At Zeroda, as much as we love sport, our family comes first, as for washing our clothes, it’s well down the list.

We exercise often early in the morning or at lunchtime between meetings. With limited time, we make every workout count and the harder we work, the more we sweat. With family and business commitments, our activewear often sits unwashed for at least a day, sometimes longer.

What causes our clothes to stink

It sounds obvious, but what causes our clothes to stink.  You may be surprised to know that it’s not your sweat that causes odour, it’s the bacteria on your skin combined with your sweat that creates those funky smells.  Add to this the synthetic fibers used in today’s activewear and you have the perfect conditions for bacteria growth.

So what can you do to extinct the stink

You can try antiperspirant instead of deodorant to minimise the sweating.  This will help but antiperspirant actually uses aluminium salts to dissolve the moisture on the skins surface.  Natural deodorants without aluminium are available so check them out, and as with detergent, you get what you pay for.

As an alternative, you could try clothing with a microbial finish.  These fabrics use silver nanoparticles with silver being well known for its ability to stop the growth of many microorganisms. However, these silver nanoparticles are also known to detach from fabric through the washing process, finding their way into waste treatment plants where they potentially harm the bacterial treatment process.  Read more here

A good start is to avoid leaving your workout gear in your gym bag or a plastic bag.

Bags create warm and damp environments that will make your clothes smell even worse, bacteria loves these conditions.  If you can, hang up your clothes to dry as soon as possible and if it’s in the open air even better. We always have a coat hanger at the ready and yes, some days our car looks like a laundry!

If you have nowhere to hang your clothes, then you might try mixing up a simple water/vinegar solution (1 part vinegar, 3 parts water) in a spray bottle and spraying your clothes before placing in your bag.  This will help keep the bacteria at bay until you get home.

Once you do get home, for clothes that are really offensive, pre-soaking them for a few hours or even overnight in a mixture of vinegar and water (1-2 cups of vinegar) or a quick squirt of your zeroda sports wash will help.  It’s a personal choice, vinegar does work well, but your laundry does smell a bit like a fish and chip shop.  Once you’ve finished soaking, rinse thoroughly with water prior to washing.

The easy bit – washing

Now for the easy bit, washing.  If you don’t do so already, turn your clothes inside out and don’t over pack your washing machine.  Whilst we have found Zeroda Sports Wash to work well in cold water, best results occur in warm water (no more than 30 degrees).  Use our no mess cap, applying just enough pressure to start the flow of Zeroda. The flow will stop close to the 12ml recommended dose.

Zeroda Sports Wash was made specifically for your technical and athletic clothing and will give you great results, removing the bacteria and odors that linger.  Zeroda doesn’t use harsh chemicals, so it won’t remove moisture wicking or water proofing properties and as we don’t use fragrance, your clothes will be left smelling fresh and last lounger.

Now when it comes to drying, an open air clothes line is best followed by a drying rack.  Clothes dryers present many challenges, the heat can embed residual odors and damage the elastic and lycra clothes. If you have no other choice, then use the lowest setting possible, but use caution and follow the instructions on the label.

Working out should be a rewarding process and you shouldn’t be penalised for getting up early to exercise or not having time to do your washing at the earliest moment.  We all have priorities and dealing with stinky clothes should not take priority over family, friends or more exercise.