Solutions for Dirty Kit

[DirtyKit]

I need some advice / ideas for dealing with wet and dirty hobby kit. Husband rides off road bikes and is coming back with a LOT of dirty, wet and smelly kit. We are disagreeing over how / where to dry and store it.

What do you do? Is there a magical solution?

Wash, clean and dry it as soon as he gets in.

What kind of kit? Are we talking leathers and boots or stuff that could go straight in the washing machine? Do you have a garage or shed where stuff could dry off?

Not sure there are enough different ways of dealing with it to cause a disagreement?

As pp as soon as he's back he empties into the washing machine and washes it in one load, dries however you usually dry your clothes and it goes straight back into his kit bag ready for the next trip

As is the norm on MN he should be the one to deal with his own hobby washing 😊

Hes a grown adult. He deals with it by washing it or wiping it clean when he gets home. Why is that so difficult?

Not leathers but boots, some textiles that are in the washing machine right now. Some can’t be washed and needs to dry. I seem to be able to smell it more than he can!
He wants to dry it round the house and I absolutely don’t! Yes we have a garage and in summer things could go in there but in the winter I doubt it would dry.

@Dartmoorcheffy because we have different ideas and his way of drying makes me cross 🤣
i am happy to be put the stuff in the washing machine and ideally in his mind I would leave it all well alone where he leaves it. He’s not asking me to get involved but there’s so much of it - and it smells!

Utility room? Spare bedroom where you can shut the door?

I feel your pain - I do wild swimming and in the winter my wetsuit etc does smell while it's drying.

The utility room is too small and I don’t want the manky wet kit upstairs. What do you with the wet suit? I imagine it’s a very similar problem.

Put a dehumidifier in the garage? We also have a boot dryer by the back door for drying wet boots and gloves. They're dry in less than 30 mins then put away.

In winter I hang my wetsuit in the shower overnight to drip dry. Then I hang it on the back of the bedroom door to finish drying. Doesn't smell at all.

Heated aired and dehumidifier in the garage?! Dirty wet kit that can't be washed and just needs to air dry shouldn't be air drying in the house where you can smell it, ew.

I do the same for DHs golf bits! Banished to the garage!

Thanks @justalittlesnoel ! Glad it’s not just me.

He needs to take it off when he gets home and if it is muddy, put it in the bath or shower tray and spray with water from the shower to get most of the mud off.

Then he needs to get a clean bucket and put in a half scoop or so of biological washing powder, fill up with hot water (like the temp you would have a shower in) swish til the washing powder dissolves, then leave his clothes to soak in there for about 4 to 6 hours.

Then he needs to drain the dirty water out of the bucket, maybe add some cold water to give it a rinse and drain. Then he needs to wring the wet clothes out and put them in the washing machine with his other normal laundry to make a full load. Add powder and wash on a longish 40 degree wash. Then he'll need to hang those clothes up to dry on an airer, or he can tumble dry the things that are OK in a tumble drier. When they're all dry he'll need to fold or hang (his choice) and put them away.

At this time of year, unless he is using the wetsuit indoors, it's likely he is peeing in it - it's a known thing that helps to keep divers warm. Is he doing that OP?

Another vote for a dehumidifier and an assumption he will deal with it.
If things are really muddy my lot are directed to the washing line and hose before going anywhere near the washing machine.

@vipersnest1 it’s not a wetsuit 🤣 some pp likened the process of drying bulky wet kit to their wetsuits. Maybe you should ask them if they pee in them?!

@LindorDoubleChoc I know how to laundry. Not everything can be washed - that’s the issue.

I don't pee in my wetsuit and it still smells.

Manky river &lake water. I don't (knowingly) swim in sewage tho.

I hang my stuff outside. Doesn't rain much my side of the country. If I have to bring it in I hang it in the en-suite which currently has the cat litter trays in so smells pretty grim anyway.

Whoops @DirtyKit, I misread!
At least we know the smell isn't pee now.

Glad no one has pee soaked kit to dry. That would be a far worse issue 😂😂😂

If the day is dry enough to dry out paving slabs then it's dry enough to hand his dirty kit 9n the line. Even if not completely done by the time it gets dark, it will be partially done, then it can finish off in the garage. A dehumidifier running in the garage would help too and keep his stinky muddy kit out of the house.