Best detergent for synthetic exercise clothes?

[klmama]

What have you found that gets out old smells that reemerge when the clothing heats up?  

[Pawz4me]

I add in a bit of Pine Sol with our regular detergent (usually Tide or Persil).

ETA: I only need to add in Pine Sol every couple of months or so.

Edited June 12, 2019 by Pawz4me

[mmasc]

My kids mostly wear synthetic athletic clothes every single day. I’ve switched to Persil and have noticed a pretty big difference. (I will plug in here that I really don’t like the smell of Persil, but my kids do. I wash my clothes separately and with something different.)

[Tenaj]

I usually use vinegar in with my regular detergent and that seems to work.  Really stinky gets soaked in baking soda/vinegar mix before washing.

[klmama]

Thanks!  I'll look at these. Does the smell of the treatment linger in the clothing?  I'm not sure smelling like Pine Sol or vinegar would be an improvement.  Would these work on more delicate fabrics, too?  Hand wash only items?  

[MercyA]

WIN Sports Detergent removed some stubborn odors for us. We buy the unscented version:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C2QZB7T/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

We do have to use the full (or is it double?) amount recommended on the bottle, even for a small load. And some items I had to use my soak cycle on, with hot water. But it did take the odor out of some things that nothing else worked on.

[Pawz4me]

18 minutes ago, klmama said:

Thanks!  I'll look at these. Does the smell of the treatment linger in the clothing?  I'm not sure smelling like Pine Sol or vinegar would be an improvement.  Would these work on more delicate fabrics, too?  Hand wash only items?  

I use vinegar as a softener for towels, but I don't use it for exercise clothing (it's totally useless at eliminating odors in ours). But I don't notice the smell lingering on towels. When I put Pine Sol in with a load of athletic clothing I usually do two rinses and I don't smell it. Here's Pine Sol's laundry page.

[Pen]

1 hour ago, klmama said:

Thanks!  I'll look at these. Does the smell of the treatment linger in the clothing?  I'm not sure smelling like Pine Sol or vinegar would be an improvement.  Would these work on more delicate fabrics, too?  Hand wash only items?  

 

Vinegar doesn’t leave odor after rinse cycle IME

 

other options also in wash stage:

a drop or two of tea tree oil

borax

 

IME with a cross country kid: any of vinegar, perhaps vinegar plus baking soda soak as described above)  tea tree, borax will work to get rid of sweat type odor, they also are all good at killing fungus, so helpful if damp has caused mildew  (though not if mildew is significant and you can’t use hot water on the garment- best not to let damp stuff lie around moldering) 

 IME they have all been okay on any setting of a washing machine  put in the appropriate dispensers so they mix into the wash water

dont use undiluted vinegar on any fabric  don’t use vinegar at all on very delicate fabrics particularly silk  (most exercise clothes aren’t *that* delicate) 

you can get Dr Bronners liquid soap with tea tree for hand wash delicates   Be sure to rinse thoroughly 

you could pre soak delicate hand wash in borax    Read the box labels for information  and borax is generally considered good for hand washing delicates  and IME removes many natural odors (it won’t remove synthetic perfume product IME )

 

Edited June 12, 2019 by Pen

[MEmama]

We use Tide Sport. I've never had a problem with lingering or re-emerging (?!) odors, even for my athletic teen. 

Eta I've tried vinegar in the past, and definitely noticed that smell lingering on our clothes. It took several washings to get it out. 

Edited June 12, 2019 by MEmama

[gardenmom5]

oxyclean - as an additive.  and stay away from polypropylene.

[Pen]

Just now, gardenmom5 said:

oxyclean - as an additive. 

 

We use this too.  I forgot that one. 

Just now, gardenmom5 said:

and stay away from polypropylene.

 

Yes.  It could be that how we answer here depends on the material (fabric) of the exercise clothes.   

Polypropylene does tend to hold odors worse than some. 

Also our washing machines and rinse cycles may make a big difference 

[displace]

I need to wash those clothes separately in their own load.  Usually that’s enough.  But, heavy load.  Vinegar if necessary (will not smell afterwards), and dry immediately.

[Plink]

Vinegar works to remove scents here.

To prevent the problem I send all sweaty people into the shower WITH their clothes.  They rinse everything off, wring it out, and hang it to dry on the towel bar.  They later toss it into the laundry when it is dry.  With this system I can wash exercise clothing on cold with normal detergent.