Sour clothing - after washing!

[zerodish]

Look into odor control detergent these can be found in hunting and farm stores. Hunters use activated carbon which absorbs odors and colloidal silver which kills bacteria. Fungus is a greater problem in shoes zinc oxide kills some fungus. Sweat is the biggest problem in shirts and hats it will not wash out with one washing however detergent is not necessary to remove sweat. Bacteria will refuse to grow on silk this is what I generally use for shirts. I never miss an opportunity to wash out clothes. Socks can be soaked in a plastic cup. Use super concentrated soap and don't rinse this will prevent bacteria growth as they dry. Try boiling shoes before a trip this kill everything and removes oil from your skin. Oxy clean is wonderful stuff and works cold if allow it to soak for 8 hours. Oxy clean also destoys  DNA preventing even spores from reproducing.

[jrswenberger]

I'm beginning to think that the recommendation for washing out at the end of the day and air drying is probably the best solution.  No more plastic bags loaded with unwashed clothes for me.

This has always been our solution. We are currently 10+ weeks on tour. Each of us has 2 sets of riding clothes. Shirt, underwear and socks get rinsed or washed with shampoo/body wash (whatever we are carrying) daily and then air dried overnight and on the bike the following day. We may miss a day here or there but it is important enough to be part of our camp arrival routine - set up tent, shower/bathe as possible, eat.

Enjoy the ride,
Jay

[bogiesan]

I'm beginning to think that the recommendation for washing out at the end of the day and air drying is probably the best solution.  No more plastic bags loaded with unwashed clothes for me.

Oh, yeah, simple wins almost every time. Careful what you use as a soap and how much you use; more is rarely better. A few drop of Bronner's peppermint can do a whole day's laundry.

I don't do self-supported tours so I usually get into the shower truck wearing my bike clothes. If there's a line for the showers, I can soap my jersey and shorts and rinse them in about 90 seconds, strip them off and do another, more complete cycle on skin and hair under 2 minutes. I take much more time if there's no one waiting for a stall.

I have a mesh bag for the wet clothes. I stand where I won't spatter anyone and whirl the bag over my head. This spins out a lot of water. I roll up the wet clothes in a towel and wring it, expelling more water. the towel gives you more leverage. I have some line and a few clothespins. On Cycle Oregon we can have three days of stupid hard and horizontal rain and nothing gets dry.

[driftlessregion]

I find that Kookaburra Wash works pretty well. http://www.kookaburraco.com/
(in addition, it is all I use for my wool jerseys)

[bogiesan]

I've done my own laundry since I was about 12. The idea that someone else should be cleaning my dirty underwear and cycling shorts is ridiculous. But the inability to properly and safely do laundry in the field may be genetic. Or men are just stupid.

Cycle Oregon's shower trucks always have a laundry area with a dozen Home Depot buckets and a supply of detergent. I watched in horror as men used a full scoop of this powerful laundry detergent in less than a gallon of water and rinse once. Do these guys live with their mothers? Has no one ever taught them to care for their own clothes? They can never get that stuff rinsed out! They'll wonder why their crotches are itchy or inflamed. Where did that rash come from?

A scant teaspoon or two of any soap or detergent is all that is required to get three days' kits completely clean. Rinse, rinse, rinse. You've got to remove the soap. And try to get things as dry as possible before packing them up.

If you don't know how to do laundry, ask someone who does. It's easy and liberating and an independent adult should be able to take care of his own underwear.

[waynemyer]

Synthetics, especially polyester (CoolMax, and most "sport" fabrics) have a net positive charge, which is why they have tenacious stink.  A stronger positive charge helps to remove what is causing the stink, but this involves two wash cycles, one with acid (vinegar) and one with base (detergent).

Ammonia is strongly antimicrobial, so it is also excellent for clothes that may have sat too long while damp; don't use bleach at the same time. It is also moderately base, so it acts as a detergent booster. I am not sure of the exact chemical processes, but ammonia has been the only thing that has always worked for removing tenacious stink from all of my clothes.