Commuting - What do you do with your sweaty stuff

Hello all,

I'm looking at commuting (I know I can, I know I can). But the distances and current temperatures require a shower and change of clothes at work, which isn't a problem in itself, the question is what to do with the sweaty clothes.

I don't want to scrunch them up in a ball and hide away in a locker or drawer because they won't dry and will smell pretty bad, not to mention being unsanitary. And I would probably want to wear them on the ride back home.

But then again I don't want to hang them out somewhere for all the office world to see. And I do work in a shared office, and my sweaty chamois probably isn't the sort of thing worthy of sharing.

Any ideas?

Do you have an electric hand dryer at work?

I leave them on my bag to dry under my desk.

When I hang my stuff I put my jersey in front of the shorts so they are not out for all to see. I also used to put everything on top of my bag as daven1986 said. Both work well for me.

Another alternative ---- carry an extra set for the ride home, clean.

What I do with my dirty cycle clothes, until I get enuf to wash, is throw them in a cat litter bucket - one of them square plastic thingys, with a cover that snaps tight. Works well, and I never know they are there.

But, then again, I just hate to put dirty cycle clothes on a second time..... I'd rather buy more cheap cycle shorts, and cheap wicking shirts. Then, save the good clothes for longer weekend rides.

It is not necessary to shower at work. (http://www.personalpronouns.org/trails/stinky_biker.htm)

Another alternative ---- carry an extra set for the ride home, clean.

What I do with my dirty cycle clothes, until I get enuf to wash, is throw them in a cat litter bucket - one of them square plastic thingys, with a cover that snaps tight. Works well, and I never know they are there.

But, then again, I just hate to put dirty cycle clothes on a second time..... I'd rather buy more cheap cycle shorts, and cheap wicking shirts. Then, save the good clothes for longer weekend rides.

Seems like too much stuff to carry for me as I already have to carry my work clothes. I don't mind putting on dirty clothes as I ride to work in the morning before my shower and shower at work. On the way back I have a shower at home.

I put it in a plastic bag, then put it in my bag. When I get home, I throw it in the dirty clothes basket.

I hang the shorts and shirt on hangers in a locker. The pants and booties get wiped dry and tossed into the bottom of the locker. The jacket goes down to my desk with me and hangs on a hanger.

I suggest you hang dry them. You can also spray them with Fabreze or some other such product if they smell sweaty.

I hang them under my desk -- made a drying rack out of old stainless spokes in a size I don't need any more (extra long spokes for 4x 27" touring wheels). Keep a small fan under the desk circulating air, everything gets dry before lunch, even in the rainiest Seattle weather.

I have a rack that fits over the top of my office door. I hang the wet bike clothes on the rack and they're dry by the end of the day.

Sometimes I hang by windblocker jacket over my bike. The nasty smell deters people to venture any closer. hahahahha. In terms of clothes.... well I think they are overrated. ;)

It is not necessary to shower at work. (http://www.personalpronouns.org/trails/stinky_biker.htm)

Sez you. It depends on your coworkers. If I shower before riding, and don't shower at work, I still get complaints. Besides, it's actually more convenient for me to shower at work; I get up at 5AM and if I showered then, I'd wake up the rest of the house. When I get to work at 6AM, there's nobody there and I can shower in peace.

OP: we have lockers and I dump my stuff in there. I used to hang them up in my office to dry, but I ****REALLY**** got complaints then. Heck, it even gagged me sometimes.

I really need to buy some wool, I just need to get over the $$ PRICE $$. I've been wearing the same alertshirts for 4 years now, I paid $8 each for them and they're as new, but that poly does stink when sweaty. None of the thrift shops around here EVER have any wool when I go check. It's all cotton and acrylic. You guys who are finding merino wool in the thrift shops all the time must have rich folks living in your area to even have that stuff in the first place, let alone giving it to thrift shops.

When I get home, I seal my dirty stuff in an old cat litter bucket until I have a laundry load, then I don my breathing mask while I decant the smelly mass into the clothes washer. When I used to just put the clothes in the open in the bathroom it smelled like a troll's gym sock in there, and stunk up half the rest of the house.

I shower at work and then hang my bibs and jersey, socks and helmet liner on hangers from the curtain rod. Even if I get rained on for all 15 miles of my incoming commute, I can have my stuff dry for the return trip (even if it's just going to get drenched in 2 minutes again.)
My gloves and shoe covers get draped over my bike to dry out.

When I wasn't working from home, my workplace had lockers and showers. I'd hang up my cycling clothes in my locked but anything really wet I'd put on a hanger and hang it off the locker door.

I also put my dirty, sweaty cyling clothes in a sealable bucket but I add water and a scoop of washing soda. That way the clothes can pre-soak before I do the laundry. It helps keep the sweat from completely stinking up my shorts and jerseys bit also means I don't have to open up what smells like a bucket full of biohazard. Really? An enclosed bucket full of grimy clothes marinating in sweat. YUCK! Try the washing soda and water. Please.

Luckily. I had a 12 hour shift. It was enough time to rinse out the stink.. Place them near a heat duct and they amazingly would be dry in time to go home.. It helped that downstairs away from the work area, I had a space to shower, rinse out my clothes and let them dry near a ventilation vent..

It is not necessary to shower at work. (http://www.personalpronouns.org/trails/stinky_biker.htm)
+1. If you shower at home and have relatively clean clothes, this shouldn't be an isssue


I suggest you hang dry them. You can also spray them with Fabreze or some other such product if they smell sweaty.
+1. When in doubt, febreze!

I've become a big believer in wool. I wear as much wool as possible and I'm gonna get thin merino wool shirts for summer too. I can hang them anywhere, behind a desk, or whenever and they don't smell and are dry by the end of the day. The cycling stuff stinks horribly after one drying, my wool stuff doesn't smell after 5 days if sweating and drying.

Think of closed, hidden places that have high airflow or are warm: boiler rooms, computer rooms, etc. Maybe you can let someone hang your stuff in there? You can hang your clothes on the back of a computer or monitor, back of fax machine, etc. so it's hidden but getting some airflow and heat.

Adam

+1. If you shower at home and have relatively clean clothes, this shouldn't be an isssue

If you sweat like a Wookiee on a 15 mile commute you use as sprint training, no amount of clean clothes and Febreeze will save you.
Trust me. I know these things.

It's not just the sweat, it's the plastered on dead bugs and dust mixed with sweat salt and road grit ...

Some of my office sites had no showers but I made do quite well with a bucket, liquid soap and washrags in a bathroom handicap stall. It takes no longer than a shower and while not as luxurious, you can get completely clean.

The clothes - I either hang them up to dry "as is" or sink-wash them and then hang to dry. Block the view of the shorts with the jersey and your microfiber towel if need be but make sure air can circulate. If you can point a small fan at them all the better. Often I wear a simple mesh T that dries faster than a bike jersey w/ pockets.

I really need to buy some wool, I just need to get over the $$ PRICE $$.

poly does stink when sweaty.
Verily. Now that we’ve nearly survived another winter, wait till shops are dumping old inventory. I got two long-sleeved SmartWool base layers for $25 each last March…*they are at least two orders of magnitude better than any of my wicking shirts in terms of odor, to say nothing of thermal concerns.

Over the shower rod. The way our shower is, there is a rod at the entrance to a little cubbyhole that has the shower. I hang my towel over that rod, and it hides the clothes hanging inside.

Sez you. It depends on your coworkers. If I shower before riding, and don't shower at work, I still get complaints.

I think it depends more on YOU. Even when my commute was 25+ miles each way, my smell was never an issue at work. It doesn't take much to clean yourself up without a shower available. Of course some people just smell purdy naturally and some don't. ;)

The main issue I have run into with co-workers and odors come from the clothes themselves. Finding a secure place to let them hang where they don't offend someone's olfactory senses can be a challenge. Currently my only choice is to hang them on the back of my office door, which is why I keep a can of febreze handy.

I've often let them hang in the same men's room where I clean up and change too...security was never a problem for me, luckily, YMMV.

If you sweat like a Wookiee on a 15 mile commute you use as sprint training, no amount of clean clothes and Febreeze will save you.
Trust me. I know these things.

But a sink, a bit of soap, deodorant, washcloth and towel will save you.
Trust me, I know these things. :D

I can't speak for the clothing you wore on the ride tho...sometimes even Febreeze or a bonfire can't help.

I forgot... I share a 12'x12' cubicle, 4 of us in there and no privacy. We are professionals with a "business casual" dress code.

I have a half-dozen clothes hangers that hang from an INBOX hanging on the cubicle partition and from a few coathooks that also hang from the partition. The shorts, sports bra and HiVis stuff gets hidden by my towel, washrags and base T. Socks, skullcap go into the (vented) inbox. Gloves - I put them over a coathook so they dry out too.

I did tell my co-workers to let me know ASAP if they have a problem and I'd try to figure something else out. One thought is to keep a black mesh laundry bag and hang up any visually-distressing clothes inside the bag so they can air-dry but not be so visible.

BTW those Sham-wow type thingies really do help get the drying process started. They dry my hair and clothes so they are damp but not dripping.

I have typically hung my riding clothes in some out of the way storage closet or stairwell or some other place where there just wasn't much people traffic and there was some air circulation. Currently I drape my clothes on my bike in the bike locker.

In any event (as I do sweat like that wookie) I leave the sweaty clothes out of the office itself.

I also shower or at least do a wet wash wipedown. I need time to cool off anyway. (not the distance, but the hills that do it to me)

I commandeered an old tall metal cabinet with double doors that was going to surplus, removed the shelves inside, and put it in my office. Keeps my wet/sweaty bike clothes out of sight and smell, which is important as I'm in a shared office with lots of foot traffic. The cabinet is big enough that stuff dries out while hanging inside. I also keep overnight gear in there when I return from fieldwork and just want to crash out there rather than making the long trip home.

I have the luxury of being able to hang in it in the shower at work.

During nice spring and fall days, and summer, I sometimes hang my jersey over the top tube of my bike to dry. It does the job.

You guys must really smell to be complaining about such a short commute.

somethings I wrap in plastic and carry home in my rack trunk. some things I air out in the boiler room which is close to the shower room. all that I carry home wet is my top base layer and shower towel.