How do you remove the smell from clothes without aggressive detergents?

When you come home after exercising, your clothes are often drenched in sweat. You put it in the washing machine, but many times after washing it still smells of sweat and humidity. That is always annoying, especially since functional or sports clothing is not exactly cheap. So what to do with the clothes?

Why do clothes smell even after washing?

Sweat doesn’t actually smell, as it’s mostly made up of water and salts. However, skin bacteria feed on sweat and multiply in moist areas of the body such as the armpits. As a result, the clothes begin to smell.

If the clothes smell bad even after washing, it is often due to the washing temperature and the detergent. According to the label, sportswear should be washed at a maximum of 40 degrees to protect the fibers. However, this means that the odor molecules remain attached to the textiles, so clothes quickly stink again.

7 tips to remove the bad smell from sportswear

1.Empty the gym bag immediately

After training, you should empty your gym bag as soon as possible and hang your sweaty clothes outside to dry. This means that odor-causing bacteria have little chance to multiply significantly.

You should not leave clothes damp with sweat either in the laundry basket or in the washing machine. You will be in a warm and humid climate that is conducive to bacteria developing much faster and can also migrate to other clothes.

2. Do not use fabric softener

In the machine wash you must avoid the use of fabric softener, Because it reduces the spaces between fibers, it makes sportswear less breathable, and it masks odors rather than eliminating them. As a result, the mixture of bacteria and fabric softener can smell even worse.

Frequent washing with color detergent can cause sportswear to become less than clean. Therefore, you should give your clothes a wash cycle with white laundry detergent.

Using any detergent implies a degree of contamination. Choose a product with the European Ecolabel, because its environmental impact is lower than that of competing products. Even better than the European Ecolabel is the ecocert certification, which guarantees that the detergent does not contain ingredients derived from petroleum and that they are biodegradable.

3. Use vinegar against odors

A good home remedy for the smell of sweat is cleaning vinegar that you can find in supermarkets and drug stores. To prevent your clothes from smelling bad, add about a cup of vinegar to the drum with each wash.

If the smell doesn’t just go away, before washing your clothes you can soak them in a tub of 4:1 water and vinegar for about 24 hours. Then wash it normally in the washing machine. Vinegar neutralizes unpleasant odors by fighting bacteria. The smell of vinegar evaporates as soon as the clothes dry.

4. Citric acid removes sweat stains

Citric acid helps with light colored and smelly sportswear. Have a whitening effect and, at the same time, helps against unpleasant odor. Mix a liter of hot water with four tablespoons of powdered citric acid in a basin and put the clothes inside for about an hour.

For heavy stains, you can soak the garment longer, even overnight. For a stronger whitening effect, you can let the wet garment dry in the sun. Then wash the clothes in the washing machine. You can also treat everyday white clothing with yellowish sweat stains with citric acid.

5. Wash the gym bag and sports shoes

If dirty sportswear is transported in a sports bag, You should also clean it regularly. The same applies to sports shoes. You can wash them in the washing machine with the delicate or wool program, or by hand. Make sure the glue and seams on the shoes don’t come loose! In the event that it cannot be washed, you can resort to tricks for bad odors such as coffee remains.

6. Keep the washing machine clean

You should always remove residual moisture from the washing machine by leaving the door open, otherwise mold can develop. It is also advisable to clean the washing machine regularly. For this you can do a wash with hot water once a month. You can take advantage of it to wash hand towels. This prevents detergent residue from building up and creating bad odors They can penetrate clothing.

7. Use natural fabrics

Instead of using sportswear made of synthetic fibers, you can rely on natural fibers, such as merino wool. Thanks to its elastic properties, this natural fabric adapts ideally to movements and maintains heat when the fibers get wet. Merino wool remains odorless and can be washed at 30 to 40 degrees, but without fabric softener.