We all know how expensive the good or branded gym clothes can get. Your athletic wear really gets worked hard on, with all the sweating and stretching during the workout. And while it has been designed to endure all this, it doesn’t always mean it’s durable. Actually, the fabrics in your workout gear are quite fragile because they are made with high-tech materials that repel moisture and provide compression.
Often, we don’t realize the mistakes we are making when it comes to caring for these fabrics that result in short life cycles of our workout clothes. Read on to find out how you can care better for them.
- WASHING WITH HARSH DETERGENT
Using lot of detergent will break down the fibers that make your workout wear stretchy. When you are washing your gym clothes, avoid adding extra soap. As for fabric softeners, just skip that step because the softening agents create a film that sticks to the synthetic spandex fabrics and makes them even harder to clean.
- LEAVING CLOTHES IN YOUR GYM BAG
Left to sit, your sweat and dead skin cells will spend their time producing bacteria. And, your gym bag will smell terribly unpleasant. A tip: Once you empty your gym bag, don’t just throw the clothes in your laundry pile. Instead, hang them to air out if you can’t wash right away.
- NOT WASHING SEPARATELY
Even though you do some of your toughest activities when wearing your exercise clothing, when it comes to washing these items, you should think of them like your delicate’s and wash them separately from your everyday wear. A better option would be to wash them by hand. If you can’t handle doing all those loads, then consider putting your sports bras and tanks in a mesh bag when you wash them.
- NOT WASHING INSIDE OUT
Washing the pieces inside out protects the fabric, and it will help these important properties (that you pay extra money for) last a lot longer. The inside gets the dirtiest, and the part that makes your workout wear moisture-wicking (material designed to pull moisture away from the skin) often comes from treatments on the outside of the clothing, so you are protecting it better when inverting them before washing. Also, avoid cleansing your elastic clothing in hot water as it ruins the fabric.
- HANGING YOUR WORKOUT CLOTHES
No one likes having hanger marks stick off their shoulders. Because exercise clothing is made of stretchy fabrics, it is more prone to getting stretched further. Fold your gym clothes; you wouldn’t want to waste all that effort you just put into washing them properly by ruining them in storage.
- NOT TREATING THAT ODOR
I know you’re thinking, “If I’m not supposed to use extra soap, how do I get rid of that smell?” If your exercise clothes are really reeking from an especially intense workout, soak them in a mixture of water and vinegar before you launder them. If you don’t have vinegar, then add a splash of lemon juice because the acid in the citrus will take out the nasty bacteria.
Finally, remember that even after the best care, your workout clothes have a lifespan of 2 years approximately, so once you notice the material loosening up, it is best to go shopping for new workout clothing (who is complaining?!)
