Rules for washing and cleaning boxing gloves to remove dirt and odors

Most athletes are forced to think about how to wash boxing gloves by a strong odor that has already appeared, which is difficult to wash off even with soap. But such an unpleasant situation could have been completely avoided by following simple advice on caring for sports equipment! Well, well, since the bacteria have already bred in your boxing gloves, we’ll tell you how to get rid of odor and dirt, and how to prevent this.

Is water destructive?

In general, washing gloves is not recommended. Moreover, many generally consider any wet cleaning of such products to be unacceptable. But why are people afraid to throw this equipment into a washing machine or soak in a basin?

• First of all, washing can damage the external material: if it is leatherette, it is very likely that the surface will crack during drying or if it is damaged by aggressive washing, but if it is genuine leather, then it is very likely to deform and lose its “salable” appearance. Sometimes after washing gloves can “sit down”, which can also become an occasion to send them to the trash.
• As for the filler, whatever it is, washing or soaking can cause the material to stall, and no tennis ball launched into the washing machine, as in the case of down jackets, will help here. If the filler does not cure after drying, the gloves will have to be thrown away, because they can no longer perform the function of softening the blow.
• Well and the most important thing: they will be dried after washing for a very long time (from 3 to 7 days until completely dry), and if you do not dry correctly, during this time a new army of bacteria will be divorced. Microorganisms love a dark, humid environment, so try to speed up the drying a little. How exactly this can be done, we will tell a little later.

Does this mean that boxing gloves cannot be washed? Not really. Many athletes managed to scroll them in the washing machine without much damage to the product.

Here are the methods that most apply.

• Soak in a basin with warm, but not hot water and powder overnight. Caution: from prolonged soaking, leatherette can crack!
• Soak in warm salt water overnight. Recall that leather products do not like moisture and can be deformed after such processing.
• Machine wash at 30 ° C without spin. The machine can be washed both leatherette and skin, but washing at this temperature will not be able to kill bacteria, so it helps to get rid of only a slight smell.

True, washing even with proven methods remains at your own peril and risk: it is possible that your gloves will not like cleaning with water and the product will be damaged.

Tip

Instead of powder, use a liquid washing concentrate: it will be easier to dilute and wash from gloves.

Other odor control methods

If prevention is still not your thing, and you don’t dare to wash boxing gloves, you can try the following remedies to deal with an odor that has already appeared.

• A couple of days in the freezer in a plastic bag will help kill bacteria from sweat. After the procedure, you must definitely dry the product for 2-3 days.
• Put a cotton wool moistened with vinegar inside: this will help get rid of bacteria and smell, however, gloves will then have to be ventilated from the smell of vinegar for 2-3 days.
• Buy an antibacterial spray and treat the gloves with them according to the instructions. It may take several procedures to remove the smell, but in general the method is very effective.
• Some even kill the smell in the microwave, although we do not recommend this: the product is likely to be damaged.

Tip

If you have a sterilization device (they are often purchased if the family has small children), you can handle gloves with it.

So you don’t have to wash ...

You do not have to think about how to wash gloves and get rid of the smell, if you develop the habit of properly caring for your sports equipment. It is enough to follow a few rules.

• Disassemble the bag immediately after arriving home: wallowing in a bag, soaked with sweat, gloves will become a tidbit for bacteria.
• Transport gloves in a separate plastic bag so that they do not absorb even more sweat from sweatshirts, shorts and socks that are wet after training.
• Hang gloves to dry after each workout, or better yet, help them dry with a crumpled newspaper, hairdryer, or shoe dryer. All of these methods can also be used to accelerate the drying of gloves after washing.
• Do not wear wet gloves for training: moisture combined with sweat will provide bacteria with an ideal environment for accelerated reproduction.
• Treat your gloves periodically with an antibacterial spray for prevention. You can apply the spray on your hand and only then put on a glove. You can use gel antiseptics, which are sold in a pharmacy, and even alcohol.
• Use boxing bandages: they will absorb most of the sweat, and washing them will be much easier.

Tip

If you want to renew the look of the gloves, wipe them with a damp cloth and treat them with a clear cream or shoe polish sponge.

Perhaps the unpleasant smell in boxing gloves is easier to prevent than then trying to get rid of it with the help of washing. Remember our prevention tips and apply them every workout, but if it turned out that the smell still appeared, you now have enough ways to eliminate it!