Miami Women-Only Fitness Bootcamp

If you train long and hard enough, you’re probably familiar with that awful “sporty” smell that seeps out of gym clothes even after they’ve been through the wash. Eww! It’s a scent that plagues you with every burpee, squat and jumping jack, and it’s seemingly impossible to get rid of…or so I thought!

Odor in workout clothing is most commonly caused by a buildup of sweat and bacteria from your body – hence, why I wash my husband’s clothes in a separate load from mine.

I made the mistake of accidentally throwing my WOFB shirt into my husband’s wash load of training clothes. Oh boy!!!! That funky smell transferred into the fabric of my shirt and I couldn’t get it out – even after 3 washes.

I was determined to find a solution:

First off, you have to use an appropriate detergent. These 3 were highly recommended:

1. Sweat X Sport Extreme Laundry Detergent

2. Nathan Sport Power Wash Laundry Detergent

3. OxiClean Liquid Laundry Detergent

Although I haven’t tried these detergents yet, one thing I can vouch for that did work for me is the following…. after a recommendation from a couple of bootcampers, I bought the Downy beads. You toss a small cupful of the beads into the washer at the beginning of the load, before you start the wash and before you drop in your clothes.

Here are some more helpful tips:

• Turn clothes inside out before washing (since the sweat, oils, and bacteria from your body accumulate on the inside of the clothes).

• Wash clothes as soon as possible after wearing.
  
• If possible, let sweaty clothes air out immediately rather than stuffing them into a plastic bag or hamper.
  
• Don’t use more detergent than recommended or overstuff the machine, both of which make it harder for clothes to rinse clean. (In my tests, every single method did worse if I crammed too many items into one load.)
  
• Skip the dryer – After running your gym clothes through the wash, either let them air dry or put them in the dryer on a low/no heat setting.

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