Ways to Keep Your Gym Bag Smelling Fresh

Ways to Keep Your Gym Bag Smelling Fresh

Gym bags are the kind of belongings that are supposed to last us many years if we do regular maintenance. With this thought on our minds, we spend vast sums of money on a high-quality gym bag, but soon enough, we forget about the small details. Before you know it, you end up with a smelly piece of fitness equipment that you do not want anywhere near you.

Working out is a great way to stay fit and healthy. It is not only beneficial for your physical condition but also improves mental health in many ways. You get out all the harmful toxins out of the body, you get all sweaty, and the gym bag is where you then place all the dirty smelly clothes and equipment.

Needless to say, the gym bag then has to hold these items until you put them in the washing machine or quite commonly – forget them inside. In no time, the bacteria will gather and develop until you feel that disgusting odor we all know. Then the question arises: How do I remove that terrible smell?

What is the bay way to keep a gym bag smelling fresh? To best way to keep a gym bag smelling fresh is to diversify your cleanliness upkeep. This includes common and useful options such as oils, deodorants, dryer sheets, and a few simple practices that you can incorporate into your daily training routine. 

To understand each of the ways with detailed information, you will need to continue reading below. The best solution is to combine several methods because some of the more severe cases require double the effort. However, we will take care of you and your fitness bags so that you never have to look for an emergency solution again on the Internet.

How to Keep Your Gym Bag Smelling Fresh

Without a doubt, you were able to think about more than one method to clean and freshen up your gym bag even before you landed on our page. Possibly, the attempt was unsuccessful, or you are merely looking for more ideas.

As we already mentioned, the cases of smelly gym bags vary. Sometimes, all it takes is a non-toxic deodorant. However, if you haven’t done any type of maintenance for months, then your only chance will be to combine a few methods. Therefore, we cannot just leave you with one or two ideas.

Instead, we will list down all the standard freshening methods with in-depth information about each one. This way, you will have an array of options even if the first one you choose is not sufficient enough. We will start with the most straightforward actions that each one of us should try to do every day to prevent the development of bacteria and bad odor, and continue with the most common ways to remove the already existing smell.

Simple day-to-day actions that will reduce the chances of odor development

Never leave your smelly clothes and equipment inside

I understand how tempting it is to throw the gym bag somewhere after an exhausting workout and leave it for the next day. This is the most common and obvious reason why so many people then look for ways to clean their bags.

Leaving your smelly clothes inside gives development ground and time to bacteria which leads to the terrifying odor we all know. Once the smell appears, it gets on anything you place inside, even the absolutely clean clothes you plan to wear in the gym.

This occurrence is not only unpleasant to the nose but also truly unhygienic. It is specifically dangerous for people with weaker immune systems and can cause different health issues. All of this simply because you postpone emptying your gym bag. 

In other words, it takes little to no effort to take out your gym clothes and equipment out of the bag before you get to the other more important business like showering and cleaning yourself. It will prevent the development of bacteria and save you the effort to use a variety of curious freshening methods at a later stage.

Last but not least, leaving your bag to air is effortless and one of the simplest ways to reduce the developing smells. This way, you get fresh air into the bag that replaces the bad odors.

Take care of your shoes

Shoes are the largest container of bacteria for obvious reasons. Therefore, it is crucial that they remain as far away from the gym bag as possible once you leave the gym. They should be the first item that you take out of the bag.

A great option is to keep them in their own separate bag or storage space. This way, you can put them in the gym bag with a reduced chance of bacteria spreading all over the place. Nevertheless, you should take them out as soon as you get home.

In addition, try to clean them at least once in a while. Maybe you are one of those people who take extreme care of their shoes. If that is the case – great! If you are not, however, and your bag already smells pretty bad, try to wash your shoes as well.

Wash the gym bag entirely from time to time

There are plenty of ways to wash your gym bag based on your situation. One of the most common questions is whether you can or cannot put a gym bag in a washing machine. In most cases, you can but to be sure, check the care label inside. In each case, it should have a sign to show whether you can machine wash it and how to do it.

Nevertheless, you cannot just throw it in the washing machine as it can get damaged or damage other items that you wash it with. Before anything else, you should take care of the zippers. Then, the safest way is to put it in a mesh laundry bag in order to reduce the friction and movement.

You can also simply use wet wipes and other similar methods to clean it out but this is will not truly be sufficient. Instead, you should do this regularly after you finish with the serious cleaning as it takes a couple of minutes but decreases the chance of bacteria and smell development.

The second most useful cleaning method is, of course, by hand. All you need is an active detergent and a container that needs to be filled with water – a bucket, a sink, or a bathtub. Add the detergent and stir until it spreads and creates some bubbles.

Then, throw the gym bag inside and make sure it gets wet entirely. Leave it inside for half an hour or more before you take it out. Wash it completely with clean water until there is no detergent left. Last but not least, let it dry out completely as any leftover moisture will be a great environment for bacteria.

Different methods to keep your gym bag fresh or remove existing odors

If you failed with the simple post-training day-to-day actions mentioned above or the bad odors appeared despite your efforts, here is an exhaustive list of methods that can remove the odors and then help you maintain the gym bag clean and fresh.

Tea bags

One of the more curious but effective methods of killing odors is by using unused tea bags. However, this option means that you will not be able to use the bag for at least a few days. Tea bags are a great somewhat natural deodorizer as long as you give them enough time to work their magic.

You need to know that one tea bag will not be enough in most cases. Especially if your gym bag is large, you should put at least a few. Then, leave the bag in peace and wait for a few days. Without a doubt, this is one of the simplest and definitely cheapest ways to freshen your gym bag.

Activated Charcoal

Charcoal has had a wide range of applications for centuries. Out of all its uses, it is mostly popular for its absorbing properties as a natural air purifier. More importantly, you can create your own activated charcoal deodorizes at home.

Of course, there are countless charcoal deodorizers that you can pick up from physical stores or online. However, it is really not cost-effective when you can do it yourself.

Activated charcoal does a lot more than simply removing bad odors. It is one of the easiest ways to fight off mold and other pathogens. More importantly, activated charcoal can last years of re-usage as long as you give it enough sunlight.

Dryer Sheets

Dryer sheets are one of the oldest hacks used for smell-removal but still a sufficient method. All you need to do is toss one inside the gym bag and it will soak up the bad smell in no time. In addition, there are many dryer sheet aromas you can choose from. This way, every time you open your gym bag, you can feel your favorite aroma coming out.

Note: You need to change the dryer sheets once every few days as they wear out quickly especially if their main purpose is to remove existing bad odors.

Silica Gel

You may have not realized that but silica gel bags come with practically everything – from clothes and shoes to food products. Most commonly, we throw them in the trash as soon as we see them in the package. However, they are truly non-engaging if you leave them inside your gym bag and can be sufficient in reducing bad odors.

Simply said, silica gel bags are put inside of clothing and shoes to absorb sweat and odors. If there is no sweat, the bacteria will have nothing to feed on and will not further develop. Therefore, next time you see a silica bag in something you buy – keep it there or save it for later.

In each case, you can just throw a few in your gym bag and it will reduce the terrible smell. However, if you want to add a pleasant smell to the picture, you will still have to use some type of essential oil, dryer sheet, or deodorant.

Essential Oils

Essential oils are one of the most popular choices because they smell great, they give people a wide array of aroma choices, and they keep things smelling fresh longer. You will find that the selection of aromas is literally endless but most people choose lavender.

Of course, this is one of the methods that do not really remove the bad smell. Instead, essential oils simply mask it so well that it appears like it does not exist anymore. You can use them over and over and it will most likely never smell bad again. Nevertheless, you should try to clean it once in a while and always empty it after training in order to entirely reduce the smell naturally.

Deodorizing Spray

There are many types of deodorizing sprays to choose from. There are your most basic deodorants and other all-natural ones which are more expensive but far safer when it comes to the emanation they create.

It is possible that each one of us has tried this once or twice but realized that it is only an unpleasant temporary solution. Deodorizing sprays will not remove the smell but cover it until the fresher aroma wears out. This just creates more and more layers of smell that are harder to clean later.

Related Questions

How Dangerous is a Smelly Gym Bag

The terrible odor coming from your gym bag is caused by bacteria and simply reading the word bacteria should trigger your attention towards hygiene and safety. You may not realize it but cleaning your gym bag is of the highest importance and this is not only our opinion but the opinion of scientists and researchers also.

A lot of research has been made on gym bags that have been maintained together with bags that have been left untouched with months, and the results were worrying. In fact, the results of one particular research showed that the larger number of gym bags were a breeding ground for dangerous bacteria and contained over 7 times more than the “acceptable” levels.

Is your reusable water container safe?

A lot of us use reusable water containers as they are environmentally friendly. Also, we consider them safer which is not true when you keep them in your gym bag. By now, you should already know how dangerous and unpleasant the bacteria inside is.

Make sure you clean your bag regularly for more than one reason. The first one, of course, is the growing bacteria in your gym bag. Even if you have no gym bag and simply carry your water bottle with you, it is still a great breeding ground for bacteria if you forget to clean it. You touch it with dirty or sweaty hands and place it everywhere.

Needless to say, nobody would want bacteria to get into their system while drinking presumably clean water. This can be prevented with the simple act of cleaning it with hot water and soap every day. It takes no more than a couple of minutes but is highly beneficial.

Are your bathroom products safe?

Many people prefer to shower immediately after training and do it in the gym. In order to do this, you must keep your hygienic products with you in the gym bag, right? By now, you must realize the dangers of bacteria and the importance of separating your items as best as you could.

The simplest way to keep bathroom products safer is to put them in their own bag. The best way, however, is to keep them outside of the gym bag. This way, the chances of them being dirty will be reduced to the minimum and you will not put any bacteria directly on your skin without knowing it.