How to Wash Workout Clothes: 13 Tips for Removing Odors and Stains

Follow these laundry guidelines to ensure your exercise gear stays in tip-top shape.

Washing workout clothes can sometimes feel more challenging than the workout itself: In addition to requiring special handling to eliminate stains and odors from sweat and other body soils, the fabrics used in exercise gear often need to be washed in a specific way to prevent damage. To make things even more complicated, many of the regular rules of laundry don’t apply when it comes to washing workout clothes.

Understanding the particular needs of stretchy and moisture-wicking fabrics will allow you to make smart choices that will keep these garments smelling fresh and looking their best. Ahead, you’ll find everything you need to know about washing gym clothes the right way so that they come out as clean as can be—and that they can be worn for many workouts to come.

Related: The 8 Best Laundry Detergents of 2024, According to Testing

1. Allow Sweaty Clothes to Dry

When sweaty clothes sit around after a workout they can take on a sour, mildewy smell on top of the scent of sweat. Letting clothes dry out a bit before putting them in the hamper can help to prevent this. This can be as simple as tossing gym clothes over the shower curtain rod while you get cleaned up and dressed after your workout, or draping them over the side of the hamper to dry out a bit before tossing them in the laundry heap. However, if you exercise regularly, it might make sense to invest in a hamper that allows for airflow, which will help clothes to dry out rather than sit in a wet heap until laundry day rolls around.

2.Wash Workout Gear Inside Out

Odor-causing bacteria from sweat, dead skin, and other body soils forms on the inside of workout clothing. Turning exercise gear inside out prior to laundering allows detergent and water to penetrate the dirtiest parts of the clothing, washing away the buildup that contributes to malodor.

Related: 7 Common Laundry Mistakes That Can Damage Clothes

3. Wash on Cold

Gym clothes and other gear worn for exercise should be washed in cold water to help preserve the fabrics and ensure the items last a long time. Washing in cold water is gentler on fabrics that contain stretch, which can break down when exposed to hot water. Cold water also prevents shrinking, and can help to slow fading in dark or brightly colored clothing.

4. Wash Like Items Together

When sorting laundry, we typically think about separating clothes by color, but when it comes to washing workout gear, separating by fabric type is a better choice. It’s best to avoid washing gym clothes alongside items towels and fleece, which tend to create more lint than other fabrics, as well as with heavy garments like sweats and jeans. Clothing with stretch in the fabric, in particular, is prone to picking up lint from other items, and washing lightweight or intricately constructed gym clothes with heavy materials can cause pilling and other damage.

5. Bag Up Sports Bras

Sports bras, whether they have underwire or not, should be placed in a protective mesh washing bag before loading them into the washer. Using a washing bag for sports bras will help to extend the life of sports bras, helping to maintain their shape, and prevent straps and closures from stretching or snagging during the wash cycle. 

6. Use the Right Amount of Detergent

Using too much detergent is one of the biggest mistakes when it comes to laundry, and that is especially true of washing workout clothes. Residue from detergent that hasn’t been fully rinsed out can trap odors in clothes, leaving them smelling less than clean even after they’ve been through the wash.

7. Avoid Fabric Softeners

Fabric softeners—whether you use a liquid formula or dryer sheets—typically contain silicone, which leaves a coating on fibers that can build up over time. Buildup from fabric softener can prevent water and detergent from fully penetrating the fibers of gym clothing during the wash cycle, which can trap odor-causing bacteria. Additionally, that coating can diminish the moisture-wicking properties of workout gear.

8. Never Use Chlorine Bleach

Gym clothes, even white ones, should never be washed with chlorine bleach. Bleach is too harsh for delicate workout gear, and over time will break down the elastic. Additionally, bleach reacts poorly to protein stains, including and especially sweat stains, rendering them more yellow.

Related: How to Sanitize Laundry to Disinfect Clothing, Linens, and Fabric

9. Use an Enzyme-Based Pretreatment for Sweat Stains

To treat bio-based stains from sweat on gym clothes, use an enzyme-based pretreatment product. Enzymes are formulated to break down proteins, and will be the best choice for removing stains from sweat and other body soils. 

10. Soak in Oxygen Bleach for All-Over Stain Removal

Oxygen bleach (which is also called color-safe bleach or non-chlorine bleach) is the right choice when workout gear has taken on a dingy cast, or needs all-over stain removal. To use oxygen bleach to restore deeply stained or dingy gym clothes, start by dissolving the recommended amount per the manufacturer’s instructions in hot water. Then, place the garments in the oxygen bleach solution and allow them to soak for an hour up to overnight before laundering as usual.

11. Try a Sports Detergent for Odor Elimination

If you frequently launder sweaty, smelly exercise clothing, consider buying a sports detergent or odor-eliminating laundry booster to use for odor remediation. As an alternative to a commercial sports detergent or odor eliminator, add ¼ – ½ cup of distilled white vinegar to the rinse cycle, which will help to break down any lingering odor-causing bacteria, leaving your gym clothes smelling fresh and clean. 

12. Use the Delicate Setting and Extra Rinse Cycle

Gym clothes are designed to withstand tough workouts, but they don’t love to be over-handled when it comes time to launder them. Select the gentle or delicate cycle on the washer to reduce the amount of friction these garments are exposed to, which can cause stretching, pilling, and fabric degradation. If you washer has an extra rinse cycle option, choose that too—a second rinse will help to flush out any lingering residue from detergent, leaving clothes cleaner.

Related: Washing Machine Settings: What They Mean and When to Use Each One

13. Air Dry or Use a No-Heat Setting

Elastic and moisture-wicking fabrics should not be exposed to high heat, which can break down and otherwise compromise the integrity of the fibers. Additionally, heat amplifies odors, making high-heat drying a bad choice for items that have a tendency to trap and retain smells. When drying exercise clothing, use a low- or no-heat dryer setting or, ideally, allow them to air dry.

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