best way to wash equipment

[Nosferatu 8]

I've been using the alcohol hand sanitiser stuff that you see all over the place to give the insides of my gloves a bit of treatment that and hanging them on the washing line in a howling gale . Seems to be working to some degree in that my gloves haven't yet attained the "scent of dead thing" that I associated with my last pair .

[ollie 0]

I have put everthing (separatley), but skates and helmet in my top loading wash machine on the handwash cycle, and then hung to dry. I was scared it would ruin my gloves, but they turned out fine.

I had an old pair of cloth Bauer 4 rolls I tried to wash and they came out perfect. Just washed on gentle and air dried. Tried it with my new ones too and no issues other than some superficial scuffs. Elbow pads and shin pad liners worked as well. I try to do it once a month.

[Goonsquad 209]

One of these will dry a locker room full of gear in 30 minutes or less. Mine finally died after 12 years or so, time for a new one this year.

http://www.laskoproducts.com/?p=430

I am a big on using a Vornado fan to dry out my equipment. gets a lot of air moving

[anko 3]

Good writeup here on drying, washing, deoderizing, etc.

http://deadspin.com/your-hockey-gear-is-foul-clean-it-or-else-1464457604

[Nosferatu 8]

Further update on the gloves , my wife bought some of those charcoal deodoriser bag things so far it seems to be doing the trick . Tried one of the hints further back in this thread and have been washing my elbow guards on a 30c wash with a 400rpm spin cycle using some eco friendly no nasty chemical type detergent and that also seems to be working nicely . Shorts got chucked in the bath for a few hours with a couple of capfuls of stuff then rinsed under the shower and left to drip dry , that wasn't quite as effective .

[XS222 25]

i'm notoriously the smelly guy in the locker room because i used to never air my gear out.

i figured i'd turn a new leaf in the new year, so i soaked all the equipment that sits close to my skin (shoulders, elbows, shins and liners) in a tub of hot water and vinegar and aired everything else out. 2 weeks in, and no smell! you don't realize how bad you smell until you clean your gear out...

anyone ever try using cedar in their bag? i'm thinking about trying it, not sure if anyone else has experience with it

http://www.amazon.com/Cedar-C313-Aromatic-Blocks-48-Piece/dp/B003VWDOD4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1391030441&sr=8-3&keywords=cedar+block

[mojo122 535]

Cedar is great indoors for keeping insects/moths away from clothing. You would be better off picking up a hockey bag deodorizer instead.

[Monty22 832]

There are probably better options than a 1 pound block of wood for your bag-

[XS222 25]

There are probably better options than a 1 pound block of wood for your bag-

true, but the block of wood would come in handy for those post-game parking lot rumbles

just trying to find other household solutions that'd work - seems like most hockey deoodorizer solutions are just air fresheners on steroids

[Monty22 832]

true, but the block of wood would come in handy for those post-game parking lot rumbles

just trying to find other household solutions that'd work - seems like most hockey deoodorizer solutions are just air fresheners on steroids

There is a reason why beer comes in glass bottles. Nobody is afraid of a block of wood.....

[SirJW 207]

Just make it a habit to air out your gear immediately every time you get home. Many of us use a fan to help dry the gear. I let it run overnight and turn it off when I get up in the AM.

[louierev07 31]

Right when I get home I take everything out of my bag and hang it - probably the most important thing.

Another thing I do that probably helps out is I usually take a shower right before I play. Serves three purposes: I have a bad back - so it usually loosens me up a bit before playing, I usually play at an outdoor rink thats always below freezing, so the hot water makes me cold resistant for the first 20-30 mins until I get a sweat going, and lastly, it gets me clean - so any bacteria or dead skin or any other crap that makes your stuff smell is scrubbed off. My stuff generally never gets to the point of smelling - maybe 3-4 months go by with everything smelling new.

The last thing I do is probably debatable whether its good for your equipment or not - but I havent had any problems so far.

When my stuff really starts to stink (gloves usually smell first and the worst), I wash my stuff in the dishwasher. (gloves, shins, and elbows - havent done shoulders or pants yet)

First I hand scrub everything in the sink. I usually use dish soap - as it gets any oils or anything like that out the best. I rinse them out a little, and then put everything in the dishwasher with no detergent (nothing else in there btw). Then I set it to wash using the "sanitize" which heats everything up to a point that it kills all the bacteria. They come out smelling absolutely brand new (maybe a little lemony depending on what dish soap you scrubbed with).

I was initially cautious because I thought it would make my stuff wear out quicker, or get stretched out, but so far everything has been fine. Ive done my gloves 3 times and shins and elbows twice. My pants and shoulders probably dont smell because there isnt skin to fabric contact, but I could probably stuff them in there should they really start to smell.

The only thing I have been thinking about is just using some type of super hot water instead of using the sanitise cycle - as it could be giving the equipment extra wear from sitting through other cycles it doesnt need.

If 155 degrees fahrenheit is generally the accepted temperature for killing bacteria - could I just get away with putting them in a huge cooler and fill it up with really hot water (160+ degrees). So after scrubbing with detergent and washing it out, I would soak them for 10 or so minutes, and hopefully I would get similar results as I was getting before.

Either way, if your stuff is really bad - this is the only way to get it back to normal. Everything else just makes it smell a little better, but all it needs is one day left in your bag or something to let all that bacteria multiply and make everything smell awful again. My gloves used to be so bad that Id still smell my hands after washing them and taking a shower. After I did this they smelled brand new.

EDIT: Forgot to mention I have tried the washing machine before doing this. It helped, and made it smell a little better, but you could still smell a hint of stink - which came back faster than it does using the other method. The only thing I can compare it to if you have used a top load washing machine before is: When you have some brand new gloves - they go without stinking for a while. After you wash them in the washing machine, they dont smell as good for as long vs if they were brand new. The dishwasher gets them basically brand new again.

[bunnyman666 445]

@louierev07-

The shower before is the single-handed reason why my stuff still smells freshish, besides hanging the stuff up and running fans on it after play. As I say- if I don't have time to hang up my gear, I don't have time to play hockey. I suffered HORRIBLE rashes in my early days, and hockey stink has bad bacteria that can make you ill if left unchecked.

[louierev07 31]

@louierev07-

The shower before is the single-handed reason why my stuff still smells freshish, besides hanging the stuff up and running fans on it after play. As I say- if I don't have time to hang up my gear, I don't have time to play hockey. I suffered HORRIBLE rashes in my early days, and hockey stink has bad bacteria that can make you ill if left unchecked.

I hate when people get all offended when I shower BEFORE i play?!!?! Like its so crazy to take 5 minutes to clean yourself before wearing stuff that is pretty hard to clean itself.

Especially if I drop a deuce before playing - Im not gonna go put on hockey pants with junk ass. Always shower after a shit.

[bunnyman666 445]

I hate when people get all offended when I shower BEFORE i play?!!?! Like its so crazy to take 5 minutes to clean yourself before wearing stuff that is pretty hard to clean itself.

Especially if I drop a deuce before playing - Im not gonna go put on hockey pants with junk ass. Always shower after a shit.

It shouldn't matter what you do before playing. They should be happy you showered after "dropping a deuce" (gonna steal that one if you don't mind) if they sit on the bench next to you...

I don't shower at the rink before, but I live five minutes from the rink. And 9/10 times, I shower after as well at the rink. Cleanliness is next to G'dliness, as far as I am concerned.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

My wife gives me crap for showering before hockey or going to the gym (assuming I hadn't showered yet that day).

Maybe it's just me, but I feel like I'm sweating WAY more if I don't shower first.

[louierev07 31]

My wife gives me crap for showering before hockey or going to the gym (assuming I hadn't showered yet that day).

Maybe it's just me, but I feel like I'm sweating WAY more if I don't shower first.

Theres a difference between clean sweat and dirty sweat. If I shower before going to the gym/playing bball/street hockey/whatever, I will not stink at all - even without wearing deoderant. The same cant be said if I havent showered before (sometimes).

[romdj 26]

synthetics tend to deteriorate themselves in the long run if you wash them, that's why I rinse them more with cold water than I wash them.

not sure that's a viable solution for everyone, but the bathtub is perfect for me.^^

https://plus.google.com/photos?pid=5981535246669710642&oid=117915310354411306637

I rinse it after every session and add laundry every month or so.

[bunnyman666 445]

Theres a difference between clean sweat and dirty sweat. If I shower before going to the gym/playing bball/street hockey/whatever, I will not stink at all - even without wearing deoderant. The same cant be said if I havent showered before (sometimes).

The difference is that you have removed the prior bacteria. Again, it took having the most horrible rashes EVER and a doctor to tell me that at the very least, the "hot spots" need to be washed before activity.

[Stewie 721]

So now that I have moved from an apartment to my new house, I have developed a system which will revolutionize the way goalies everywhere view me! Prior to having the house, I just basically threw my gear on the balcony after games, opened the bag up, and sprayed lightly with febreze. This didnt work very well, especially in the winter =) I would do the tub soak method every few months, which worked ok, but wasnt ideal. I got a nasty hand rash a few month ago, so i decided to sani-sport it and try to hold on until we got in the new house.

Using the deadspin article, I have started to use this system.

Post skate-take equipment, spray with distilled white vinegar, air out on a rack in the boiler room in the basement of the house. This gets the gear dry super fast as its really warm in that room!

Monthly I will put in my new front loader with some arm and hammer oxyclean, with white vinegar booster in the fabric softener slot, with everything outside of the skates and helmet, then place on a rack similarly to the post skate. I have done this once, and the results are phenomenal. Usually with the tub soak method, my gloves would feel slightly crusty in the palms afterwards, but they came out smooth after this wash.

[MThockeydad 469]

Using the deadspin article, I have started to use this system.

Post skate-take equipment, spray with distilled white vinegar, air out on a rack in the boiler room in the basement of the house. This gets the gear dry super fast as its really warm in that room!

A small fan to keep the air circulating will get it dry even faster.

I put my dampest gear (gloves) in front of the fan, skates next.

Elbows, helmet, and shins are near the airflow.

Jersey, breezers, and socks hang nearby. I'm sure the fan moves a bit of air past them, but they're generally not super wet.

[Stewie 721]

we are redoing part of our basement, and that will include the laundry room. I plan on building a rack to dry my gear on next to the washer and dryer, and then putting a dehumidifier in there. a fan may be included as well =)

[MThockeydad 469]

Using a fan, my gear is dry the next morning.

No fan, my gear takes 24-36 hours to completely dry.

Faster drying = less time for bacteria to breed, and a fan is a cheap $10-30 investment.

I am fortunate to live in an arid area so I really don't need a dehumid.

[theredmamba1 0]

i play both hockey and lacrosse so this forum definitely helped out!

[IPv6Freely 2092]

And this is why you hang out your stuff to dry every game...