Laundry

[aicabsolut]

I live in an apartment building where I have to pay for laundry. So I generally wash all my cycling stuff in the sink immediately after a ride. After a while, once I've accumulated enough to do other laundry, I will throw the spandex in the washing machine. I find there are pros and cons to machine vs hand washing. With enough hand washing, for some reason the shorts start getting stretched out. Eventually, they start getting a little saggy in the wrong places which can lead to chafing. Somehow, machine washing (usually in a front-load washer or in a regular one inside mesh bags) helps them regain a little shape. The same goes for gloves that are getting a bit stretched out with age, especially those that can go in the dryer on low heat.

Hand washing (with detergent) also doesn't seem to get all the chamois cream out. I'm not that worried about that from a health perspective, because I wash them well enough to get rid of odors (and, I assume, bacteria--I do not use scented soaps), and the chamois cream I use has antibacterial ingredients. So then the next ride, I've got a softer chamois with less chamois cream applied. Fresh out of the washing machine, the fabric feels rougher and I worry about crossing the fine line between not enough cream to be comfortable and too much. Put a little too much cream on and get caught in heavy rain, and it can be kind of gross.

I never reuse shorts, especially after spinning. I get so grossly sweaty spinning indoors. Ew. If I'm running low on shorts, I'll just wear regular athletic capris. I don't really need cycling shorts for most spin bikes. So if you have to choose between having something to wear on a road ride and having something to wear to spinning, save the shorts for the road.

[TahoeDirtGirl]

Always wash em. Always always. Even if I had them on, and rode a mile and then turned around for whatever reason, I still wash them. I

So here's a question for ya. I'm tired of using the free n clear ones because well, it seems there might be some alternatives out there. I need one that is nice to my skin (like Dreft minus the $10 price tag) and I would like it to not be tested on animals. And bio degradable. I'm thinking some of the Eco ones might work but I wasn't impressed by some of their other products. I want my clothes to be clean but not that weird oily clean that you get with Tide. Or it feels oily to me anyway. I guess I'm a goof.