What is the Best Way to Keep Your Gym Bag Smelling Fresh?
Going to the gym is one of the most important aspects of living a healthy life and studies have shown that it reduces stress, increases your energy levels, assists with skin health, relaxation, sleep quality and so much more.
We can all agree that smelly gym bags are most definitely a bad side of working out. Not only is it unpleasant, it is also a breeding ground for bacteria that can cause rashes and infections.
No, you don’t have to keep throwing away your expensive gym bags when the smell gets too bad, instead were going to give you some pointers to prevent and eliminate these odors.
The one of the main reasons that is causing your gym bags to smell so bad is because most of us get home after a hard work-out and throw our bags off to the side. All we want to do when we get home from the gym is to shower and relax, so our dirty clothes just sit in there collecting more and more odor causing bacteria. Immediately emptying your gym bag once you get home will more than definitely help keep the bad smell at bay.
Smelly gym bags need to become a thing of the past, I mean come on, who needs more things to worry about after an intense work out? Simply airing out your bag and letting fresh air flow through it once you get home will drastically combat the bad odors.
This combined with some other methods we are going to discuss will not only keep our gym bags clean, but it will make them last longer saving you money in the long run.
Can You Put a Gym Bag in the Washer?
Hands down the most common way we can keep gym bag odor at bay is of course empting your bag as soon as you get home and then wiping it down with some disinfecting wipes. It’s the germs and bacteria that is causing the bad smell so attacking the problem right at the source is the smartest way to go about this. After you wipe your bag down hang it up somewhere and let the fibers air out for at least 45 minutes.
Using baking soda and lemon juice as laundry detergent can also be more beneficial because it’s an alkaline which makes it ideal for getting rid of the acidic odor that comes from your sweat and the oils that sweat produces. The citric acid from the lemon juice will breakdown those oils while leaving a fresh lemon scent.
Most people would think that the best way to get rid of gym bag odor is to just empty it out and throw it in the washer with some fabric softener, but a lot of the times this can do more harm than good.
All washers have a predetermined level of detergent that it can use effectively, so any more than that will create a residue that will not get rinsed out. This residue will build up in the fibers of your bag which would it a safe haven for fungus and mildew. Washing with too much detergent and then throwing it in a dryer on high heat instead of low will just cook in any smells that have been left behind.
It is true that the hot water and steam from the washer would kill the bacteria, but most of us don’t have gym bags made from natural fibers like cotton. Most of our gym bags and clothes are made with synthetic plastic based fibers like nylon and polyester which requires a wash in cold water.
This is a big reason as to why it’s so hard to get rid of the bad smell in your gym bags. The material that these gym bags use make it easy to trap sweat, skin cells, salt, etc because they has lots of grooves which makes it more difficult and frustrating to remove the odors.
Cost Effective Cleaning Methods
We can find lots of items around the house to help keep our gym bags smelling brand new which will make a thorough cleaning as inexpensive as possible. One of these methods is putting unused tea bags into all of the pockets and let them sit overnight to let the herbs eliminate the lingering bad odors using its aroma. You can also put these in your shoes as well, all you need to do is let them sit overnight and take them out in the morning.
This also works with buttermilk which is a cost effective way to eradicate the mildew-y smell. Another cost effective way to get rid of odors is to just put some dryer sheets in your bag and leave them there until their fresh scent goes away then replace them to continuously combat bad smells.
Using wool dryer balls or rags with 5 to 7 drops of an essential oils of your choosing will give you the same benefits as the dryer sheet method. The best way to go about this is to put the wool dryer balls in each pocket of your gym bag (2 to 3 should do the trick). Putting sneaker balls instead of the wool dryer sheets will achieve the same results as well. You can also make a cost effective deodorizing spray by mixing water and white vinegar.
Using activated charcoal packets are another a great way to get rid of the smells because it’s a natural air purifier. This will also prevent the growth of mold and mildew and it can be reused because these packets can last more than a year if you just lay them out in the sun once and a while.
You can also throw some silica gel desiccant packets in all the pockets which will absorb the sweat and moisture that causes the bad smells. Bacteria and germs can’t grow without that moisture.
One of the most cost effective ways to help get rid of the bad odors is to empty your bag and put your workout clothes into the freezer immediately once you get home. The cold air will eradicate the bacteria which is the “starting point” of the bad smells. Although this is effective and simple, it shouldn’t take the place of putting your dirty clothes in the washer.
Your Gym Bag Could be Making You Sick
Studieshave shown that your shoes have more than 415,000 units of bacteria on each shoe. Throwing your gym shoes in your bag after a workout is not only unsanitary, but it can also be one of the main causes of your smelly gym bag.
The bacteria that’s causing your shoes to smell can spread to the toiletries in your bag which will lead to you putting that bacteria all over your skin. To avoid this, make sure you put those toiletries in a water proof bag so you can keep these and your shoes separated.
If you don’t have a water proof bag yet you can also put your shoes in a plastic bag from the grocery store. This may not keep all the bacteria off of your toiletries so I would invest in some kind of unbreathable bag as soon as you can.
If you use a yoga mat be sure to wash it thoroughly before each use to get rid of the germs that can spread to other areas of your bag. It’s also beneficial to have more than one yoga mat if you’re using it to exercise indoors and outdoors.
Related Questions
How do you deodorize a gym bag without washing it?
The best way to deodorize your gym bag without washing it is to put a mixture of white vinegar and warm water (more warm water than white vinegar) into a spray bottle. Spray down your gym bag and then put it outside to let it air dry. Your bag should smell good as new in no more than one day.
How often should you clean your gym bag?
It would be best if you could clean your gym bag every time you get home from the gym but sometimes we just forget. At the very least you should be washing your gym bag twice a week to keep bad smells and bacteria from getting worse. Remember that the longer you wait to clean it, the harder it will be to get that smell and bacteria out of it.