Wash them, *especially* your shorts, every time your wear them.
Bacteria thrives in the warm, moist environment of your sweaty apparel.
Do you really want to wear them again after a nice healthy colony has
had time to grow and flourish?
Wool has some anti-bacterial properties, so you can get away with not
washing wool jerseys/base layers as often as synthetics. However, I
wash mine (gently) most everytime I wear them anyway, and have yet to
feel like I've shortened the life of any of them. Be aware, though,
that wool garments have natural oils and water repellancy that can be
damaged or destroyed with harsh detergents.
Some things that can help prolong the life of synthetic apparel, even
with frequent washing:
1) Zip up your jerseys before tossing them into the washer. This not
only prolongs the life of the zipper (since the agitation of the washer
won't be putting stress on the point at which it's unzipped) but also
avoids having the open zipper teeth rasp over the other apparel in the
washing machine.
2) Avoid velcro like the plague. If you use gloves with velcro, put
them into a mesh garment bag before tossing them into the washer, to
avoid getting snags and pulls all over your apparel.
3) A little bit of Shout as a pre-soak on greasy stains will go along
way to keeping your apparel looking nicer. Works well on the dirty
cuffs of jackets, too.
4) Don't use a hot dryer. Many of the vendors say it's OK to dry your
apparel, but be careful not to put the heat up too high. Excessive heat
can break down the elasticity of your apparel. If you are running late
and need something dry, it's perfectly ok to toss your apparel into the
dryer on a cool/low setting.
5) The exception to the "no hot dryer" warning is on
waterproof/water-resistant jackets with a DWR (durable water repellancy)
finish. When your jacket stops "beading" water, it's time to wash the
jacket, then put it in a hot dryer. DWR finishes require heat to
re-activate the water-repellancy. (It works electrostatically.)
Hope this helps!
Susan
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Susan Otcenas
Team Estrogen, Inc.
www.TeamEstrogen.com
877-310-4592
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Look for "teamestrogen.com"
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-----Original Message-----
From: obra-bounces@list.obra.org [mailto:obra-bounces@list.obra.org] On
Behalf Of Brandon
Sent: Sunday, November 06, 2011 5:55 PM
To: Michael Medina
Cc: OBRA
Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Clothes Washing Frequency
Salt and minerals from sweat along with embrocation / sunscreen /
chamois love can wreak havoc on the fibers and cause them to break down
faster. IMO frequent gentle cycle washes with a gentle detergent and
air drying is the way to go. Also I wash and air dry my bibs inside out
to ensure the chamois gets completely clean and dry.
BM
On Nov 6, 2011, at 4:06 PM, Michael Medina
wrote:
> Is it better to wash more frequently and remove your sweat etc or less
frequently because the washer will beat up your expensive clothes? I
have a front loader that I usually run on gentle/cold with my cycling
clothes.
>
>
> Michael
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> obra@list.obra.org
> http://list.obra.org/mailman/listinfo/obra
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