The first thing people usually do when deciding to work out is to buy new workout gear that excites them. But they soon realise that it is hard to maintain the newness of gym clothing. As expensive as it is, it would take a good chunk of your savings to buy new clothes every time you wore them out. Here are a few things you can do to make your workout outfits last longer.
Keep Them Dry
Let them air-dry if you cannot throw them into the washing machine right after the gym. Please don’t leave them to rot and stink in your gym bag. That’s the worst thing you can do to your clothes (and your gym bag!). Lay them down flat in an airy room, preferably under a fan, to rid them of your sweat.
Leaving the bacteria on the clothes to party breaks down the fabric and can cause infections in your body.
Wash Them Inside Out
Since the cloth absorbs sweat from the inside, it sounds reasonable that that side of the fabric would require the most cleansing. Washing your clothes inside out also ensures that the stitches and the fabric on the outside maintain their integrity. So even if the clothes aren’t new, they can at least appear so.
A Cold Shower for Your Workout Gear
Using hot water to wash your gym clothing isn’t a good idea. It can cause stains to set in. (If you’re a woman, you know this factoid all too well.). Use cold water instead. It can remove the toughest stains and is less likely to make your clothes shrink, and reduces wrinkles, so you’re ready for your next trip to the gym.
Care for the Elastics
You push your limits at the gym. You stretch, you pull, you push, you lift. In all that hustle, your gym clothes bear the brunt. But if you hang up your clothes to dry right after washing, it’s worse. Having soaked up all the water, hanging clothes can make them stretch and lose their elasticity. You don’t want ill-fitting leggings or socks wider than your angles. How will you track your progress, then?
It’s best to lay them flat in the open so they can dry out faster.
Skip the Fabric Softener
For any other cloth, fabric softener is a sweet addition to the laundry routine. It makes clothes feel soft and smell good. But with elastic, fabric softener breaks down their stretch and coats them with wax. This wax traps sweat, bacteria, and the horrible odour that clothes absorb post-workout.
Acidity to Drive Odour Away
So if you can’t use fabric softener, harsh detergents, or scented soap, what are your options? Try soaking your clothes in acidic solutions like vinegar to get rid of the stink. White vinegar will also kill pesky bacteria.
Add about 3-4 tablespoons of vinegar to a bucket of water and leave them to soak overnight. You can also mix some lime juice with water (without the sugar, of course).
The Separation Rule
You separate your whites from your colours, don’t you? You should separate your gym clothing too. They are riddled with bacteria, sweat, and dead skin cells that can damage other delicate clothing if mixed. Besides, you don’t want your office shirts to smell like the gym, do you?
Clothing is an important part of workout motivation. But it doesn’t have to create a hole in your pocket. Buying high-quality gym clothes is an investment that is worth it. When in doubt, work it out!