Those who practice physical activities like running regularly know how important it is to maintain the quality of the sports clothes used in the exercises. Over time, and according to the frequency of use, it is natural that fabrics lose some of their main characteristics (such as elasticity and color) and even bad smells. This situation will force you to buy new clothes. Check out!
Step 1: When You Get Home, Put Your Sports Clothes To Soak
After finishing the physical activity, you need to pay attention to the first precautions you should take with your sports clothing. If you can’t wash them immediately after practice – because you need to go to class or work – you can fold them and keep them in a plastic bag until you get home.
However, once you arrive, it is essential that you remove the pieces from the plastic bag and soak them all in a bucket of water. This process helps to remove the bad smell that can be left in the fabric. Also, remember never to leave sportswear in the laundry basket for too many days – it should, whenever possible, be sanitized on the same day of use.
Step 2: Check Your Garment’s Washing Instructions
When removing your sportswear from the soak period, it is essential to check the washing instructions for the garment before you start to sanitize them. Each fabric has different characteristics (and may contain prints and other details that require more attention when washing). They can react in different ways in contact with water and cleaning products.
Washing instructions are usually found on the garment’s labels and help you extend the life of these clothes.
Step 3: Separate neutral products to sanitize fabrics
Sportswear should always be sanitized with neutral cleaning products as they are made from delicate fabrics. It is even recommended that you use liquid soap to wash clothes and that it is not applied directly to the fabric but instead diluted in the water used for cleaning. The use of softeners should be avoided in these parts. It can damage synthetic fibers and interfere with the transpiration and elasticity characteristics of the fabric. It is worth stressing that fabric softeners are only recommended for items made from cotton.
Step 4: Wash The Piece With Cold Water And, If Possible, By Hand
To start washing your gym clothes, it’s essential to separate the colored pieces from the white ones – just as we do with all the other clothes we wash at home. This simple attitude prevents stains on white or light-colored clothes. After separating the pieces by color, you will immerse the first clothes in a container with cold water, already with diluted liquid soap. Hot water can damage the elasticity of sports fabrics and, in some cases, even shrink the garments. The washing of sports clothing, whenever possible, should be done by hand, as the items are delicate and the washing machine can damage them. If you have no alternative but the machine, choose to put the clothes in specific bags to sanitize underwear (to help protect them) and choose the most delicate type of washing for your equipment.
