How to Get the Stink Out of Your Running Clothes
stink running clothes runfargirl
I stink. My friend and fellow Hood to Coast teammate, Jesica over at rUnladylike would approve of this admission since she writes about the "uncensored" aspects of running. One of which is the stink. It's true. We all sweat. Some of us stink more than others. I'm one of the stinkier ones. My husband may or may not have used the word "vile" to describe the way I smell. Apparently he chose to overlook this flaw when we were dating and married me anyway...what a guy!
But it is true: I stink. I've tried every deodorant. Not even the super strong "clinical" stuff works. So since none of it works I just use Tom's of Maine because I don't like the idea of rubbing all that aluminum under my arms. But this post isn't about my deodorant choices, it's about how to get the stink out of your running clothes.
Nearly all of my running apparel is washed immediately after I run the night before a run, when I realize I have no clothes to set out for my morning. So it sits around for a couple days before I have a chance to wash it. And somethings, like my Saucony ViziPro Jacket (which I wear on almost every fall, winter and spring run--somehow it is the perfect layer!) I wash maybe once a month because I'm wearing it so often. Maybe I've just disgusted you with my astonishingly gross laundering habits (or lack thereof), but my guess is that if you have a household of laundry to do your running gear may not be at the top of your list.
For the most part I was all my running gear separately with Sport Wash on the recommended setting (usually cold) and then line dry the items. This is supposed to improve the life of the clothing (according to Sport Wash), I'm not sure if it actually does (I mean I'm not going to do a separate set of laundry to compare over time which does better...who has time for that?). But I have it, so I use it and it makes me feel like I'm doing something that makes a difference. But there are a few items that I have that get this residual stink and there is only one thing that I've found that gets rid of it: vinegar.
Here's what you do:
1. Find the stink. Usually not that hard, it's the part of the garment that makes you stop and say, "Whoa, do I really smell like a sweaty old man and roadkill?"
2. Soak the stinky area of fabric with distilled vinegar (or ammonia) and let it set for 10 minutes. (I usually put a towel down and then lay the garment on the towel. Then I pour a small amount of vinegar on the area and rub it into the fabric like you would with a stain remover.)
3. After 10 min. Flush the area with warm water to remove the vinegar.
4. Spray with Dreft (I've found that Dreft is the best stain remover over things like Shout or OxyClean. If it is not in the laundry isle of your grocery store, check the baby isle). Let set 10 minutes.
5. Launder according to directions on the tag.
6. Voila. Stink-be-gone.
[Tweet "Running clothes have that perma-stink? @runfargirl knows how to get rid of it. #gearchat #running"]
Do you launder you running clothes separately? Do you have clothing that you've tossed because you couldn't get the stink out? Have you ever tried using vinegar?
--Sarah
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