Don’t be stinky! Take care of your cycling clothing

Keep your cycling suit from stinking

Man-made fibers and sweat are a stinky mixture: the smell is noticeable for several miles if you take a break. Ok, maybe we’re overacting a bit, but it’s important that you keep that in mind.

That’s why we insist on taking care of your cycling clothing and follow these 3 recommendations:

1. Clean your clothes soon or bacteria will grow

2. Never softener, use a neutral soap

3. Use distilled white vinegar as a fabric softener

1. Clean your clothes soon or bacteria will grow

No more clothes forming a thick mountain on your bedroom chair. Maybe you feel it as a work of concept art, but if we are talking about hygiene, this is unacceptable.

After your bike trip, take a moment to wash it off. If you don’t have a washing machine on your cycling vacation, do at least one hand pre-wash. This will prevent some spots from becoming so encrusted that your immaculate maillot turns into a polka dot suit.

Some say they saw faces of Jesus Christ in their culottes after waiting for a week to be washed. We have no proof of this but we leave it to the popular imagination.

2. Never softener, use a neutral soap

The fabric softener smells great and we love to use it! Sometimes unnecessarily, like in sportswear. It should be taken into account that the fabrics of the cycling uniform are delicate and must be treated in a specific way.

To avoid a quick deterioration of your clothes, it will help you a lot not to resort to the fabric softener: the film which forms makes the fabric lose its breathability. The first time you wash it, it will smell great and it will be softer than your rider legs, but over time there will be no one to fix it.

Always try to use a neutral soap without bleach, as this will help damage the clothes as little as possible.

3. Use distilled white vinegar as a fabric softener

As fabric softener, you can resort to the moderate use of distilled white vinegar. And we say in moderation because this is a point where there is some controversy.

On the one hand, there are those who point out that:

• Preserves color

• Eliminates bad odors

• Soften clothes

• Acts as an agent against limescale in the washing machine

However, these benefits may involve a risk not so much to the clothes themselves as to the washing machine, because according to Steven Grayson, continued use of vinegar can melt pipes and cause leaks.

As for the three-point benefits, this is the least necessary: washing clothes at the right time is what will really prevent bad odors and you can wear the same clothes for years.

And remember: pockets are to be emptied.