Wash or at least rinse the garments as soon after getting them sweaty as you can.
Wash them with actually dirty clothes if possible. The dirt particles will absorb smell and act as an abrasive on the stains. If your clothes are generally too clean for this, use an oxy powder additive which will achieve the same effect.
Also: consider going without deodorant and antiperspirant and just use some isopropyl alcohol or similar to kill the bacteria in your armpits as needed; this results in less smell and less junk in your sweat to clean out of your shirts.
Lastly: wearing a technical shirt when working out will mean less sweat actually adhering to the fabric, making cleaning easier.
Quick question about isopropyl alcohol : how do you apply it uniformly to your armpit ? With a cloth ? Does it need to be drenched ? Or just scoop it with your hand ? Or with a water spray ?
And how long does it last before you need to reapply ?
I use a spray bottle, but have also applied with a cloth with a tablespoon or so poured onto it. Spray works better as it gets past armpit hair.
First few times, you’ll need to reapply a few times per day; eventually the bacteria that smells will be gone, at which point once a day will likely be enough.
Oh wow I had no idea about the persisting bacteria (and the need to spray more frequently at first), I naively thought that soap completely cleanses the area and that new bacteria would come from inside the pores or something. Have you noticed any side effects of using the alcohol ? Like drier skin or something (I know strange question regarding an area that’s constantly wet lol)
In any case thanks for the advice, have a wonderful day !
Yeah; the skin is a bit drier, but as you say, that’s generally not an issue for armpits.
Soap binds to oil and water, so it’s great for stripping oil any anything on/in the oil from your skin. But there’s lots of bacteria and fungi on your skin/in your pores that soap won’t get rid of. A lot of them are beneficial, so we don’t want to disturb them, but armpits generally get over-colonized by smelly varieties.
I have never heard about this technique before. Is it better for the skin/health or worse? We use it on our hands all the time, so I guess it would be fine.
Does it damage the clothes or keep them in tip-top shape?
I presume you’re talking about the isopropyl? Doesn’t seem to damage the clothes at all; dries out the skin a bit, which isn’t generally an issue for armpits. I’ve been doing it for around 20 years.
My top tips:
Wash or at least rinse the garments as soon after getting them sweaty as you can.
Wash them with actually dirty clothes if possible. The dirt particles will absorb smell and act as an abrasive on the stains. If your clothes are generally too clean for this, use an oxy powder additive which will achieve the same effect.
Also: consider going without deodorant and antiperspirant and just use some isopropyl alcohol or similar to kill the bacteria in your armpits as needed; this results in less smell and less junk in your sweat to clean out of your shirts.
Lastly: wearing a technical shirt when working out will mean less sweat actually adhering to the fabric, making cleaning easier.
My “wicking” shirts are the ones that smell the worst, even after washing.
I bought a specific detergent for removing odors from sports clothes, but i can’t say if it works…
Quick question about isopropyl alcohol : how do you apply it uniformly to your armpit ? With a cloth ? Does it need to be drenched ? Or just scoop it with your hand ? Or with a water spray ? And how long does it last before you need to reapply ?
I use a spray bottle, but have also applied with a cloth with a tablespoon or so poured onto it. Spray works better as it gets past armpit hair.
First few times, you’ll need to reapply a few times per day; eventually the bacteria that smells will be gone, at which point once a day will likely be enough.
Oh wow I had no idea about the persisting bacteria (and the need to spray more frequently at first), I naively thought that soap completely cleanses the area and that new bacteria would come from inside the pores or something. Have you noticed any side effects of using the alcohol ? Like drier skin or something (I know strange question regarding an area that’s constantly wet lol)
In any case thanks for the advice, have a wonderful day !
Yeah; the skin is a bit drier, but as you say, that’s generally not an issue for armpits.
Soap binds to oil and water, so it’s great for stripping oil any anything on/in the oil from your skin. But there’s lots of bacteria and fungi on your skin/in your pores that soap won’t get rid of. A lot of them are beneficial, so we don’t want to disturb them, but armpits generally get over-colonized by smelly varieties.
I have never heard about this technique before. Is it better for the skin/health or worse? We use it on our hands all the time, so I guess it would be fine.
Does it damage the clothes or keep them in tip-top shape?
Have you been doing it for a long time?
I presume you’re talking about the isopropyl? Doesn’t seem to damage the clothes at all; dries out the skin a bit, which isn’t generally an issue for armpits. I’ve been doing it for around 20 years.
Interesting, thanks!