Grumpy McTrumpy

euro-front-loader on gentle. hang dry.

ahsposo 

No choice for this in the poll as I understood your post. This is how I do it when it's available. If I'm away from home then they get a hand rinse in the sink.

tonyzackery

This right here. I wash (front loading machine) on warm. Into the dryer they go with low heat. NEVER had an issue with anything falling apart or premature wear.

For a little extra piece of mind, put your "hand washables" in one of those mesh 'sock/lingerie' bags when you wash. Keeps the agitator from beatin' up your kit.

BarryJo

I don't bother reading the care instructions.
They go in the top end loader on the delicates cycle, and then in the dryer on the lowest setting.
I don't have time to be washing PI and Giodana stuff by hand and line drying. It's all held up fine and it saves me having to scrub the stains out of the chamois

kimconyc

Immediately after ride (for Assos-level stuff):
Sink > Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Castile Soap > Rinse 3x > squeeze out water > hang dry.

If I've ridden through some crazy NYC sewer juice (typical rain ride), I'll throw some anti-bacterial Palmolive into the mix and then do the above.

patentcad

If clothing can't tolerate machine washing and drying, I toss it. Period.

So far, so good.

echappist

ugh, that is, unfortunately, a very correct description, especially when you go through horse ***** alley on a rainy day...

when i fell after hitting a huge pot hole earlier this year, some of the melting snow on the road got splattered into my mouth. oh the horrible taste...

thanks for the input everyone!

7bmwm3gtr

I only have 5 jerseys and 2 shorts and 1 bib so it's pretty much a waste of electricity and water to wash 5 jerseys as one load then the bottoms as another load.

So i after my ride, I eat, then i get to work.

I wash the jerseys and the shorts separately

I also use a bucket, not a deep bucket but a short, wide bucket which i got at my local oriental store, its wide as a 26' mountain bike wheel, and about 5 inches tall.

Here's my Procedure:
- If washing arm/leg warmers or gloves, i do not soak them for a long period of time, i just throw them in my bucket while the faucet for my shower ( i have 2, one is a running faucet and one is the showerhead) is running cold as possible water. Then i add a decent amount of Tide detergent, scrub well, and then rinse out soap, and then hang dry indoors. For arm warmers and gloves, it takes about 12-15 hours to dry in cold weather(when house temp is cold) and i've never washed arm warmers in hot weather yet but gloves take about 6-8 hours.

Jerseys:
-Throw them in the bucket while cold water is running.
-Remove bucket from running water, leave bucket of cold water full along with the jerseys.
-Add necessary amount of soap.
-Scrub inside of jerseys first.
-Leave them alone for about an hour.
-Come back, scrub the outsides of the jersey
-Rinse out the ALL the soap
-Hang them to dry.

In cold and humid weather, it's takes almost a full day (24h) to dry, but usually (depends because some have moisture wicking fabric) it takes 16-18 hours.

And for shorts and bibs, it's the same procedure as above and depending on the shorts/bibs, it usually takes 24h in cold and humid weather, but mine have been dried up in as little as 12-16 hours.

And other than being able to take out stains and other dirt, my jersies/shorts keep the scent of my detergent(Tide) for about a week and a half!

If this is useless without pictures, i'll get some lol.

Nachoman

In washing machine on gentle cycle then hang dry.

shelleyspins

Monday - Thursday I teach at least 7 spin classes, often more like 10. I take my outdoor rides when I can get 'em which usually means Tuesdays and Thursdays when the kids are both in school and then as many times as I can get away with over the weekend. I go through a lot of shorts and jerseys during the week and there is absolutely no way I'd wear shorts in particular without washing them first. It's never even occurred to me to read the fabric care tags on my kits - if clothing won't survive in the washer then I throw it in there and hope that it deteriorates so completely that I won't have to bother myself with throwing it away. Warm or cold depends on what else is going in the load - there's always something else that needs to be washed around here - and I hang dry for an hour or so, usually by then everything will be dry except for the chamois; I'll throw the shorts in the dryer on medium for 10 - 15 minutes so that the chamois doesn't sit around wet for too long and to help kill off any hitchhikers.

Every now and then I have to sub at the last minute and don't have time to go home for fresh clothes and have already used the spare shorts I keep in my bag. I'll wash them in the shower, spin them out in the swimsuit spinner thingie and then ask the locker room attendant to put the shorts in the dryer for a few minutes. Even in the intense heat of those industrial dryers my shorts have held up just fine, though I wouldn't want them in for long. And I use the hand washing as a last resort. It doesn't beat a run in the front loader!

Psyclism

I just put all of my cycling clothes into a large mesh bag, toss them in the washer, and wash on warm/cold rinse with an additive/fragrance free detergent. I then air dry. This has worked great for me and all of my rather expensive cycling gear has held up exceptionally well over the past two seasons. Just DON'T use fabric softener or anything with a bunch of additives. These just gunk up the fabric and prevent it from wicking like it was designed to do.

Stuff with velcro (like my road-id) stays outside of the mesh bag. I learned that tip the hard way.

Eclectus

Assos and Gore Bike Wear both approve machine-washing, it doesn't void the warranty. Assos specifically recommends WARM water, which helps remove sweat oils. I use Whole Foods housebrand no-residue detergent.

On drying, the std rec is hang drying, and modern chamis dry overnight. Dryer is okay, but be careful with glued-in cham, do not let it get hot, it can delaminate. Not a problem with sewn-in chamis in the dryer. But hanging is a bit easier on your clothes, and stuff dries quickly.

Assos recs, if you don't wash, hang your stuff to dry, the serious problems occur if you let the cham stay damp.

A bag can help the bibstrps from getting tangled, twisted and stretched, which is mostly a problem throwing in bibs with lots of other, heavier stuff. If not using a bag, just do a disentanglement upon removal, rather than just cavalierly pulling the shorts or tights out of the washer.

Atol

I only have 1 pair of shorts.

Every time I ride I just take them in the shower with me and use bar soap on the chamois. After that I just hang dry it in the closet. Even after several months of doing this, the shorts are still in brand new condition and the chamois smells like Dove soap.

Walter

Delicate cycle in cold, hang dry.

Spiduhman

Warm "delicate" cycle + no scent Woolite (detergent rots thread), hang dry; away from home, hand wash, hang dry.

In the work out of town days, hand wash in shower - bucket, dallop of Woolite, rinse - hang dry. The house was f'n freezing in winter; oscillating fan cut dry time by about two thirds.

"Stains" - wha'? Clean shorts is only halfway there...

rangerdavid

This -- +1

TrekDen

Laundry bags for me I have a top loader, so this keeps the bib straps from being stretched around the aggitator.

Nachoman

I'm philosophically opposed to smelling chamois.

shouldberiding

Hand wash with Woolite. Hang to dry. I treat it like my wool stuff.

DougG

On the week-long tours that I've been on, there seem to be two camps: the guy that brings enough shorts and jerseys to have a clean set every day; and the guy who brings one of each and washes them out in the shower every evening. I'm somewhere in between, but I'll bet the wash-every-day guy's luggage bag smells better than the first guy's at the end of the tour!

I usually wash my bibs and jerseys in the washer on cold/gentle, but always hang them to dry.

cyclezealot

Where do you buy laundry bags.. I know they exist.. I look for them at Kroger's , Rite Aids they are not to be found... Just did a product search on their websites. The response was, product not found.. Since I have not found the product, I just use older pillow cases..

cyclezealot

You let that many days of dirty kit accumulate . You store smelly kit inside the house in the hamper maybe..? . My wife would freak because of the stink..

pkpsu

Wear it into the shower, hand wash with detergent in there. once e very 2 weeks I'll throw everything in the washer and hang dry. I always hang dry.

faire_du_velo

I usually wash my cycling clothes on the delicates setting, then I hang them to air dry. Shorts i hang inside-out so the chamois drys.

merlinextraligh

+1. And even if you assume you could extend the useful life a tad by handwashing, you've got to value your time. Is it worth an extra 10 minutes per wash to make a $100 pair of shorts last 300 washes instead of 250?

Considering the time value of money, you'd have to value your time below $.25 an hour to come out ahead.