Washing shorts?

[Bikechic]

How do you guys wash your shorts? My hand or washing machine? Mine say to do it by hand but I never feel that they are clean enough when I do that.

[Veronica]

I ignore the directions - machine wash, line dry.

V.

[wingsonwheels]

Cold water, no dryer. Wash the bike clothes all together as soon as you can after the ride.

[DeniseGoldberg]

I machine wash both my shorts and jerseys in cold water - and I throw them in the dryer on a low setting. Of course this is following the manufacturer's instructions of "machine wash cold tumble dry low".

Personally, I would not purchase bike clothing that needs to be hand washed.

--- Denise

[Bikechic]

what about gloves? with the padding in them? can i put those in too?

[DeniseGoldberg]

what about gloves? with the padding in them? can i put those in too?

I throw my gloves in the washing machine too - same cycle / load as my shorts and jerseys, and in a mesh bag to keep the velcro away from everything else. But I have no idea what the dryer would do to the gloves, so I line dry them.

--- Denise

[Irulan]

skip the dryer, the heat will break down any lycra and or synthetic components faster.

Regular detergent/soap is fine, if you must use "delicates" skip the expensive specialized laundry product and use baby shampoo. I don't bother... med temp, line dry is how I do everything bike related.

irulan

[Grog]

Machine wash cold water with a small amount of Tide/Purex (not delicate fabric stuff, which I keep for the more delicate apparel) depending on the size of the load (which is usually 2-3 shorts + 2-3 jerseys + a few pairs of socks + my gloves in a mesh bag so their velcro doesn't stick to the lycras + other sports clothes like jogging shorts/tshirts).

Hang to dry - everything is dry overnight even when hanged on a rack indoors.

Repeat everytime the bike clothes drawer is empty, or about bi-weekly (I ride 4-5 times a week).

[Technotart]

I spray a little enzyme spot treat on the chamois to break down sweat and oil. I put mine in the dryer, but just until damp rather than wet.

Also - I have heard that fabric coftener will reduce the sweat wicking properties so don't use that

[KSH]

Also - I have heard that fabric softener will reduce the sweat wicking properties so don't use that

OH! I will stop using it then! Thanks for the tip!

[bounceswoosh]

How do you guys wash your shorts? My hand or washing machine? Mine say to do it by hand but I never feel that they are clean enough when I do that.

Machine wash cold, delicate, "heavy soil," with baby shampoo as Irulan suggested. No softener! A lot of performance gear says not to use softener. I have an overly expensive front-loader, though, so I trust its ability to get things clean on delicate better than I would another washer (but then I may just be succumbing to marketing hype).

Then dry on a rack. This works great in my dry climate, but I can imagine it wouldn't be all that effective in more humid areas.

I wash jerseys, socks, basically any other athletic equipment in the same load, but not my gloves ... My gloves just kinda get nasty. I washed my old pair, and they never seemed quite the same after that.