echappist

So i wash my kit by hand every two rides, but when i do laundry, i have a quandary as to obey the instructions on my kit or throw them into the washing machine with my other stuff. Your take on this? I would especially appreciate it if you have experience with the NS brand (their logo is an eagle, kinda look like the logo of the philadelphia eagles) that's made in Belgium as it's the company that made my kit.

Thanks

AngryScientist 

my washer has a "hand wash" cycle. all my cycling clothing goes in with this cycle and hangs dry.

cia dog

I've been washing all my wash by hand only clothes in the machine and never had a problem. I just put the machine on cold wash and rinse and on the gentle cycle; then dry them in the dryer on the perm press cycle on low heat.

dstrong 

Eeeeeeewwwwwwww!

"Gentle" on my machine..."Cool" in the dryer. After every ride.

AngryScientist 

yea, i missed that first part in your OP, i'm pretty sure putting on chamois that you've ridden in is just asking for some type of nasty rash/infection. you want the chamois to be clean and bacteria free every time you put them on, definitely go with the hand was cycle and wash them after every ride.

Wanderer

Gentle in the washer, cold water, with detergent only..... no softener, no freshener, no nothing, but soap. I usually give it an extra rinse afterards, and hang to dry.

p.s. make sure the soap (detergent) has none of that other stuff in it.

sci_femme

I have a front loader, I throw my cycling clothes with undies and do additional rinse cycle. Hang dry. Every once in a while I wash the load - undies and all - with hefty dose of Oxy-Clean to deodorize technical fabric.

Polyester is tough stuff, so is polyurethane fibers, aka Lycra/Spandex. Even if you dry it by accident in the dryer it is not going to die.

+1 to Wanderer - detergent better be free and clear of additives.

echappist

skulks away in shame

though im trying to get my hands on a new team kit.

the thing i really don't want to see is that a year or two from now, the fabric has worn thin enough you can see my guads and glutes in their full glory (despite the fact that the bibs are dark blue in color)... i was giving my teammate a hard time the other day when he wore such a bib

cia dog

I forgot to mention one thing that others reminded me; I sometimes hang dry my shorts outside because supposedly any left over bacteria on the Chamois will be destroyed by the sun...but where I live the Sun isn't always available so I'll use the dryer on low. I would think todays modern detergents should kill most bacteria, nothing kills all bacteria not even the sun or there would be no life on earth if the sun did.

cyclezealot

i Could not stand to put on smelly bike clothes if they were not properly laundered. Our machine does not have a gently cycle. But, I put my kit in a laundry bag which drastically reduces the abrasion .

ptle

I usually just throw it in with all my other clothes and do a normal cycle. I've washed my kit many times and it seems fine. I only wash in cold water though because it makes your clothes last longer and is better for the environment. I feel like the hot water cycle is usually not necessary.

Then I hang up my kit and let it dry. I've accidentally thrown it in the dryer before. It came out fine.

zatopek

I am a Neanderthal. Every clothing article I own gets washed with whatever happens to be in the basket with it. Materials, colors, manufacturers' instructions... all are irrelevant. After that, straight into the dryer. What does not hold up under these conditions is weeded out of the clothing gene pool. My housemates laugh at me. I contend that life is too short to futz around with finicky and persnickety clothing items. Long live the dirtbag bachelors!

sci_femme

Then the fabric was not all that good to begin with. Unfortunately, with modern finishes and treatments it is really hard to predict how the fabric will behave in time. I had brand-name swimsuits fall apart with sun and chlorine and sand abrasion at the end of the swimming season (granted, where I live it is October, but still...), I have no-name piece into its fifth summer.

Good Luck

SF

Reynolds 

By hand. Always.

dstrong 

One of the funniest "behind the scenes" vids from last years TdF was with Levi and Lance interviewing DaveZ in the team bus. DaveZ mentioned that after his shorts are washed he runs a UV light over the chamois to make sure all the little nasties are dead. Next, he reveals that he's working on the female version of his DZ-NUTS (pronounced Deez-Nuts) chamois cream...and plans to call it DZ-LIPS.

stedalus

To all the people bawwwing about laundering every other ride: don't ever go touring or backpacking. Better yet, do go touring or backpacking and realize it's not the end of the world.

MegaTom

I wear 'em right into the shower & hand wash in there. Adds another 10 minutes or so to showertime, which isn't such a bad thing.

Wanderer

If it has anything like a "knit" cycle, or a separate short cycle, it is probably a "gentle" cycle. Try it, and see if the machine is slowed way down.

znomit

Touring is the worst time to get a saddle sore. Fresh shorts every day.

stedalus

I rotate and wash shorts whenever possible, but sometimes it's just not feasible. In my experience and opinion, hygiene has almost no impact on saddle sores. How much saddle time you're accustomed to and saddle and bike fit are way more important.

edit: I should say impact on incidence of saddle sores. If you already have broken skin down there, then yes, poor hygiene can make things worse.

cyclezealot

Agree totally.. On tour, I took two sets of bike clothes. To assure time that washed clothes have sufficient time to dry.. On tour, once a cycling buddy got sloppy with keeping his bike clothes clean.. Welts on his butt got so big, he took off the last 2 days of the tour.. He sort of walked about as if he had hemorrhoids.

No can do. Our machine only has one cycle...

Scottluebke2004

I wash them in my bidet (bed-ay). I live in Germany. We do not use the bidet, BTW! I fill it with warm water, pour in a tiny bit of detergent, then I just sort of squish the clothes and rinse them in the bathtub. Seems to work pretty well.

cyclezealot

Maybe my nose is just too sensitive.. Seems showering just did not get the stink out.. On the few occasions I don't machine wash my bike clothes: I've found the best way to make them smell fresh is to take a full bath.. Put in a little, Musk scented bath gels and go soak in the tub for 10 minutes; and your wife will want you to wear you bike clothes to bed... Just regular showering. Did not work for me.. I could smell me, next time out..

znomit

https://www.groundeffect.co.nz/faq/washing.php

MegaTom

I can't say that lingering odor has ever been a problem. Mind you, I do remove my clothing before washing it and I keep laundry detergent in the shower for the occasion. And I air-dry in the sun whenever possible.