my pads smell funny

[the persuader]

hey i gots to wash my stuff* finally and i was wondering if'n anyone has tips before i go to the laundrymat. in otherwords, is there anything i shouldn't do?
just trying to make the world a better place.


aD

*stuff being stinky, stinky pads... 187 pads and prodesigned wristguards .

[Ana Bollocks]

Yours only smell "funny" ? You're in good shape then, cuz mine smell like homeless person.

Washing machines tend to destroy pads... if you have a sink big enough, I'd go that route.

Also, a pre-soak of half white vinegar and half water seems to help.

[corndawg]

if you go to the tape, Batterly was quoted season one as soaking them in V05 shampoo while Leggs stated that hand washing with all color cheer was her method.

[the persuader]

i thank you bollocks, and i'm sure the rest of the world does.
aD

[Willy Callit]

Yours only smell "funny" ? You're in good shape then, cuz mine smell like homeless person.

Washing machines tend to destroy pads... if you have a sink big enough, I'd go that route.

Also, a pre-soak of half white vinegar and half water seems to help.

If you machine wash em the velcro fills with lint. Not to say I'd never machine wash mine, only if they got really bad. If you keep up with them and clean them reasonably frequently it helps.

A half cup of baking soda in the wash water with the detergent seems to help for mine. I'd not do this with the vinegar of course.

Air 'em between uses, don't just leave 'em zipped in to your gear bag. A spray of rubbing alcohol (70% plus concentration) applied after practices, then leaving them out to air dry can help keep em less stinky between washings.

Wearing a cotton barrier between the pads and your skin makes them more comfortable and makes them absorb less oil and bacteria from your skin as you sweat = less stinky. Cut off sleeves from old tee shirts, especially the softball / raglan style, work well for this. Old tees are cheap at thrift shops. Wearing a bandanna under your helmet serves the same purpose for those pads.

HTH -

[the persuader]

thank you all. i will try each and every one of these until i get the freshest smelling pads and a trail of flowers follows me around the track.
aD
p.s. i actually used cut off sock tops last practice under my elbow pads cuz i forgot to take my gear out. lesson learned.

[gretaturbo]

Washing on delicate in one of those industrial machines is fine I think, provided you wash them by themselves. DO NOT tumble dry tho.

And mine tend to smell like cat piss.

[margaretthrasher]

I know it's late to chime in on this, but mine smell like Doritos.

[MotorPsycho]

mmmmmmm, Doritos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[KING OF PAIN]

Margaret Thrasher said:

mine smell like Doritos.

Baked to a delicate crunch or fried to a crispy crunch????

[Kimmy Danger]

Yeah, I'm not all that experienced in washing pads, However- I heard of a derby girl that didn't wash her pads and got ringworm.....gross.

[Speedy Sedgwick]

whether or not it is good for my pads, I have found that this keeps em under control especially after a whole summer of sweating them off.

--First soak them in a sink full of warm water and pine sol (about 2x the concentration that you would use to say, mop the floor). Do this for about 1/2 hour. this seems to kill just about everything that could give you a rash or smell bad. I use the pink kind, whatever that is, it doesn't smell lemony.

--rinse them by hand really well and lay them out on the roof in full sun to dry for as long as possible, all weekend if you can.

--THEN stick all of the velcro together the best you can, and put them in the washing machine on cold, delicate cycle with just a little bit of detergent. You might want to run the rinse cycle twice. Let them dry as much as you can (sun if possible).

I had some seriously fierce smelling pads and after doing this once , they never got stinky again. I also have really sensitive skin, and found that this significantly relieved the rashes and irritation that I used to get from my pads (esp elbow pads).

[MotorPsycho]

Martha Stewart's got nothing on you Speedy