# Get the funk out!



## Merdoff (Jul 1, 2005)

Hi ladies, can anyone recommend a detergent for getting the funky smell out of sports clothing. I find my regular detergent doesn't do the trick. The best I've used so far is Tide with Febreeze, but I still find our bike shorts aren't coming out as fresh smelling as they should be. We've spent alot of money on high end bike shorts that are in great shape (so I don't want to throw them out). Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!


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## formica (Jul 4, 2004)

my special stinky bike gear recipe:
Soak in "Biz" overnight, at least 12 hours. this is an enzyme
based presoak that goes after organic matter, not your regular presoak.
Then, rinse that out and then run through the wash with a laundry product
called Oxyclean, which is not an detergent it's an additive. You should be
able to get that at any supermarket.

You might want to switch laundry detergents. Tide is super powerful/caustic and can hasten fiber disintegration on some clothing.


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## SuperKat (Mar 27, 2005)

Tide with Febreeze is what I use too, but I also use the fabric softener w/ Febreeze and the dryer sheets too. 
I wish I was sponsored by Febreeze.


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## aword4you (Jul 25, 2005)

Last week someone recommended just a small amount of bleach. I'm kind of nervous about trying that without getting color safe or something. But supposedly it works great and gets out the remaining bacteria that detergent alone doesn't manage to get rid of.


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## Noonie (Feb 20, 2006)

Have you tried Gain? Everything I wash in it smels intoxicating!


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## aword4you (Jul 25, 2005)

To follow up...we've been on a bike vacation for the last week. I did one load of bike laundry (you know how you have your fave clothes? I wore mine the first few days...  ) So, the clothes for the rest of the week have been sitting in a trash bag awaiting the washing machine. I did the bleach thing (waited for the washer to fill up and start, then put a small amount in a cup and filled it with water so it was already diluted) on two loads. They are definitely a lot better off now! Hopefully the bleach will help the funk in the long run.


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## Whafe (May 27, 2004)

I soak the kit overnight in pre wash stuff, the one my mum used to use on my sisters nappies.. I then ensure the water temp is warm to hot, this helps, never had any luck on cold washes....


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## formica (Jul 4, 2004)

oxiclean/biz will go after the same things and more than the bleach, with out the risk of bleach damamge.


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## Merdoff (Jul 1, 2005)

*thanks*

Thanks ladies, I think I'll try Formicas recommendation of Biz/Oxyclean. I think I'd be a little apprehensive using bleach.


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## motomom78 (Oct 5, 2005)

I subscribe to Active.com's monthly newsletter and they recently had an article about a special detergent called "WIN" that is made just for the new types of fabric that sports clothing is made of. It is supposed to deal directly with the odor problem that plagues bike jerseys and such. I haven't googled it yet and can't remember specifically the retailers they mentioned but I'm sure someone could find it.


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## bikerchic (Jan 17, 2004)

*I'll look for that one*



> I subscribe to Active.com's monthly newsletter and they recently had an article about a special detergent called "WIN" that is made just for the new types of fabric that sports clothing is made of. It is supposed to deal directly with the odor problem that plagues bike jerseys and such. I haven't googled it yet and can't remember specifically the retailers they mentioned but I'm sure someone could find it.


That sounds like the ticket to me. I just couldn't bring myself to use any real bleach on my cycling clothes I have used Clorox 2 and it worked well.

I also air dry all my Lycra it never goes in the dryer and I've heard that using fabric softener in the wash on Lycra takes away it's wicking abilities which is a big no,no. I've never used it on mine.


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## motomom78 (Oct 5, 2005)

OK, just go to www.windetergent.com and you can order right off the website. It's the official detergent of the US Olympic Team, so it has to be good, right? Formulated especially for sports fabrics. I'm ordering a jug of it today!


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## Surestick Malone (Jan 24, 2004)

I've had good luck w/Nikwax products. 
Supposedly they don't leave any residue that would affect the wicking properties of the clothes. 
They are a bit expensive though. 

I've head that adding baking soda or vinegar to the wash can help to.


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## formica (Jul 4, 2004)

bikerchic said:


> That sounds like the ticket to me. I just couldn't bring myself to use any real bleach on my cycling clothes I have used Clorox 2 and it worked well.
> 
> I also air dry all my Lycra it never goes in the dryer and I've heard that using fabric softener in the wash on Lycra takes away it's wicking abilities which is a big no,no. I've never used it on mine.


hope you don't minding me delving into technical detail here. You are basically correct, but I'd like to finesse a few points. I am a technical fabrics specialist. Two points - you are absolutley correct in that dryers are the lycra killer. But, lycra is a type of nylon and nylon has no wicking properties. You are getting lycra and polyester mixed up - easy to do with all the different tecchy fabrics out there. Fabric softener *is* really bad for wicking polysesters... it coats the synthetic fibers so that they lose there wicking ability. Wicking fabrics would cover fleeces, most jerseys, anything with a polyester component.

here's a link.
http://www.fabriclink.com/Care/Carefaq.cfm#Fabricsoftener


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## formica (Jul 4, 2004)

motomom78 said:


> OK, just go to www.windetergent.com and you can order right off the website. It's the official detergent of the US Olympic Team, so it has to be good, right? Formulated especially for sports fabrics. I'm ordering a jug of it today!


You'll probably get the same exact result with throwing a tablespoon of Oxyclean into your regular detergent at half the cost.

Other tip - if you are using Woolite, buy baby shampoo instead. Same thing, less additives and a different bottle.

Nikwax and Grangers ( my preference) make great stuff but IMSHO they are overkill for regular laundry issues.

Formica


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## TheotherH (Jan 21, 2004)

For bike clothes - we use Sunlight detergent and it works fine, even if the bike clothes have been in a plastic bag for several days waiting to be washed because we're camping (warning: do not take a whiff of the bag when unloading into washer!). 

For armour, we use Mr. Clean All-Purpose cleaner to get rid of the "funk". We fill the bathtub with several inches of warm water, add some Mr. Clean and let the armour soak for a bit. Rinse and let hang to dry.


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## boonah (Apr 29, 2005)

I've been using Amaze (powder) for years for sports clothes. I soak clothes overnight then throw them in the washer with regular detergent. You can also soak in machine and not add extra detergent. It's the only thing that I've found that works, and it really works! I'm sometimes tempted to suggest it to stinky people who haven't asked...


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## BadHabit (Jan 12, 2004)

formica said:


> I am a technical fabrics specialist.


How about a tiny bit of Lysol?


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## formica (Jul 4, 2004)

I've heard of people doing that with body armor. No bad side effects that I've heard of....


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## SuperKat (Mar 27, 2005)

Look people...Bikers just smell okay? We're gonna have to get used to it.


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## BadHabit (Jan 12, 2004)

formica said:


> I've heard of people doing that with body armor. No bad side effects that I've heard of....


Thanks. Used it recently to cure tent mildew. Overused it, actually...


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## TheotherH (Jan 21, 2004)

But dammit, the smelly bikers are often faster than me so I get stuck behind them.


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## lgride (Sep 24, 2006)

easy- 1 capful of ammonia into your load of laundry (along with your normal detergent). I use it in every load, but started doing it to remove the funk from sythetic backpacking clothes after a week on the trail.

works great- has never spotted, stained anything.


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## Impy (Jan 6, 2004)

motomom78 said:


> OK, just go to www.windetergent.com and you can order right off the website. It's the official detergent of the US Olympic Team, so it has to be good, right? Formulated especially for sports fabrics. I'm ordering a jug of it today!


I got a couple bottles of this and it works ok. Only prob is the bottles are small and between 2 smelly people who exercise quite often it doens't last long.

I like your idea formica, biz/oxyclean. You also put some detergent in too, right, with the oxyclean?


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## connie (Mar 16, 2004)

I just use the pressure washer and Febreeze on body armor...


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## formica (Jul 4, 2004)

Impy said:


> I got a couple bottles of this and it works ok. Only prob is the bottles are small and between 2 smelly people who exercise quite often it doens't last long.
> 
> I like your idea formica, biz/oxyclean. You also put some detergent in too, right, with the oxyclean?


in the Stinky Bike Gear Recipe (tm) the Biz/Oxyclean formula is a presoak in Biz, then wash with detergent + oxyclean.

For the Windetergent stuff, I am highly skeptical that it's anything more than detergent and oxyclean packaged together and marketed special. I've read through their data, and gave it to my mentor who is the originator of the SBG recipe, and knows fibers and chemistry, and she confirms.


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## formica (Jul 4, 2004)

SuperKat7 said:


> Look people...Bikers just smell okay? We're gonna have to get used to it.


nice clean worked hard sweat with a little dust smell is okay in my book, but some gear... omg, all you need to do is hang out near a shuttle rig sometime with a bunch of ahem, guys, who have _never _washed their gear to really understand what EW means. Combine that with "I drank so much it's coming out of my pores" BO and... that's an odor beyond fixing with any thing I can think of ( dynamite?)

~f.


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## CraigH (Dec 22, 2003)

TheotherH said:


> For armour, we use Mr. Clean All-Purpose cleaner to get rid of the "funk". We fill the bathtub with several inches of warm water, add some Mr. Clean and let the armour soak for a bit. Rinse and let hang to dry.


It rinses out easily and the detergent smell goes away quickly. It is anti-bacterial so it kills the stuff that was smelling in the first place.


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## cbharping (Mar 22, 2004)

motomom78 said:


> I subscribe to Active.com's monthly newsletter and they recently had an article about a special detergent called "WIN" that is made just for the new types of fabric that sports clothing is made of. It is supposed to deal directly with the odor problem that plagues bike jerseys and such. I haven't googled it yet and can't remember specifically the retailers they mentioned but I'm sure someone could find it.


I tried the Win detergent - it's very expensive compared to regular detergents, and doesn't work all that great.

I put Arm & Hammer Baking Soda in the rinse cycle - it's cheap, and it works well!


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## gabrielle (Jan 2, 2005)

No matter how bad it is, it'll never be as bad as boating gear.

I'm just sayin'. (Since I haven't posted in a while, and all.)

gabrielle

PS - I also have that song stuck in my head now..."If you don't like what you see here, get the funk out!"


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## Neen (Sep 27, 2004)

_(warning: do not take a whiff of the bag when unloading into washer!). _
LOL. A couple of years ago I went to the 24 hours at Moab and when I hit the airport in Grand Junction CO (its this little tiny dinky airport), I go to get my ticket and the guy behind the counter takes your checked baggage and inspects it right in front of you. And I was like, oh man, you DON'T want to open that bag, I've been mtn biking in the desert for a week and those are all my dirty clothes.
He just laughed but whew-ee, I think everyone in line behind me backed up when he opened up my backpack!


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## Marshall Willanholly (Jan 27, 2004)

formica said:


> in the Stinky Bike Gear Recipe (tm) the Biz/Oxyclean formula is a presoak in Biz, then wash with detergent + oxyclean.
> 
> For the Windetergent stuff, I am highly skeptical that it's anything more than detergent and oxyclean packaged together and marketed special. I've read through their data, and gave it to my mentor who is the originator of the SBG recipe, and knows fibers and chemistry, and she confirms.


Does Oxyclean have any detrimental affects on wicking fabrics? When I've bothered to read the care labels on some of my stuff, it recommends not using fabric softeners or oxidizers.


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## formica (Jul 4, 2004)

SkullCrack said:


> Does Oxyclean have any detrimental affects on wicking fabrics? When I've bothered to read the care labels on some of my stuff, it recommends not using fabric softeners or oxidizers.


Hmm. Good question. I've never seen that on a label, but certainly, if that's what the manufacturer recommends, usually there's a reason.

edit: just spent some time looking that up and I can find no references to oxyclean type products damaging or not being recommeded for use with wicking fabrics. In many cases, these types of products are recommended as as substitue for when you might want to use regular bleach. However, the usual caveats apply, and certainly follow the tag directions.


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