If you are a parent of a child who plays sports, you already know the odor that goes along with the constant use of sports gear. In fact, not washing sports gear can lead to staph infections. Yikes! Today, I’ll cover how to clean sports gear and remove the odors.
I have talked to many a mom who has this issue and thinks that smelly sports gear is inevitable and that it can’t truly be cleaned. But, I have good news for you. I have found a solution that works well and keeps my twin boys’ hockey gear smelling fresh. Want to know my trick?
HOW TO CLEAN SPORTS GEAR
Rubbing Alcohol is my solution to stinky sports gear.
When my twins were little, one of my boys had to wear a shaping helmet because of a flat spot on the back of his head. The doctor gave us special instructions on how to care for his head, hair, and helmet.
The helmet he wore had to be worn day and night and even to sleep. This meant that the only time I removed it was at bath time. The odor was pretty bad when we removed it. The doctor told me to use rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab to wipe down the interior part that touched his scalp. Then, I let it air dry.
I did this daily and it completely removed the odor along with any germs that may have affected his skin. I was pretty impressed on how effective this remedy was.
Fast forward years later, and now my boys play ice hockey. The odor in the locker room is so bad that just the opening and closing of the locker room door releases a horrible stench in the air. You would think that because it is ice hockey and they are on the ice, that they wouldn’t sweat. Wrong. Their gear gets soaked with sweat and odor so much so that we wash it after every single game.
My instructions on how to clean sports gear:
For their particular sport, there are some items that are machine washable. I can wash their jerseys, hockey socks, pants, and some of the protective gear on the gentlest cycle in my washing machine.I always hang everything to dry.
Side note: Never place sports jerseys in the dryer as this will ruin the lettering and possibly melt it off or make it unable to be read.
For the gear that cannot be machine washed, such as their helmets and skates, I wipe the exterior with sanitizing wipes and the interior with the rubbing alcohol. I keep a spray bottle of slightly diluted rubbing alcohol in my laundry room. After every game, the gear that cannot be machine washed gets sprayed down with my rubbing alcohol spray. I hang everything to air dry.
A few extra hints on cleaning sports gear:
Treat the gear after every game as soon as possible. Do not wait. Do not leave it in their bag overnight. It will most likely be wet from sweat and body odor, and it will be much more difficult to clean effectively.
For skates and other footwear, spray the interior with the rubbing alcohol spray. Let it air dry. After it dries put newspaper inside the shoes/skates to absorb any moisture.It will absorb the moisture and the odor. Remember, odor is created and made worse by moisture, so aim to keep the gear dry in between uses.
Another tip not related to sports gear but to smelly shoes:
If you or your child suffers from foot odor, we have a very effective remedy for that, also. Neosporin ointment cures the bacteria that causes foot odor. One of our kids suffered from this years ago, and I searched far and wide for a solution. Nothing worked but this.
How we did it: After the child bathes/washes and dries their feet every night, rub the neosporin ointment on their feet. Take care to put some in between the toes, also. This was an effective cure for our child. I’ve shared this tip with many parents because it is the only thing we found that worked.
I hope you have found this information on HOW TO CLEAN SPORTS GEAR to be informative and helpful. If you want to know more tips and tricks for cleaning everything in your home, subscribe to my blog.
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How to Declutter the Guest Room or Your Kid’s Room checklist can be found here.
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My How to Declutter Your Coat Closet/Hall Closet/Linen Closet checklist can be found here.
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Step 1: Check out this post on the 1st step you should take to get organized. If you don’t have a calendar, you can grab my free weekly printable calendar page here. It is in my shopify store, but it is totally free, so you won’t be prompted to put in any payment information. It is a free download and will be delivered straight to your email.
Also, you can get the complete digital printable copy of the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series Calendar and Checklists here. The printable digital download is delivered to your email. It includes 25 pages of printable calendar pages and checklists to help you declutter every room in your home. You can sign up here.
Step 2: Create a daily Housekeeping Schedule. You can use this series to start to set up your own schedule. You can also use this simplified weekly schedule.If you often ask: What is the fastest way to clean a dirty house? Or, if you struggle to get organized and have tried and failed time and again, you can likely find out which of these 11 reasons cause you to fail to get organized.
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Step 4: What is the fastest way to clean a dirty house? Use a timer and use the Deep Cleaning Checklists above. They will help you get your home sparkling after you’ve decluttered.
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Check out the most popular posts on deemiddleton.com:
14 Things That Make Your Home Look Cluttered
How to Create a Daily Housekeeping Schedule
How to Clean House When You Are Completely Overwhelmed By Clutter
What is Preventing You From Getting Organized?
Also, check out a great post on decluttering over here from becomingminimalist.com. Joshua Becker has some great tips on decluttering and minimalism.
For further reading, check out the fly lady here. She has some great cleaning and kitchen decluttering ideas plus excellent organization tips to get you started.
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