Washing sports clothes

mood

I read that you should wash your sports clothes in soap flakes. Regular washing powers destroy the dri fit / performance fabrics and waterproof fabric apparently. Where can I buy soap flakes or other appropriate detergent?

tHE vAGGABOND

Just follow the washing instructions, washing at a low temp and so on..

That being said, no item of clothing is going to last forever, so I have a load of running and gym stuff now - so no one item gets used too often, in theory making all of them last that bit longer

Dotcomdolly

and never tumble dry them, it damages the lycra.
I think I have heard not to use softener...not sure

tHE vAGGABOND

yea the list of do's and do not's on the labels is quite extensive for sports stuff..

Its a lesson I learned as soon as I moved out and mammy stopped doing my washing :mad: - I had a few episodes of making white stuff pink and shrinking stuff - I now always read those lables :P

jaggiebunnet

You wash your sports gear :eek:

Doug Cartel

Dotcomdolly wrote: »

a
I think I have heard not to use softener...not sure

Maybe because softener causes loose fibres to wind up tightly? This causes towels to become slightly waterproof, I guess it could affect any fancy sweat wicking properties your clothes have as well.

Out of interest, where did you read this if you don't mind saying?

Soap flakes are rarely used anymore as they've become pretty obsolete. IIRC, while they have a wide range of uses, they contain pretty much nothing more than grated ordinary soap you'd make in science class or in your kitchen if so inclined, so they don't do much on their own except dissolve some polar and non-polar substances. They're usually combined with other substances when used. I remember using them in Junior cert, when we were testing water for hardness, so if you have hard water in your area they won't even lather. I'm no expert, and I could very well be wrong, but I wouldn't put much weight behind them, especially since sports clothes might need a bit more oomph to get the sweat smell out.

A quick google says your dri fit should be fine with cold water and a powder detergent (like Daz, etc). Personally I only use softener if I'm handwashing my favourite delicate clothes, it's not really necessary for most clothes so don't risk it if it might damage your sports clothes. Don't tumble dry and other than that just follow the label.

gymsoldier

Why would you wash youre clothes, the smell of the pheromones gets the women going crazy