How Do You Remove Odor From Clothes Without Harsh Detergents?

When you come home after exercising, your clothes are usually soaked in sweat. You put it in the washing machine, but many times after washing it still smells like sweat and damp. That’s always annoying, especially since functional or sportswear isn’t exactly cheap. So what to do with the clothes?

Why do clothes smell even after washing?

Sweat does not actually smell, as it is mainly made up of water and salts. However, bacteria on the skin feed on sweat and multiply in moist areas of the body such as the armpits. As a result, the clothes start to smell.

If 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 the clothes quickly smell bad again.

7 tips to remove bad odor from sportswear

1.Empty the gym bag immediately

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

Nor should you leave sweat-damp clothes in the laundry basket or in the washing machine. You will find yourself in a warm and humid climate conducive to bacteria growing much faster and can also migrate to other garments.

2. Do not use fabric softener

In machine washing, you should avoid the use of fabric softener, as it reduces the spaces between the fibers, makes the sportswear less breathable and covers odors instead of eliminating them. As a result, the mixture of bacteria and fabric softener can smell even worse.

Frequent washing with colored laundry detergent can make your sportswear unclean. 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 a European ecological label, because its environmental impact is less than that of competitive products. Even better than the European eco-label is the Ecocert certification, which guarantees that the detergent does not contain ingredients derived from petroleum and that they are biodegradable.

3. Using vinegar against odors

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

If the smell does not disappear, before washing your clothes you can soak them in a tub with water and vinegar in a 4: 1 ratio for approximately 24 hours. Then wash it normally in the washing machine. Vinegar neutralizes unpleasant odors by fighting bacteria. The vinegar smell evaporates as soon as the clothes dry.

4. Citric acid removes sweat stains

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

In the case of major stains, you can soak the garment for longer, even overnight. For a stronger bleaching 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 clothes with yellowish sweat stains with citric acid.

5. Wash your gym bag and sports shoes

If dirty sportswear is transported in a gym bag, you should also clean it regularly. The same applies to sports shoes. You can wash them in the washing machine with the delicates or wool program, or by hand. Make sure glue and shoe seams don’t come loose! If it cannot be washed, you can resort to tricks for bad smells 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 that can penetrate clothes.

7. Use natural fabrics

Instead of wearing sportswear made from 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 30-40 degrees, but without fabric softener.