The solution for sweaty smelly bike clothes at work.
 

I’ve long tried to hang up my sweaty clothes around my cube at work, hoping they will dry and not get too stinky before I ride home. Certainly if they don’t get fresh air, they are going to smell awful. They have to hang somewhere.

I have stumbled onto a better alternative. I take my sweaty morning bike clothes and stick them in the freezer at work (since no one uses the freezer for their lunch).

This has the unexpected benefit of killing any and all bacteria in the clothes, and getting rid of the smell of soggy damp athletic clothes.

So, for the ride home my clothes don’t smell like I rode to work in them. Bonus!!!

I hope you put them in a seal plastic bag first before putting them in the freezer.

Probably keeps you cool on the ride home, too! Might be a little tough to put them back on though

Like your own personal cold locker. Anti-bacterial you say. I like this idea - enough that I think I'll find one of those opaque freezer bags so no one will complain about my nasty shorts next to their frozen dinners. They won't even know haha.

Generally speaking, not a good practice.

Storing non-food items in a refrigerator/freezer shared by employees for food storage may subject the employer to OSHA penalties (depending on whether the workplace is subject to federal or state OSHA compliance, and other mitigating factors).

It may not do you or your co-workers any harm. But it can be costly to an employer. Even if it doesn't result in monetary penalties it can cost them in terms of time and effort wasted on explaining why an employee's soiled clothing was stored alongside food. More costly if the employer or representative must appear before the OSHA area director or a federal magistrate to defend themselves and negotiate penalties, especially if they have to hire an attorney, professional safety and health consultant, etc.

There may also be local regulations involved, even if the workplace and/or situation isn't subject to state or federal OSHA.

To prove a hazard, an inspector might swab or test an area to determine whether any biological hazards existed, such as hepatitis, e-coli, etc., from soiled clothing. And the inspector might actually go to this trouble. They're spending taxpayer money, so it depends on the agency's budget and priorities.

It won't cost you anything, unless the employer decides you were responsible for causing them a lot of trouble. In which case, they can't legally fire you for something related to OSHA activity unless it violated specific workplace guidelines that were already in place. Or they might just make up something to retaliate, such as gigging you for being late to work. It happens.

Anyway, I'd suggest a mesh bag near a ventilated area or bringing your own small fan to air dry the clothing between rides.

(Yup, I was an OSHA inspector.)

Try Fabreeze (sic?) and lay the clothes on an ac vent or use a fan as mentioned above.

I can't tell whether Febreeze actually minimizes odors on fabrics, or just fools our sense of smell in the nose. Most air fresheners and similar products just overload our sense of smell so we don't notice the odor.

Biggest difference I've found is using decent quality cycling apparel. Doesn't need to be expensive or top of the line. A good poly jersey and shorts will tend to resist odors for two or three rides between washings (depending on the individual and weather), and dry quickly. The cotton t-shirts and collared pullovers I used to wear got funky after one ride and developed a worse mildewy funk if not washed pronto. Even my inexpensive Louis Garneau solid color jerseys fare better in hot, humid weather. I can usually get by with washing only after three rides, unless it rains. Wool jerseys and shorts were good too, when I wore 'em years ago.

Yup, sounds a bit disgusting, if the fridge is used for food/drink by others.

Well, the suggestion to use a sealed plastic bag was good. But it wouldn't necessarily be acceptable to health and safety organizations. If it's a small enough employer to fly under the radar, chances are it wouldn't be noticed.

Don't see how that works. They don't dry so will bet wet when you ride home, which sounds unpleasant to me at least.

Everyone has different odor characteristics, but I don't think I've ever had my sweaty clothes get particularly smelly over the course of a single day. Regardless, when I had a cubicle job, I put my clothes out of the way in my cubicle. Who's going to go looking for sweaty clothes? At my current job, I hang them in the basement; no one hangs out there, except to change their own clothes.

Also, I commute in spandex. It dries fast and is almost never damp by the time I leave work.

I'm pretty sure freezing doesn't kill bacteria. It just puts it into hibernation so it doesn't grow until it warms up again.

A frost-free freezer could freeze dry damp clothing. I freeze dry herbs in the freezer, putting them inside a paper sack. Works on flowers, even artichokes. Takes days or weeks, not hours.

Still wouldn't do that with clothing at a workplace fridge, tho'. Not sure how I'd explain those cycling shorts with that peculiar blue-green 3D padding that's shaped like Gumby's junk.

Here's what I do. I rinse out out my jersey and t-shirt (in winter) when I take a shower after I get to work. I wring them out and roll in a towel to remove as much of the water as possible. Then I hang my clothes on a drying rack in my office. They don't smell because I rinsed them out, and they are dry by the time I leave in the afternoon. I don't rinse out my bike shorts, however, because they would not dry out during the work day.

Putting your sweaty clothes in the freezer is nasty. If someone did that in my office, they would get a severe reprimand from HR and their coworkers.

Freezing kills the bacteria, removing any smell.
You can kill bacteria by freezing or boiling.
Try putting that smelly sponge in the microwave or in boiling water. Same thing - kills the bacteria and removes the smell.


I don't know about you, but I sweat a lot more in the afternoon than the morning, so being extra dry isn't a problem. Besides, when it is over 90 degrees, damp commuting clothes feel kind of nice (again, I'm going to sweat in them again).

If I'm concerned about damp clothes, I freeze them for 4 hours to kill the bacteria (and smell) and then let them air out for 4 hours under my desk so they are dry.

I don't know about you guys, but the freezer here is 90% empty, while the fridge is over capacity.

Never had a cubicle job. So can't respond to that. I start my day in the server room. Next to the same storage room the bike is in. Not too many people go into the storage area so as long as it's not too blatant I can hang stuff in there.

Part of me likes the freezer idea. But I can already hear the protests from my coworkers. Another part of me shrinks at the idea of my coworkers putting their used undies, etc. in the freezer. Even tho I know it would be safe.

And we wonder why so many people in the U.S. dislike 'cyclists'.

I'm glad I don't have a cubicle next to the OP or others who dry smelly sweaty clothes in the office. A fan or over an AC vent to spread the smell and bacteria around? Really?

If they are not that sweaty ion the morning, they must not stink much

get a coat hook and hang it under your desk, like they do at bars for ladies purses, that way you can hang your stuff without it being obvious. then, get a small fan and point it at your jersey/shorts, and they will be dry and odor free in like an hour (assuming you commute in cycling kit). I do this in my own office, and it works like a charm. as long as you wash your shorts and use a fresh jersey every day, you should have no issues. FWIW I also keep cologne, deodorant, and fresh clothes (especially socks and underwear) at work, and I've never had an issue.

I'm lucky I've got a washer/dryer combo at work, but normally I just throw them in the dryer for 15 minutes. Good to go.

Not just wet, but cold and wet. No thank you!

I'm a biologist, and this is wishful thinking.

I was about to post this. Does nobody even think about the bacteria we find in the Arctic? It's certainly cold there, with much harsher conditions than your freezer.

On a different note, the freezer is a no-used-kit-zone. Perhaps if it were your own, under your desk, but otherwise I don't see how you could even begin to think that was a great idea.

And to those who suggest wearing a clean kit each time; does anyone actually ride in kits that have been worn on the previous day without a wash? I've never even thought of it, or know anyone who's done it.

Clean kit on the way in, pack a clean kit for the way home. Used one goes in a zip-lock to take home, no smell, no damp kit, no fuss. Wash em both later.

Oh - ugh - ewwwwwww - it's got *germs* oh yuck!

Kinda sissified i think....

You guys (and your co-workers) are a bunch of babies. Get an opaque ziploc (or any old paper bag), put the clothes in there, and stick them in an area of the freezer where there's room, where there's no other food, and where nobody will accidentally run into them. If there's not such an area, then don't stick your clothes in the freezer.

Don't ask, don't tell.

I hope your coworkers never find out about this practice, cause it's pretty nasty. What about just hanging your clothes on your bike to dry? I guess I'm lucky cause I just hang mine in my shower closet or if I had to my office...but I would never put it in the freezer, even if it was largely unused. That's a good way to become "that guy" - don't be "that guy"