Sometimes even a horrible housewife figures out how to do something right…out of necessity! I work out hard. I leave the gym drenched in sweat. My gym laundry is down right funky.
I wash most of our our clothes with homemade laundry detergent. I tweaked this recipe from One Good Thing by Jillee to suit the hard water in Florida and have used it for the last couple of years. I tried other recipes, including powder versions, and found that this one works the best for our family. I use this on all of our laundry except “dressy blacks” and my soiled gym clothes. I like the clean smell of the fels naphtha in the recipe.
This recipe works well and doesn’t aggravate my daughter’s eczema.
But, it doesn’t completely clean my stinky workout clothes.
I purchased and tried several brands of laundry detergent and fabric softeners and I still detected a faint whiff of “not so clean” on my gym clothes.
After some trial and error, I finally came up with a process that works!
How to clean your stinky workout clothes
- Tide Active Sport
- Oxiclean
- Purex Crystals
- Distilled White Vinegar
- Snuggle Fabric Softener
That’s a lot of products for one load! Keep in mind that I only wash my stinky workout clothes and my son’s stinky underwear with this method.
I fill the washing machine with warm water.
Next I put in the recommended amount of Tide, Oxiclean, Purex.
Then I add the clothes.
I fill the fabric softener dispenser with vinegar (about 1/2 a cup) and a small amount of Snuggle (about a tablespoon)
Wash on the heavy cycle and dry as normal.
I use my DIY wool dryer balls with a drop of my essential oil of choice on them.
The clothes come out clean and fresh every time!
Note: I use quite a few products for just my gym clothes! I save money by making my own laundry detergent for the rest of our laundry and save these pricey items for JUST the really soiled gym clothes, or soccer clothes so these products last a long time.
What tricks do you use to clean stinky workout clothes?
Don’t forget the DIY Dryer balls!
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That’s a great idea to only use the strong stuff on the really smelly clothes! Thanks for linking up at the Thoughtful Spot Weekly Blog Hop! We hope you join us next week!
Samantha @ Stir the Wonder recently posted…Building Rockets with Shapes
Thanks Samantha. Using the “strong stuff” on all of our laundry would get expensive and probably isn’t all that great for the clothes 🙂
Great tips! Thank you for sharing on Show Me Saturday!
Lindsay Eidahl recently posted…Show Me Saturday {#15}
Thanks for this, I will be needing to know this soon. I love vinegar… it seriously has so many great uses!!
Savanna recently posted…One month surgiversary update!
Thanks. And for that comment above. I will take smelling like a cuddly bear anytime….!
Kim Smith recently posted…Military Discounts? Just Ask For Them!
I love smelling fresh and cuddly!
This is really a strong mix of stuff. Do you think it is the vinegar that is the key?
Kim Smith recently posted…Military Discounts? Just Ask For Them!
I think that the vinegar and the oxyclean are the key. The fabric softener and purex crystals are really because I like the way they smell! I have tried just the vinegar and it didn’t completely freshen the clothes. But keep in mind that my clothes are SWEATY when I get out of the gym. I also don’t presoak. If you presoak your clothes then the vinegar may be all you need.
Woah! That better get the funk out of your gym clothes with all those products. LOL This will come in handy for my husbands work out clothes…he’s really into going to the gym lately.
Gracielle recently posted…The Return to My Happy Place
IF your husband doesn’t like smelling like a cuddly bear then you can skip the fabric softener lol. It really works for boy clothes too.
I’m embarrassed to admit my clothes don’t smell to bad – which means I’m not working hard enough. Come train with me in S Fla and kick my butt!!
Kristen recently posted…Healthy Eating Tips To Get You Back on Track
Lol Kristen! Next time I visit my mom I will definitely let you know. My coach pushes me hard. I probably wouldn’t work out as hard if she wasn’t giving me evil glares.
I always forget to add oxyclean to my gym clothes. I used to do that all the time, thanks for the reminder!! I will have to try the vinegar/fabric softener combo.. never tried that one! 🙂
Lauren recently posted…Family Favorites: Books my Kids are Loving in January
I just add a dash of the fabric softener because I love the smell! Vinegar would work just as well on it’s own but if you don’t have a full load, use less vinegar!
This is awesome! I’m always looking for ways to get those gym clothes clean. Pinning!
Tricia recently posted…Black Bean & Radish Salad Recipe
Thank you Tricia! I appreciate the pin!
this could also say how to clean stinky boy clothes. 🙂 This would be great to clean up the stank that is a boy child. Thanks. 🙂
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This sounds great for getting out some of the crazy things a growing 3 year old boy manages to get on his clothes lol. I wonder though, do you happen to know of any non-Tide products that work just as well in this recipe? We’ve got a major Tide allergy in our house and can’t use it on anything 🙁
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Try it with your normal stuff. I think that the vinegar and the oxiclean are the most important ingredients. The fabric softeners and purex crystals are just because I like the way they smell!
I bet this would work on my husband’s grimy, stinky work clothes!
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I bet it would too! My cousin called me laughing and said there is no way in hell my clothes have ever been smelly enough to require this treatment. She’s never noticed my clothes being stinky….and that is because it works lol.
It definitely cleans up boy stink. I am soooo glad it isn’t just my son. There are times that I can’t believe those smells come from him!
That is quite the cleaning cocktail!! I’m going to have to give this a whirl for my dog’s blankets.
I added a note after see your comment! I didn’t realize how EXPENSIVE this method seems but since I only use this method on really soiled loads, and I use cheap homemade detergent on the bulk of our laundry, it really isn’t that costly. I don’t have to purchase the TIDE, OxyClean etc often.
Herchel recently posted…How to clean stinky workout clothes