How do you stop your damp clothes from stinking?

[guile]

In the absence of an airing cupboard, I find my gloves and parts of my jacket always stink after they have got wet in the rain for days/weeks after. Radiator doesn't do the business. Can't get rid of the smell out of the finger ends of the gloves and don't want to have to wash them after everytime it rains. Any tips?

[angryjonny]

I used to microwave my gloves to dry them out. Until I left one in there too long and it came out like Beadle's hand.

Now I'm getting on a bit, if it's raining I take the car.

[Snop Doog]

Wash them every time it rains. It's the only way to get rid of the smell. I guess if you wanted to mask the smell you could go crazy with a can of deodorant.

[mudcow007]

for gloves

stick em in the freezer for a few hours, that will rid you of your stank.

[Eddie Hitler]

Learn to like the smell.

[Snop Doog]

[Rogerborg]

A liberal dosing with isopropyl alcohol.

Once you've drunk enough of that, you won't care about the smell.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Clutchy]

[WD Forte]

[barrkel]

My jacket doesn't soak up water - it mostly dries out in an hour or two indoors, except for the cuffs and hemline, which take about 4 hours, and it doesn't seem to allow the bacterial growth that creates a smell. My trousers are the same, but I don't wear them nearly as often. Goretex pro-shell FTW.

My leather gloves can smell a bit when they soak up water. I combat it with leather treatment, so that the leather doesn't soak up as much water. I use ko cho line - I put the gloves on and work it in almost like a moisturiser, and wipe off the excess with kitchen towels.

The proper answer, of course, is muffs. Stop your gloves getting soaking wet in the first place.
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Bikes: S1000R, SH350; Exes: Vity 125, PS125, YBR125, ER6f, VFR800, Brutale 920, CB600F, SH300x4
Best road ever ridden: www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2MhNxUEYtQ

[Snop Doog]

[Andy_Pagin]

[notbike]

I wash my gear every time it gets soaked in the rain just because it's soaked anyway. So why not make it like clean soaked instead of rain soaked, if that makes sense. Depends how soaked it is though.

Also don't get me wrong but, shower immediately before riding so you don't stink out your gear maybe.

[hellkat]

Has anybody tried vinegar?
In other modalities its a very effective odour remover.

Can't imagine anyone wanting to douse their precious gear in vinegar, but I've used it on carpets to get rid of kitten poo smells, and
although the house smelled like a chippie for about 4 hours, I noticed the vinegar smell doesn't hang around for very long at all, but it does work. After a while, the vinegar smell disappeared and so did kitten poo smell.

I've never owned "sensible" proper bike gear, so I've never had the problem about the smellingbadness.

My only problems are staying dry in wet weather and hoping like fuck I don't fall off and break something. Doh!
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Not nearly as interesting in real life.

[Dalemac]

I tend to spray my helmet, gloves and boots with cherry blossom shoe deodorant when I get home every day. Keeps them nice and fresh.

This is what I do with my helmet lining and gloves when they need a clean:

Soak them in distilled (white) vinegar and hot water for half an hour. Rinse thoroughly.

Soak them in baking powder and hot water for half an hour. Rinse thoroughly.

If there is still a smell, get some detergent such as oxy action and soak in how water for half an hour. rinse thoroughly. Let them dry on a radiator of on a clothes horse next to a dehumidifier.

If after that they are still stinking, or if the smell comes back soon after getting wet again, i'd be looking for a new pair of gloves. If the bacteria is so deeply planted, it will be almost impossible to get rid of completely, and as soon as moisture is back, it will start multiplying rapidly.. I haven't tried before, but dry cleaning might be an option too (they are washed in baths of solvents instead of water).
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YBR125 -> GPZ500S -> SL1000

[Skudd]

Soya sauce. The dark stuff, works wonders. A good sprinkle over everything will sort it all out. Used it for years.
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Famous last words of Humpty Dumpty. " Stop pushing me "
Petty Anarchists look at "1984".............. The Visionary looks at "Animal Farm".

[Northern Monkey]

Hang them in a room with a dehumidifier. The £120 argos ones do the job nicely. They blast dry air upwards, so hang your stuff above it. The air movement and low humidity will dry anything out in a few hours.
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Fisty: after polishing the tank with the glistenng beads of sweat from my full hot scrotum, I filled the headrace bearings with 10cc of my manmilk

[DJS]

I've never tried it myself but what about that Febreeze fabric freshener spray?

[Boris the spider]

Skoosh of Fabreeze.

Blast with hairdryer.
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Yes I'm a pig....And yes... The working public do pay my wages. Tho I contribute to your benefits you lazy c##t. You do not pay my wages. So go fcuk yourself.

[sickpup]

I'm confused as to why your gear smells. It should only really be smelling if it has gone rotten due to the dampness?

Gloves are sort of understandable. People wear ones that are too insulated for the conditions and sweat so bacteria, trick here is to wear thin ones, use muffs and heated grips to compensate.

[Barnoe]

throw the gloves away.

When mine started stinking, all the tips above didn't work.
Small was so bad that when i arrived at my destination and put the guilty gloves in my backpack.
the skin on my hands smelled bad too.... even after washing with soap!

Strangely enough, my new gloves dont smell, and never have?
So maybe just try a different brand.
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You know you are old when you're told to slow down by your doctor and not the police.

[talkToTheHat]

My summer gloves (held) smell of wet leather if they get soaked, my winter gloves (IXS goretex, previously HG goretex) have never smelled. Several sets of ski/outdoor gloves stank something awful after a while, but they are long gone and were neither pricey nor bike kit.

My current boots (altberg) apparently have an antibacterial component in the liner and don't smell of anyhting but ledergris. My old bullson boots stink like an old pair of canvas trainers that have never seen socks.

My leathers (rst) and my textiles (hg/ixs) don't smell, but i remember putting the liner of my old jacket (RK, cheap, not recommended) in the wash quite regularly.

Many of my hats and helmets stink, but my recent motorcycle helmets have been ok, i think they've both had some kind of antibacterial thing in the liner. My first road helmet didn't have such a feature and the lining went in the wash quite often.

Mid/base layers benefit from bio washing powder.

Some of my re-enactment leathers mildew badly and stink after a weekend long mudbath, vinegar sorts the mildew, then neatsfoot the inside and beeswax and paraffin proofing on the outside as per ordnance manual.

Ko-cho-line can be a bit greasy but is good if leathers are prone to going stiff. Belvoir or Brecknell turner conditionioner, depending on your preference for shine or matt, are made by the same people and give a much less greasy finish.

I use belvoir tack cleaner on modern leathers as it's anti-fungal, safe on all stitching and works really well.

I suspect that if you have smells inside you have gear with linings that make a great home for moulds or bacteria, consider investigating gear that doesn't.
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Bandit. does. everything.

[chris-red]

[barrkel]

[Fidge]