Postgame Equipment Handling

[OldCY 94]

I keep my hockey stuff in the same room with my guitars/amps...a play room so to speak. I get home maybe 45mins within playing and take my stuff out to air dry. I spray w/ a disinfectant spray, usually something from Target or Walmart and then I let everything air dry. Footbeds out of the skates, gloves, elbows near radiator and girdle, shoulders hanging from nails in the wall. Jersey and socks hang off chair and or bike, performance wear gets washed after each use.

[bostonjuniorblackhawks 1]

hang everything in our lockeroom except my skates and gloves. I take my skates home to remove the insoles and hang upside down

[Zudnick 0]

Hey,

I hate smelly hockey gear!

All of my family's hockey gear (me, two kids and wife) always gets aired out after every ice time. We have a spare bedroom that we use to air out the gear (when nobody is visiting). Most of the equipment gets put on the hockey tree.

Skates and gloves get dried on a Chinook Boot Dryer (http://www.chinooksports.com/bootdryers.asp). It's designed for ski boots and gloves, but it works great for skates and hockey gloves too! They are kind of expensive, but we got it wholesale and use it a lot -- hockey gear, ski gear, various other sports equipment, etc. It's been a great purchase for us.

Jersey, socks and Under Armour get washed after each ice time (when possible).

Once dry, all gear goes back into bag to be ready to go.

Z

[lampliter87 8]

I have a folding clothes rack like this: http://www.asia.ru/images/target/photo/50400453/Folding_Clothes_Drying_Rack.jpg that is in my basement near my woodstove... unpack my bag when I get home from hockey and pack it back up before I leave the next time I skate.

[interpathway 9]

Asking those of you that air your equipment out inside your house/apartment/etc...

Do you find that the smell;

-is the cause of family/company complaints?

-ever completely disappears?, or does it linger?

Would there be any desire (would the juice be worth the squeeze?) to alter your postgame equipment to alleviate these problems?

Therein lies the motivation for the project, love the responses, keep 'em coming.

[RussianDangler15 0]

I actually don't notice the odor at all nor does anyone else in my house but it is in a room that only my mom and I go in. Me for my gear and my mom for laundry once a week lol.

[mug25 2]

I am very, very bad at taking care of my gear after late skates. If I get home before 11pm, I lay my stuff out on the balcony to air out. If it's midnight or later it all stays in the bag and is usually just sitting either on the porch or close to the front door...

[wrangler 157]

It doesn't smell enough for anyone to notice, if it smells at all.

BTW, why hang skates upside down? Won't they dry out quicker and better right side up?

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I have the S19 bag, and I always have the solid panels pulled back, so the big mesh panels allow a lot of breathing.

[x-axis 44]

After my games, I empty out my gear bag in the backseat of my car. I crack open the windows in the back to allow my gear to air out immediately. It's at least an hour drive home so by the time I pull into the driveway, my gear is starting to dry or at least halfway there.

The one thing I've learned is that at the very least, you should open your bag ASAP after you have left the rink.

[Chadd 916]

Asking those of you that air your equipment out inside your house/apartment/etc...

Do you find that the smell;

-is the cause of family/company complaints?

-ever completely disappears?, or does it linger?

Would there be any desire (would the juice be worth the squeeze?) to alter your postgame equipment to alleviate these problems?

Therein lies the motivation for the project, love the responses, keep 'em coming.

Keep it aired out regularly and it won't have much of a smell. Once it dries, the smell should be almost entirely gone.

[scoops 1]

Oddly enough, my stuff doesn't really smell at all. Never had any complaints from my girlfriend (who lives with me) or our families (who stay with us often). But that could be because I shower before and after every game and spray the hell outta my gear when I hang it up with some type of febreze or knock off product. None of my gloves even stink. Only thing that smells a little bit is my skates, and they just smell like your average sneakers.

[johnnyvegas 0]

When I had the space, everything was taken out of the bag after every game and allowed to air out overnight next to a forced air vent.

Currently, I don't have the space so most things stay zipped up in the bag and stuck into a locker. However, I do slap a large dessicant pack in/on each elbow pad, shin pad, glove and helmet before I zip up the bag. The skates come with me to air dry at home. As do most things (to be washed) that touch the skin when I'm suited up: under armour, neoprene brace, shin pad liner and socks.

Both methods have worked as as my equipment do not "stink" but YMMV since everybody has a different scent (sounds nicer than B.O.).

[tamtamg 12]

i used to have a closet to air out my gear, now i have a room dedicated to just gear. joining msh has not been kind on the wallet. the room i use is the library on the first floor. it gets lots of sun, but the vents and the door are always closed. my gear doesn't smell, nor does the room.

[rogerwaldrup 0]

i used to have a closet to air out my gear, now i have a room dedicated to just gear. joining msh has not been kind on the wallet. the room i use is the library on the first floor. it gets lots of sun, but the vents and the door are always closed. my gear doesn't smell, nor does the room.

hey good idea.. even I'm planning to dedicate my library room to gear

[Slapshot9123 0]

Stored in my teams locker room. While at home it is aired out in my hockey room.

[Wallzy41 9]

I air my gear out on a gun rack designed to hold 4 guns. I put the shoulder pads over the decorative top, hang my gloves from the first hooks, the elbow pads from the second, and the shin guards from the third. The fourth hook holds my sticks, and the shelf at the bottom holds my helmets. My skates and pants go directly in front of it.

[OldCY 94]

the only smell that lingers for maybe an hour or two is from the spray, not from the gear itself, which doesn't smell.

[fsuhockeystar97 0]

I have a closet dedicated entirely to my equipment in the room where my dogs cages and cats litter boxes are. I hang shoulder, pants jerseys, and jock, skates sit on the floor (sometimes I take the insoles out), I have a tub for my bag so the cat doesn't pee in it, I have a hanging shelf system that holds gloves, elbows, socks, workout clothes, underwear, workout shoes, and towels, and the shelf across the top of the closet holds helmet, shins, and all accessories. The fan is constantly running in that room since the cats litter boxes are in there and when its warmer weather I try to open the window on occasion. I also keep one of the arm and hammer baking soda boxes designed for refrigerators on the top shelf and a couple of the febreeze air freshners that are like those pop-up freshners (just the cheapest ones). With this set-up I don't really have a smell problem and because the litter boxes are on the other side of the room that smell doesn't affect my equipment either.

[JR87 0]

I usually get home too late to want to make an effort: all I want to do is hit the bed. However, I will ALWAYS take the footbeds out of my skates, clean and dry the blades properly and put my gloves out to air on my quipment rack, which is in my room. The rest can wait until the morning. Will usually put my shouldies and elbows in the washine machine every fortnight.

To add to that, my experience is is that if you take REALLY good care of your equipment on a regular basis, then smell isn't an issue.

[Doctor Hook 0]

Gear hung up to dry on a hockey tree in my condo's basement storage unit after every skate.

I like dry, non-stunked up gear.

[kredmore 2]

We use a basement locker room (stalls, fans, etc.) that we added when having the whole basement renovated. It's a great sports room for all the kids (and adults) sports equipment. Plus, it's a fun play room!

[Gefiltefish 9]

I entered "is aired out at my home"

I immediatly remove my gear from the bag. I take my shin pad liners out, and pull the liner out of the gloves.

I put my skates on a ShockDoctor dryer with the dual-port attachment. They sit on there with no heat (OZone only) for about 45 minutes. I then put my gloves (liner stuffed back in) on the ShockDoctor dryer again on Ozone only. They go on for about 45-60 minutes.

I put the liner of my shin pads through the wash with my normal stuff (jerseys, socks, jock) every week or so.

[duch 0]

My gear goes onto my hockey tree, in our sunroom, immediately when I come into the house after a game. Usually dried out by morning as there is a heating vent right next to my hockey tree. Skates take a bit longer and I'll usually wait until the next evening before putting my insoles back in and packing them back into my bag. Smell usually isn't a problem until I've played between eight to ten games and then I need to get my gear washed in the heavy duty washer at the laundromat around the corner from me. Always put it on delicate cycle with a bit of fabric softener in the first rinse cycle and it's ready to go again. Worked well for me for a long time.

[badger_14 601]

There isn't a lot of space in my house, so when I get home, I scatter my gear on my bed and let it air out for a few hours, then pack it back in the bag, leave the bag open and it lives in my room until next time I play. Thus far my parents have never objected to any particular stench. I'm pretty religious about drying out my gear so, it doesn't smell too bad on the whole. I didn't play this past summer, but judging by how difficult it was to get my gloves dry after practicing shooting, I think I'll have to find an alternative this coming summer.

[kovalchuk71 212]

There isn't a lot of space in my house, so when I get home, I scatter my gear on my bed and let it air out for a few hours, then pack it back in the bag, leave the bag open and it lives in my room until next time I play. Thus far my parents have never objected to any particular stench. I'm pretty religious about drying out my gear so, it doesn't smell too bad on the whole. I didn't play this past summer, but judging by how difficult it was to get my gloves dry after practicing shooting, I think I'll have to find an alternative this coming summer.

I used to take it all out, but honestly, I just take the footbeds out of my skates and unzip the bag so everything is open to the elements.