Sanitizing bike shorts between commutes?
 

OK, here is a perfect question for this forum. I've been commuting two-three times a week, about 10-15 miles each way (depending on how much I add on), and I wear proper bike shorts. In an ideal world, I'd like to clean my bike shorts after every ride, but on the days I commute, I put the same shorts back on for the ride home. I haven't had any real problems with road rash, etc. from this, but to be safe, I'd like to find some way to clean/sanitize my chamois in-between my rides (what others might call "being at work"). Does anyone have a good solution for this? For example, is there a good Febreze-type antibacterial spray I could use when I hang up my shorts to dry behind my door? Thanks!

:speedy:

great question
i would also like to know what people do with their shorts...i just try to switch it up with others during the week...sometimes i wear the same shorts for 3-4 days...my commute is 5.5 miles one way

Is this really a problem? On my occasional commutes I ride 34 miles round trip. I've also done tours where I've spent 14 hours or more a day in intimate contact with my chamois, and I've suffered no ill-effects. I'd not wear the shorts the next day if they are unwashed, however.

Working in R&D for a company that produces and sells sanitizers etc., you really don't want most sanitizers in contact with your skin other than those intended for that purpose. Sanitizers for skin and fabric are different products.
You really don't need to sanitize the shorts between rides (at work) but if you really want to do so, use some isopropyl alcohol and let them air dry.

I don't do anything between commutes from home/work/home. I try not to wear the same shorts back to back days without a washing though. I also have very sensitive skin and fear that if I were to wear more than one day in a row I would have issues. So far so good. I have 4 different pairs of spandex that I cycle through the laundry/my riding week and that seems to be enough. I would never try treating my shorts at work due to fear of an adverse reactions on the way home. I figure that if they air dry and I only really need them for a ride home I should be okay.

Get two pairs. Ride to work in one, stash the other in your bag for the ride home.

Have you tried washing them in the sink?

Absolutely unnecessary. I'm sure someone else can find the thread where we beat this topic to death a few weeks ago.



"I haven't had any real problems with road rash, etc."
Road rash is what you get when you bail and hit the pavement. Saddle sores are what you get from open bacterial contamination around your chamois-contact area. Hopefully you never have either problem.

I can't imagine why I'd bother to do this. Is it a smell issue? That's all I can figure.

If you have a chance of getting road rash from bacteria, you've got some damn active bacteria there.

I try not to use ANY antibacterial stuff. For most people it does no good, and their use may be contributing to development of resistant strains of bacteria. Finding NON-antibacterial soaps and detergents is actually the problem.

Live long, and be smelly!

Nothing. That's my answer. I would do nothing with them other than (maybe) find a spot to hang them where
they can dry out during the day. I can only assume that the bacteria build-up shouldn't be too bad, given that
it's from you and you are traveling between home and work. In other words, I'd only consider cleaning/rinsing
every day if I were on the open road and not bathing regularly. Then again, I wear regular cotton shorts and
gave up the chamois life awhile back.

Here 'tis

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=518875

Ride hither, then yon. Then wash.

I just hang mine up and then put them back on for the ride home. Wear a clean pair each day.

Let 'em dry inside out while you're at work. I think chafing is more likely to occur if your shorts are really damp when you put them back on -- something clammy rubbing against dry skin doesn't sound nice.

Otherwise, I don't think it's a big problem wearing the same shorts unless they are so hideously sweaty and gross. Then maybe carry with you a "going home pair".

People "sanitize" things way too often. A little bit of your own sweat is not going to do anything to you.

Yep.
In the words of James Brown: Funky as you Want to Be!:D

Yeah well, let's see what tune you guys start singing if you come down with jock itch. I assume that since you're using a chamois you're riding bare down there? Without any "what are you wearing under there?" "Under where?" you ask. "Exactly" I reply. Of course some just aren't prone to fungal infections, but do you really want to take the chance? What do they sanitize bowling shoes with, maybe the more industrial the better, carcinogens be damned. Btw, people who sweat, often smell like it.

Don't use the spray for bowling shoes!!!
Direct skin contact and you may get a chemical burn....you have socks between the chemical (usually a phenolic) and you when you have the bowling shoes on...

LOL, I know, I was being silly. I've read there is some sort of belief that you should not wear under garments while in bike shorts but I think that's just an awful idea. I need support and a barrier between my nasty self and my nice clothes. Besides where's that grotesque picture of that team with their spandex squished peens? Leave somethings to the imagination... IIiiiiimaaaaagin-Aaaaaaa-SHUN!

Letting your shorts dry for the 8 - 10 hours you're at work, then putting them back on again to ride home isn't going to cause fungal infections. Seriously, I spent 11h 10m on my bike last Saturday; I wore the same shorts for the 1h drive to/from the starting point, and I didn't change during the ride. We got rained on, and I was sweating for most of the time. No infections.
BTW, XK-12 sanitizer, Brunswick sanitizer, etc. are just ethyl alcohol with an isobutane propellant and some fragrance. You may as well just splash your junk with some Everclear, spray dry it with canned air and give your undercarriage a spritz of air freshener.

Bike shorts are all the support you need. Actually, padded cycling shorts are specifically designed to be worn sans underpants. The lycra material offers the compression and support normally provided by something like (ack!) tighty whities, and the chamois padding in good shorts is wicking and breathable to keep moisture away from the body, plus many are manufactured with antibacterial cores or antibacterial threading in the coverings. Bike shorts are also manufactured with anti-chafing flat-locked seams, and panel seam placement designed to be at the least irritating spots. Tighty whities have rolled seams which will cause irritation/chafing; plus they're usually cotton, which will get wet and stay wet against you. If you're on a very long ride (say, 6h or more) you'll likely be using a chamois creme if you're freebagging it in cycling shorts. Most of these are also designed with antibacterial agents as well. So it's one more boundary of protection from problematic bacterial buildup.

Ok, if you get an infection once a month or more from commuting then it is time to evaluate what might be causing it but I highly doubt a dry set of gear is going to do so. Fungal infections generally come on from keeping things moist and if you dry your shorts out it should not play a huge factor in a fungal infection. If you are a person that does get an infection on a recurring basis and it is due to commuting the solution is as simple as bringing a second pair of shorts. Again it is silly to sanitize things such as bike shorts. As bad as putting hand sanitizer needlessly on your hands once an hour.

Jock itch doesn't come out of nowhere. I got it last year for the first time. I treated it, it was gone in about 2 weeks, and it hasn't come back. You need the fungal spores there for it to develop, not the bacteria that's naturally hanging around. I still don't think sanitizing will help; for one thing, I doubt anything you could spray on the fabric could kill the spores AND not be like acid on your own skin. After all, if there was such a spray, you could use it directly ON your skin to cure the fungus, and there isn't such a thing. My doctor said the ONLY way to kill the fungus is to get it when it's reproducing, that's when the antifungals act on it. If it's in its spore state, which it would be on the clothing, you could soak them in alcohol and it wouldn't kill them.

Uh, that's not a "belief", that's exactly how bike shorts are DESIGNED to be worn. That "grotesque picture" isn't reality for most folks, because most shorts have padding that would cover that, and most shorts are black, which also covers that. I wear black padded bike shorts daily, and they don't reveal much, the padding is quite effective.

I'll let you in on a little secret: if you have unpadded, light colored bike shorts that leave nothing to the imagination, wearing a pair of tightie whities under them isn't going to conceal ANYTHING.

I hear windex with ammonia kills lots of stuff. Only kidding. Just bring an extra pair with you for the ride home then wash both before the next day. Or if you air dry buy 4 pair so 2 pair have 24 hours to air dry at home.

As said take 2 pairs, also if you don't already it's a good idea to keep things trim down there.