3 Ways To Keep Wicking Clothing Fresh & Odor Free

I practically live in wicking clothing including my moisture wicking sleepwear. These products are great at keeping us cool and dry while working out or sleeping. The technical fabrics used in these products do a great job at wicking away your sweat and keeping you cool and dry. Many wicking products like those produced by Nike or Cool-jams offer proprietary natural antibacterial protection to help inhibit fabric odor. The problem is that even with that odor protection, the fabric can still sometimes trap body odor and retain the smell even after laundering especially after excessive sweating. The odor comes from that bacteria that is present on your skin. This bacteria can get trapped in the fabric fibers. Sorry, this is the nature of the beast, but there are ways to help keep your wicking sleepwear and workout clothing fresh and odor free. Here are my recommendations for odor-free wicking clothing.

Pre-soak your wicking clothing in a solution of water and oxyclean (or just use water and a cup of baking soda). You can use the pre-soak setting on the washing machine or do it in a separate container. Then wash, one of our recommended detergents below.

Plain white vinegar is an inexpensive and cheap odor remover. Soak your wicking sleepwear or sportswear in a cup or two of vinegar mixed with plain water. Then wash as usual. Or, pour 1/4 to 1/2 cup of white vinegar into the wash (along with your regular detergent).

As most of you know, you cannot use any fabric softeners or fabric softener sheets since this will block the pores of the fabric and diminish the wicking ability of any wicking fabric. We have found a few detergents that are helpful for odor elimination without damaging the fabric. Some of our recommendations include:

• Kirkland Ultra Clean with patented odor release technology
• Arm and Hammer Liquid detergent with Oxyclean
• Tide Pods plus Febreze

These types of detergents will remove the odor, but won't degrade sweat-wicking or water-repellent properties. All of them promise to remove oils, which retain odor by clinging to the fabric fibers.

Replace Dryer Sheets with Essential Oil

For a natural odor enhancer, drop 5 drops of your favorite essential oil on a wash cloth and add it to the dryer on low with all of your wicking clothing. With this trick, you won't miss the fabric softener sheets. My favorite essential oil is lavender and it gives my wicking apparel and bamboo sheets such a wonderful smell!