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I Don't Buy It: Special Detergent For Your Fitness Clothes?

Thu, 06/19/2008 - 7:00am by FitSugar
787 Views - 25 comments

Of course, I think it is imperative to wash your fitness gear after every workout, but come on — do you expect me to believe that I need special soap to do it? This Sport-Wash ($10) says you should use this instead of regular detergent to "keep the high-tech in your high-tech fabrics so your workout wear will continue to look good and perform its best." This soap claims that it "leaves no residue to interfere with moisture control, breathability, water-repellency or insulation. It even restores factory-applied waterproofing." Is it me or do you agree that this is a total scam? Now I know workout gear can start to stink after a while, and detergent that gets the funk out is a necessity for some clothes, so that I'm down with. As for this Sport-Wash, I think it's a waste of money because if the fabric itself can't withstand washing in regular detergent, then chances are the gear isn't going to last very long anyhow. What do you think?

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25 Comments Add a Comment

  • chhavi's picture
    chhavi
    1

    I don't buy it either. We don't have anything like it in India yet, but even though if there was, I wouldn't buy it. I just don't see the point.

    28 weeks 5 days ago Report Comment
  • minhoca's picture
    minhoca
    2

    yeah .. scam. i also don't buy these new "condensed" detergent bottles... i still feel that's a scam to give me less detergent.

    i do know though, that i can't just buy the cheapest detergent of the week anymore. after working out, either at the gym or in my capoeira class, my clothes are *soaked* and cheap detergent just doesn't take the funk out. i've had to switch to the likes of tide, etc.

    28 weeks 5 days ago Report Comment
  • sheena's picture
    sheena
    3

    It seems really un-green to be doing a whole seperate load of laundry for just workout clothes as well. I mix mine in with the regular stuff to save on water wastes and maximize the size of loads.

    28 weeks 5 days ago Report Comment
  • jesser80's picture
    jesser80
    4

    We've discovered two great things for getting clothes clean: 1. the soak setting on the washer. Our year-old daughter soils just about everything she wears and it was taking us AGES to get her stuff stain-spotted. So on a whim we decided to soak her clothes instead and it's worked very well. Best part is that it only takes more time, not more water or product. 2. Vinegar! This will get "the funk" out like no one's business and leaves no residue. It works very well on those towels that smell clean when they come out of the dryer and awful the moment they come in contact with water. Some say that you have to double-wash when using vinegar to get the smell out, but I only do it once and have never had a problem.

    28 weeks 5 days ago Report Comment
  • darkangel2305's picture
    darkangel2305
    5

    This is like lingerie detergent... jeez lol we American love to waste our declining $

    28 weeks 5 days ago Report Comment
  • buffyanne's picture
    buffyanne
    6

    I may be the only one, but it makes sense to me. If I was one to buy special wicking/anti-microbial/etc. fitness clothing, I would consider using this product. Detergents & especially fabric softeners do leave residue on clothing, which would impair the wicking ability and I suppose other special functions of fitness fabrics. What I like to use for all my clothes to avoid this is Dropps detergent, which is even without the enzymes that wear out clothing, too. It's a fun (little, individual packets you drop in with your load) product and works well. Besides, it is a greener option for detergent.

    28 weeks 5 days ago Report Comment
  • Geoffrey's picture
    Geoffrey
    9

    I tried out the product because my wife and I have a lot of wicking clothes. We did not notice a difference, and we were actually disappointed with the cleaning ability of the "special" detergent. We have a newer high-efficiency washer, and it does spectacularly with regular detergent.

    28 weeks 5 days ago Report Comment
  • nikolem2's picture
    nikolem2
    10

    I bought the Win detergent from a sporting goods store, only b/c I thought it might be my last resort to get my workout clothes stink-free. I used it and I think it made them smell worse! Worst $7 I ever spent (yep, $7 for a small bottle that claims to wash just 14 loads).

    28 weeks 5 days ago Report Comment
  • nikodarling's picture
    nikodarling
    11

    If your regular detergent isn't doing the trick than maybe its time to switch, but a special "work-out" detergent - I don't buy it for a second.

    28 weeks 5 days ago Report Comment
  • Spectra's picture
    Spectra
    13

    What a rip. My workout clothes get seriously stinky b/c I sweat like a horse when I work out and I use the WalMart brand detergent and I swear, it's just about as good as Tide. It's really cheap, gets my clothes clean, and smells good. So that's what I buy. I can't imagine spending $10 on laundry detergent unless it's enough soap to do like 80 loads or more.

    28 weeks 5 days ago Report Comment
  • fjh's picture
    fjh
    14

    I have used the Win (http://www.windetergent.com) detergent before. I bought it while my wife was out of town. For the time I was using it, it really did make my gym clothes smell better. With regular detergent, the clothes smelled fine coming out of the dryer, but when I put them on, the slightest bit of sweat, activated that musty smell. When using the Win detergent on those same clothes, I promise you, the smell did not come back. The clothes really did smell fresher. My two cents. Look it up on Amazon.com and read tons of comments from other people that bought it.

    28 weeks 5 days ago Report Comment
  • Dublin62505's picture
    Dublin62505
    15

    I have the new LG HE Steam Washer and it is beyond marvelous. Like orgasmic as far as appliances go. It is by far my favorite appliance I have ever purchased. My soiled gym clothes and kids fitness clothing come out smelling fresh. With my old washer (standard builder water/electricity wasting unit),I used Febreze Laundry Odor Eliminator. It's pricey at $8+ and generally difficult to find at normal supermarkets (Walmart carries) but it is effective at eradicating stubborn odors.
    http://www.febreze.com/en_US/febreze/laundry_odor_eliminator.do

    28 weeks 5 days ago Report Comment
  • alethia037's picture
    alethia037
    16

    I don't buy it. I have an old school wicking sports bra from Adidas that I bought 9 years ago... yup, NINE years. It still works like its new and I have used All for all 9 of those years, with the exception of 3 months that I lived in Costa Rica, and had to wash my clothes in a sink with bar soap. (And, again, the bra is still like new)

    28 weeks 5 days ago Report Comment
  • dukegirl's picture
    dukegirl
    17

    Wow, I practically live in workout clothes and don't know about any of these products. I presoak in Tide, wash in Tide, and put nothing (seriously, nothing) in the dryer.

    28 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • ellied's picture
    ellied
    18

    I do have some (got it on sale) and use it for my husband's hunting clothes because the UV dyes and perfumes in many regular detergents are a problem for hunting. I think it's also good for washing Gore-Tex items, which have a coating that can be washed away. But generally, I actually like a harsher detergent for my workout clothes, to get the stank out.

    28 weeks 4 days ago Report Comment
  • Kimpossible's picture
    Kimpossible
    19

    I don't buy it either. I have the special wicking clothing for workouts and I've been washing them with my regular clothes with my regular detergent for 3 months now and the fabric still works like it's supposed to when I sweat.

    28 weeks 3 days ago Report Comment
  • carmabe's picture
    carmabe
    22

    Having worked in garment production - this detergent makes SOME sense to me. Moisture wicking properties on fabrics are from a special wash used on the garment during its finishing stage at the factory - and it can be restored. Regular detergents erode it over time, but the big thing to stay away from is fabric softener - that will ruin any special wash or fabric treatment. It seems unlikely though that this special detergent is formulated to correctly wash and restore the many different washes and treatments for special sport fabrics.

    Your best bet is to follow the directions on the tag. I usually just wash everything with my regualr detergent and skip the dryer and air dry all my work out clothes.

    28 weeks 2 days ago Report Comment
  • Strong One's picture
    Strong One
    23

    Heh heh.
    I think someone's making a fortune on a new kind of snake oil.

    28 weeks 2 days ago Report Comment
  • cereal_please's picture
    cereal_please
    24

    That definitely sounds like a waste of money.. my family could use something heavy duty though.. my brother's clothes still smell after they've been washed.

    27 weeks 6 days ago Report Comment
  • itsme3683's picture
    itsme3683
    25

    I buy it. The alcohol in regular detergents can eat away at special clothing such as performance clothing and bras. Obviously if you work out in bulk-buy hanes tshirts and shorts like I do then there's no reason, but if you've got that fancy stuff that costs like $50 for a shirt then you need to protect the aspects of the fabric that makes it cost $50. That said, because it's delicate it probably won't clean as well... so it's really a matter of choosing between two evils.

    As for the lingerie detergent, it actually is very important. I wear a 32GG so for myself (and pretty much anybody above a DD), buying a really good bra is VERY expensive and made out of fabrics that really do require the extra attention.

    So that's me defending the evil capitalist.

    26 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment

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