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The fight against smelly gear

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Delta99
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The fight against smelly gear

Postby Delta99 » Wed Aug 19, 2020 9:44 am

What is your best household tips to prevent and even fix smelly gear like wet suit, swim shorts, impact vest etc?

Through the years I've been over a lot of products designed for this but I'm not quite satisfied. And if one thing already has gone just a tiny tiny bit sour, there seems to be no way to get it fresh again. I rinse every day and I regularly use Rip Curl's Piss-Off.

My latest trick is to put shorts in the freezer over night. Helps a bit but not 100%. Anyone tried wet suit in the freezer?

Thanks! /Tomas

dice
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Re: The fight against smelly gear

Postby dice » Wed Aug 19, 2020 9:50 am

I leave it outside, away from the sun and where the rain can't touch it.
Also I never peed in my wetsuit, so I don't know if that would be a big factor.

The best solution seems to buy higher quality wetsuits. My expensive mystic wetsuit doesn't have this issue, while the cheap mystic shorty smells like weed after a while.
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Rob112
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Re: The fight against smelly gear

Postby Rob112 » Wed Aug 19, 2020 10:04 am

dice wrote:
Wed Aug 19, 2020 9:50 am
I leave it outside, away from the sun and where the rain can't touch it.
Also I never peed in my wetsuit, so I don't know if that would be a big factor.

The best solution seems to buy higher quality wetsuits. My expensive mystic wetsuit doesn't have this issue, while the cheap mystic shorty smells like weed after a while.
I've thought some wetsuits smell like weed too, even when new - Typhoon wetsuits especially.

When I get home, I rinse everything in fresh water and hang up to dry. I turn the wetsuit inside out and back again during drying otherwise the inside can stay damp and get an odour. Again, I don't wee in my wetsuit (well there have been one or two times if I'm honest, but rinsed thoroughly).

Got to get things dry as quickly as you can, the longer it stays damp the more of an odour it will get.
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Delta99 (Wed Aug 19, 2020 9:06 pm)
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nothing2seehere
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Re: The fight against smelly gear

Postby nothing2seehere » Wed Aug 19, 2020 10:45 am

My only gear that doesn't smell is my drysuit - and its easy to wash the stinky bit of that (base layer) in a washing machine.

Getting stuff bone dry helps a lot. The hanger blow dry things (e.g. hangair and similar) work well for that - particularly if you are doing more than one session a day or doing daily sessions in the winter though you'll need to reverse the suit part way through to get it bone dry if you don't have a single lined suit

I'm not sure how much the fresh water washing helps but interested to hear. Salt water helps against mould and mildew so if you wash with freshwater you have to make sure it gets dry otherwise you are going to find those spores cropping up. Against that you have the bacteria from the skin and sweat that is in the suit which probably also has odour enhancing properties.

I think the chemical washes do work as I do a thorough wash at the end of each season transition (summer -> winter -> drysuit) and things are noticeably less pongy when they come out of the locker (except booties - they always stink)

My solution is a sealed plastic box to lock stuff up in as it seals the smell away from my nose.
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Dave_5280
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Re: The fight against smelly gear

Postby Dave_5280 » Wed Aug 19, 2020 12:46 pm

Tide Plus Febreze Sport Odor Defense Liquid Laundry Detergent - Works well on fabrics, never tried it on a wet suit. Best to put it in the washer with some water, mix it, then pre-soak the clothes in it for one hour, then wash.

Downy scent beads for odor would be worth a try - https://downy.com/en-us/fabric-softener ... limination
Last edited by Dave_5280 on Wed Aug 19, 2020 10:43 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: The fight against smelly gear

Postby Kitemenn » Wed Aug 19, 2020 1:03 pm

Flush your suit with fresh water especially after salty sessions, salt attracts water and therefore dries up less quick and keeps it damp.

Let it dry out of sun/rain inside out once completely dry turn it back to normal and let the outside dry! No smells here
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Delta99 (Wed Aug 19, 2020 9:06 pm)
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longwhitecloud
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Re: The fight against smelly gear

Postby longwhitecloud » Wed Aug 19, 2020 1:24 pm

I have been keeping most of kite gear in the freezer for years. It keeps it in pristine condition, and low on nasty oders. A win win situation.

I tend to microwave my wetsuit in preparation for the next session, although sometime i just put it straight on, frozen, to help adjust to the cold.

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Re: The fight against smelly gear

Postby geokite » Wed Aug 19, 2020 4:59 pm

Oxyclean. A warm garage to dry things in. And a bootie dryer
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dave1986
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Re: The fight against smelly gear

Postby dave1986 » Wed Aug 19, 2020 5:26 pm

dice wrote:
Wed Aug 19, 2020 9:50 am
Also I never peed in my wetsuit, so I don't know if that would be a big factor.
There are 2 types of kitesurfers - Those who pee in their wetsuits, and liars. :wink:

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Re: The fight against smelly gear

Postby plummet » Wed Aug 19, 2020 6:15 pm

Don't piss in your wetsuit and dry your gear immediately after use. Job done. No stinky, stinky.
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Delta99 (Wed Aug 19, 2020 9:22 pm)
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