If any of you like to wear newer poly microfiber sports clothes for touring because of its comfort and quick drying ability, you probably also are taken aback by the fact that after multiple wearings and despite multiple washings, you cannot get that funk smell out of them. If this sounds familiar, I have found a great and cheap solution. I put the items in a container that is easy to seal and then douse them very liberally with full-strength household ammonia. Seal the container and let it sit overnight, then launder as usual. Ammonia will not harm most fabrics at all (though if worried you may want to test an inconspicuous area), and it COMPLETELY gets your clothes back to smelling the way they were when you purchased them.

I have found that even if you wash things with the specialty sports detergents this funk seems to come back quickly without the ammonia treatment.

I think this ammonia solution works because the specialty detergents are good at getting bacteria out from between the small fibers, but still a small amount of bacteria remains in the fibers, and the detergents do not kill the bacteria; the detergents are just better at washing more of it out. The ammonia completely kills the bacteria, so even if a bit remains in the fibers it is not going to be able to grow and start smelling.

Granted, doing this while on a tour is not practical, but for laundering between tours it is a great solution that really works.