I’m using Zwift almost every day and a major struggle is where and how to dry my cycling kit. I’m currently using a small drying rack indoors, where I put my clothes after each ride and wash them after every 3rd or so session. Problem is, that it smells a lot and I don’t have a dedicated room for drying clothes. I’m seeking a solution where I get rid of the sweaty smell indoors and don’t have to wash my clothes every day.
How are you dealing with your wet and sweaty clothing?
This may be totally unhelpful (sorry!) but I would not do anything like this, ever. To protect my skin I would not use dirty salty bibs. I have several pairs of bibs and once I found an inexpensive type that are acceptable, I bought several more. I have a set of knee length shorts that I save for emergencies when I have been too lazy to do the laundry. I hate them enough that they serve as a reminder that I must wash the bibs.
This might not be feasible in all settings, but my long-term approach is to maintain an artificially low indoor relative humidity—around 35%. Sweat not only damages equipment but also promotes indoor mold growth. By keeping the humidity low, I minimize sweating and zero indoor odor; however, I still change my shorts regularly and toss them straight into the washing machine.
At the very least, rinse them out and hang dry in your shower/bath if you don’t have access to a washing machine. And/or buy another couple sets of cycling bibs and shirts.
I could, I have a very efficient washing machine and also a 15min program, but think it’s kind of wasteful in terms of energy and water usage to do that every day.
I just throw my cycling kit in with my other laundry and it all gets washed every 3 or 4 days. If you really want to reduce the machine wash use then I would at least rinse my kit immediately after riding and then wrap it in a towel to mostly dry it before hanging to complete drying. Check out this old gcn video for the towel wrapping drying method, it really works well and gets out way more water than just wringing the clothes themselves. https://youtu.be/m7YWHZMs9IU?si=kM7vsTyC7wXOkzbV
Kudos for not wanting to waste water. My washer supposedly senses the load size. Still probably not especially efficient.
I’d hand wash the kit after every workout. As a side note, vinegar really helps with odors. I nearly threw out some shirts due to the smell, but an overnight soak in a vinegar solution took care of it.
I personally hop in the shower with them and wash them every ride (I would hope everyone does at least this). They then of course get properly machine washed every week.
I also am always wearing a sweat band, and a base layer as well to help capture (and spread out), the sweat, making cleanup a little easier; yes, even through summer in a 88F degree room.
As far as combating smell (this happens for those who even machine wash them after every use);
This stuff:
It comes in a spray as well, which I spray my kit on the betweens when it’s not getting machine washed.
I also spray my HRM with it every once in a while to cut the smell down; it DOES work; and the detergent for machine washing has been a great experience on my end.
On the non-wash days, I have a closet area where they go on a rack, and I have a fan, dehumidifier, and air purifier on a timer; all 3 in a small area means the kit dries out, and generally doesn’t stink (no more than the room I ride in stinks at least… which is another thing).
On longer rides and specifically in summer I’ll pull that air purifier / filter out and let it run as well, which does help cut down on those hotter days; along with the dehumidifier.
Then my last form of defense against room smell, is this stuff:
When it gets real bad I’ll “bomb” the room with ozium spray and avoid being in the room for most of the day, and it has always done the job for me.
Since commuting to work on bike now that I can / have the space, I also have one of each sprays I keep on my rack at work, which I spray items when and as needed (which, while I do wear full kit, doesn’t get crazy sweaty, just a little particularly in the 100F degree summers). Which are hung on a storage rack with a fan on a timer that blows them out through the day.
Bad idea! First when finish riding, get yourself showered and cleaned up ASAP - don’t sit around in sweaty cycling kit.
Wash them (using a wool mix detergent) on cold with low skin speed and then hang them up on a clothes rack where they can dry with some sort flow around them. Not in direct sun light. You can also add a little bit of dettol in the wash. An old trick I learned from a local pro cyclist.
Rotate between different cycling kit each day.
This will avoid hopefully all the usual nasty things that affect typically long distance cyclists.
If you don’t have a washing machine, then hand wash and hang them to dry near an open window or near (but not on) one of those heating racks for towels. That’s what I do in Haute Route events where your accomodation doesn’t always have washing machines.
Oh, yeah; should also mention, since I didn’t, by not washing your kit at all, is not only bad for hygiene (which is indeed already very important and can cause larger issues which will keep you off a bike), but the salts etc. from sweat that get into the fabric can also physically damage … frankly everything.
I wouldn’t be surprised if by not washing out a kit even just in a sink for a few minutes, would likely cause the fabrics to deteriorate in half the time or even less.
I presume the comment about running a washer was more about energy consumption than water consumption—but regardless—it should be noted that it’s technically more efficient to wash your kit in some manner every day, than the impact of buying and trashing an old kit has on the environment.
