Laundry

[kajero]

Do you wash you spin cycle shorts (if they are the padded ones) after every class you take?

[Eden]

A chamois is a wonderful breeding ground for bacteria, yeast, etc - definitely wash your shorts after each wearing.

[Dogmama]

I wash everything that has gone to the gym. MRSA can be quite abundant in some gyms. DH had wound MRSA - you don't want it.

[bmccasland]

Yes, spinning is the same as outdoor riding - I've worn the shorts and worked up a sweat for X amount of time. Into the laundry they go.

[OakLeaf]

I mean... regardless of how much you sweat, does anyone reuse ANY underwear without washing? Like, if I ride midday after I've already dressed in street clothes, I'll put on a clean pair of underwear after my shower for the rest of the evening, even if I re-use the same bra, top and pants... This is getting to be like the bathroom cleaning thread, except a LOT more intimate

[ny biker]

I don't take spinning classes, but...if I put on a pair of cycling shorts for only a few minutes, such as when I have to have them on while I'm having a bike fit issue taken care of at the bike shop, the shorts go in the laundry when I get home.

[tulip]

Yes, I've had enough itchies from my racing days (when chamois was leather and hard to clean) that absolutely my shorts go into every ride and after every spin class.

I've never been to a spin class when I haven't sweated profusely.

[lovelylibrarian]

Same with me. I wash them after every use. For MTN biking, I immediately change into clean undies and pants after riding, rathering than going home in the car in my biking shorts. I'd rather be safe than sorry.

[kajero]

Thank goodness you all agree with me.

Seeing as I only own one pair of shorts right now, my SO just doesn't understand why I wash a load of clothes that hardly has anything in it at least two times a week. It is sometimes is even more depending if I wear the shorts for an outside bike ride.
(I do try to add some other clothes to the wash load, but it is still a small load.)

I am going to get a few more pairs of shorts but I haven't had the time and I have been waiting for REI's big sale! I also have been looking online, but I am so indecisive.

Thanks for positive help. I hope no one will be offended if I make him read the responses!


K

[kajero]

I think I might like to read the bathroom thread. It sounds interesting. Can you send me the link?

K

[emily_in_nc]

I think I might like to read the bathroom thread. It sounds interesting. Can you send me the link?

Here it is!

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=27035

[Miranda]

This is a bit more labor intensive, but you could hand wash the spin shorts.

Just a small amount of Woolite in the bathroom/kitchen sink does the trick.

Turn the shorts wrong side out, and give the chamois a scrub. Rinse out well, throw in the washing machine alone on just a spin out cycle, and viola... hang up to dry overnight for the next day's class.

I just leave mine turned wrong side out to dry. I think it helps the thicker part of the shorts, the chamois, to get dry quicker.

FWIW
Miranda

[OakLeaf]

Rinse out well, throw in the washing machine alone on just a spin out cycle

Rather than spin delicates, you can compress them in your hands (don't wring), then roll them up in a towel and squeeze the whole roll. That dries them as well as or better than the spin cycle.

I wash clothes by hand when traveling all the time... that trick pretty much ensures most things will dry overnight unless the hotel room has really poor ventilation or very high humidity. Cycling shorts do need some air circulation to dry though.

[alpinerabbit]

After a brief outside ride I will re-use a chamois, and after “real” rides I will sometimes conserve some energy & wash with either handwashing detergent or soap before finally tossing them into the laundry after a second and even third ride (can’t take five pairs along on a week’s training camp, and have no washing machine there)

Even as a microbiologist I don't get all worked up about MRSA; however, the amount of perspiration in a spin class justifies washing shorts. But even then a quick rinse in soapy water might be ok for another go.

My laundry machine has a sportswear cycle that takes half as long as a regular cycle...

[Smilie]

I wear work out shorts to spin class. It is only an hour long, and I don't feel the need to have a padded short for such a short amount of time. Saves the expensive chamois for the long important outdoor rides. Plain old work out shorts are very inexpensive compared to the cycling shorts.

Another laundry question though. I am now able to hang out clothes on the line to dry(YAY!!!) and I have found that the sun takes my SO's cycling jerseys arm pit stink away. I tried using vinegar, and baking soda, and odo ban(which he absolutely hated since he just puts apricots in the back pockets and they tasted like odoban...oops) and none of them worked. I started hanging clothes out, and voila! No smell, is it just me, or does the sun work wonders on sweat stench?!