Is it OK to air gym clohtes instead of washing them after light exercise?

[TowerStork]

After a very light run/walk this evening I hung my gym shorts and sweatshirt on the line to get air overnight instead of putting them in the laundry. I'll use them again Thursday and then put them in the wash. Is this normal/reasonable?

I'm not completely unhygienic in case you are wondering. I showered when I came in and put the socks and sportsbra in the wash. It just seems wasteful to wash gym clothes when I wasn't even that sweaty.

I'd wash them and do everyday after the gym - whether it's cardio or holistic.

After sitting on a spin bike behind a man last night with gym clothes that smelt and clearly hadn't been washed, this only reinforced the need !

Dried sweat smells. If you sweat, you need to wash the clothes.

Re-wear. Although possibly not if I was going to be inside at a class.

I exercise outside or inside alone

tulips27
Cotton gets damp quickly and doesn't wick as well as synthetic fibres. It also smells quite easily.

Merino wool is naturally antimicrobial, tends to wick quite well, and doesn't smell. It's also better for temperature regulation.

Not all natural fibres are equal. If I had a choice between cotton and synthetic active tops, I'd choose synthetic.

I rewear - my washing would be ridiculous every time. sometimes squirt something on it if I want to actually smell the nice fragrance. Sometimes the dettol squirt and go or wear and go - or whatever it’s called 🤣

Maybe not if I was in a studio class with actual people. When I’m in the gym there’s 2/3 other people and we actively avoid each other like the rona is among us 😆😆

I always do this unless it has been a real sweaty workout

I'll put fresh kit on for gym or a class and wear the same for my run later in the week with an air in between then all bunged in the wash after. Except my gym sports bra which gets several washers first.

I don't swear excessively except on a run or if the gym, during summer when I'd wash the bra more often. Running bra I wash after every 2 runs.

Again it's balancing the sweat/bacteria aspect with taking care or tech fabrics which you don't want to over wash

i run outside, i rewear several times, after I’ve left the clothes over the bannister to dry they go back into gym bag. I only have one set of running gear and I have a shower after every run though.

I do this, unless the kit is smelly. Seems like common sense.

Sweat that should be. I swear like a docker

If your walk/run was over say 30-45 mins, that would be enough for me to want to put them in a wash. If you only did 20 mins at this time of year probably not. A TShirt and shorts hardly takes up any space in a load and I can't bear putting the same clothes on twice but that's just me. If it works for you, great.

I occassionally rewear a vest if I haven't got too sweaty and the other day I went on a short run and wore the shorts again.
I do a fair amount of races and a lot of people seem to wear kit that hasn't passed any kind of sniff test!!

I don't sweat much, even after quite vigorous exercise, never have done. I'm kind of dry-pored. I'd definitely reuse gym clothes after an airing.

If it doesnt smell, its fine, why wouldnt it.
What makes you think about it, is someone telling you need to wash everything after one wear?

I do hot yoga daily and am drenched in my own sweat by the end -showering in the stuff. As long as my outfit doesn’t stink, I leave on the drying rack to dry and wear again. It rarely stinks.

I don't wash stuff after every wear. I don't sweat much.

I can only hope you have a good lymphatic system @Shitfather

Drying clothes drenched in sweat and reusing them is a sure fire route to infection. And it's gross.

Cotton is grim for exercise as it doesn't wick sweat away. Even worse if you're outdoors and it rains - wet cotton would be horrendously uncomfortable.

Some natural fibres wick (eg merino), but you're unlikely to need that until next winter now (unless you're doing some kind of ultra race where you race in the night).

For 'normal' exercise, technical fabric is a must.

if its sunny, just stick them.on the line for an hour. Sunlight neutralises smells and kills some bacteria.

If you're not in a gym.class, then reuse. I read an article with a famous woman, possibly Mary Portas, who said that she runs every day but only washes her running stuff once a week.

No way would I reuse workout clobber.

Just put it on a quick wash if you're short for time.

I rewear if possible, save the planet and all that! Seems a huge waste to wash something if I've only jogged around the block for 30mins or been wearing to a gentle yoga class.

I re-wear. I don't have enough clothes or laundry baskets to not do that unless I wanted to massively increase our wash load and I want to keep that down for climate reasons. I am nowhere near anyone else when I exercise.

I get through multiple changes of clothes during the course of the day so no way would I wash it all after a few hours of use.

I'm beginning to think I'm really skanky between this thread and the one where people are saying OP must wash her hair after swimming before going to hairdressers.

NB I wash my gear after parkrun as I'm sweaty and if it's got wet in the rain, like this morning. Also two wears is my max.

I rewear yoga clothes multiple times. Running gear gets washed after every use. (Although I might fish a sports bra out of the washing basket if absolutely necessary to reuse on a run)

I do this, even after heavy exercise, but I only exercise at home so no one else has to smell me if they get stinky