My cats refuse to do my laundry, so I do it all. In the bad old days decades ago, washing stinky sports laundry with regular laundry made everything smell. I have always washing running and cycling clothes alone and by hand. I get two 32 mile commutes on a jersey. I use the Costco liquid detergent and it works well on stinky clothes.

This is my story, too. These high efficiency washers use incredibly little water, so I don't feel like I'm wasting much by laundering immediately. In the summer, after a really sweaty ride, I'll add Oxiclean to the load. My stuff comes out fresh and clean. I line dry the synthetics in the basement near the exhaust air from a dehumidifier. They dry very quickly.

I love that Wifey complains about the piles of laundry, because none of it is mine. I do my own daily, gym twice a day plus work clothes is plenty for a load. I also alternate doing our sheets w Wifey. When the kids are home from college they have to do their own.

The fabric itself may be a factor. I just handwashed my new Pearl Izumi baselayer undershirt and Garneau jersey after about five wearings (solo recreational rides only, no commutes, so no victim was subjected to odiferous abuse).

Before and after wearing I noticed a very slight chemical odor to the Garneau jersey -- not strong, reminiscent of that new car smell but much less noticeable. It seems to be coming from the elastic in the waistband and rear pockets. The Garneau jersey uses quite a bit more elastic than I'd have expected -- it feels like 1/2" wide strips of thick rubbery material, more like a bungee cord than most clothing type elastic. I suppose anyone who's particularly sensitive could choose jerseys with zipper rear pockets and no elastic waistband.

The Pearl Izumi was odorless as far as I could tell. After a few rides the Pearl Izumi undershirt still had very low odor -- I'll definitely be getting another for summer wear under my casual shirts for leisurely jaunts downtown. The Garneau jersey had a bit of body odor after wearing, but not nearly as bad as my cotton shirts.

After handwashing and air drying, the Pearl Izumi was odorless again. But the Garneau jersey still has the very slight manufacturing chemical sort of odor. It's so slight I can't smell it at all if I have any nasal allergy symptoms -- only when my sinuses are completely clear can I detect a slight odor.

Maybe there's a good reason Pearl Izumi stuff is so much more expensive than some makers. I suppose I'd consider that in choosing bike clothing for commuting or casual social rides.

Gotta love the wife complaints. I got up before 5 am and would take a shower leaving what I wore to bed in the bathroom. When I got home, I would check and pick it up if it was still there. She complained (using that word as being nice since I almost forgot which forum I was on and said a different word) constantly so at 4:45 in the morning, I traipsed into the bedroom flicking on the light waking her up to throw my clothes in the hamper. That certainly blew her up. Went back to leaving them in the bathroom. She complained again. This time I went into the bathroom after picking up a pair of shorts from me and gathered up all the other clothes on the floor. I went back out to the living room and dumped 3 pairs of pants/sweats, 3 tops, 3 pair of women's/girl's underwear, 3 bras, 3 pair of socks, and 2 bath towels on her lap and asked her which item was mine? It's no wonder why I officially have a lawyer now.

My wife honestly does smell more/better than my nose, but when I come in the back door and she hollers "You're stinky!" from the kitchen I think the odor she smells is more psychological than physiological.

The Borax and laundry detergent combination works pretty well most of the time, but supplement it by drying outside in the sunshine if possible. The end of winter -- about now -- is one of the worst times for my gear, because it's all been draped inside to dry for months. And for the century jerseys, sometimes I'll add some white vinegar to the fabric softener dispenser on top of the Borax.

Tide unscented and some borax works well for me. I'm not particularly smelly, but my sweat doesn't like synthetic fabrics. I hang my kit up after a ride so it can dry, then get it into a wash a soon as possible.