Stinky sports gear - what do you do with it?

[rickyrickygrimes]

DS has done thai boxing for about a year now. He wears padded shin guards and gloves and, unlike his clothing, they can’t be washed. They really smell awful now, and are making his whole room (which he shares with his younger brother) stink. He leaves them to dry, uses rice bags inside to dry the gloves but they still smell awful.

Any solutions ? Personally I’d keep them outside but we live in a flat and don’t have a garden !

I think they spritz unwashable theatre costumes with vodka. Have a google, maybe you can try this.

If they can’t be washed they need to go in the bin so you might as well wash them.

Maybe hand wash in the bath

Is Buying some new ones an option?

You could try spraying with febreze.

I’ve also heard cat litter is good for absorbing moisture and smells - well it would be wouldn’t it!

You can get washable liners for the gloves, for future reference

Husband washes cycle gear with a specific sports detergent. His stuff goes in the machine on a separate cycle with the sports detergent. Works brilliantly.

Surely your son's things can be hand washed. Steep them in a basin of boiling water with sports detergent. When it's cooled down he can give them a scrub in the basin and rinse them off.

@justnotfussed it’s not clothes, it’s thick padded shinguards and boxing gloves.

‘I think buying new might be the only option ! Then storing them in giant sealable plastic bags with cat litter stuff 🤷‍♀️

Yes but as I said can't they be steeped in the detergent and dried out? Shin guards can be scrubbed. Can't be good for his skin surely to just leave them going gross forever.

My DS is a hockey goalkeeper so we have similar issues.
He airs his kit outdoors as often as possible and sprays with Febreze on a frequent basis.That keeps the smell down quite a lot. He does wash his kit in the bath sometimes but it takes forever to dry so can only be done on a sunny day when he can leave it outside to dry which isn't much good in the winter when it's getting most use. Have to confess I'm a bit worried about what his room is going to smell like now he's at University!
If you are going to buy new anyway I would have a go at hand washing in the bath - you've nothing to lose and if it works you'll know for the future.

My son's stinking football shoes are living in a cardboard box of cat litter. It is the only way to stop them poisoning us.

Oh and shin pads can usually be cleaned with surgical spirits - which has its own smell obviously but I don't mind that.

We have an electric shoe dryer that also has a “de-smelling” option. I have put gloves on it before now.

I use the Dettol “all in one spray” on my shinguards for hockey (although they don’t directly touch my skin so might be different). My logic is that it kills bacteria so that’s basically like washing it lol. No smells from what I can tell!

You could try these for the gloves. https://www.margaretdabbs.co.uk/3-in-1-shoe-freshener/ Bicarb is also good for absorbing stink.

Can you put them in the freezer for a bit?

I'm sure there's logic in this, but this gave me the absolute boke 🤢🤢🤢

You can buy special boxing gloves spray that you spray inside after each use.

Can I hijack this thread to ask about stinky/muddy football kit?
My son's kit can only be washed at 30 (ridiculous choice, cheap fabric!) but it's not enough to get rid of the mud, and over time as well I'm sure a smell will start to set in. Any tips as you all seem to know what you're doing!

For smells I use Dettol antibacterial liquid in with the wash. As for the mud, short of a higher wash temp I am not sure. Giving them a hand-wash first?

Had this with cricket pads. Sponge with vodka/ rubbing alcohol to remove gunkand help kill stinky bacteria without continually adding oodles of perfume and other chemicals which is no good for skin and will make them itchy.Leave outside in sunlight sunlight is amazing. This will prolong life, but eventually ditch and replace

I used to do a lot of kickboxing. Kit was washed in dettol sports wash. Any pads and gloves that could not be put in the machine were cleaned with alcohol wipes as soon as possible after every training session.