … et voila! You will see what a pleasant smell of freshness the next time you open your sports bag!