Does your gear really smell bad? Is it normal for your hockey gear to smell like this? How do you know when to wash your hockey gear?
If you are able to air your gear out within 30 minutes of playing hockey you will only need to wash your hockey gear whenever it begins to stink. Your gloves are usually the first things to begin smelling. If you only play once to twice a week you should only have to wash your gear once every 3 months. If you play more or are unable to air your gear out right away you will need to wash your gear sooner.
Some players will tell you different things like, the stench brings back memories of the game or that the smell is good luck, or that it creates space on the ice. While all of this might be true, nobody wants to have the smelly guy in the locker room. Do your team a favor and wash your gear often.
How Do I Stop My Hockey Gear From Smelling?
Your hockey gear begins to smell when bacteria and old sweat linger on your gear for extended periods of time. The best way to keep your gear smelling fresh is to get your gear up on a drying rack or at the very least, out of your bag and in the fresh air to dry out.
The longer that your gear stays in the bag, the worse the smell is going to be. Your gear is basically marinating in your old dirty sweat when trapped in a zipped-up bag you provide a great environment for dirty, smelly bacteria to grow.
As soon as you can, get your gear some fresh air.
If you do this regularly you can keep your gear smelling fresh for longer. If you are able to get your hockey gear aired out within 30 minutes of playing you can keep fresh smelling stuff for 3 months or more. Some players on Reddit claim they only wash their gear twice a year.
There does come a time when you will need to wash your gear. Usually, your gloves will be the first piece of equipment to pick up some sort of funk. Avoid spraying Fabreeze or any other kind of air freshener onto your gear. This will not help your problem, in fact, it will probably make it worse.
These products don’t actually get to the root of the problem. They just mask it. Lots of these sprays will also add chemicals to your gear that will not react well with your sweat. Lots of these sprays like Fabreeze will irritate your skin causing you to itch or be uncomfortable under your gear.
However, there are sprays that are specifically designed to beat sports odors. These sprays can increase the time between washes. One, with good reviews and is sold on hockey monkey is Captodor. It’s super simple to use, just spray it on your gear after you have played and let it do its thing. It is antibacterial and it will not irritate your skin.
What Is The Best Way To Clean My Hockey Gear?
You can actually wash a lot of your gear in the washing machine. Your jersey, socks, elbow pads, gloves, pants, shin guard inserts, helmet inserts, and shoulder pads can all go in the washing machine.
Now, not all gear is fancy enough to have inserts in them.
For example, my helmet and shin guards are all one piece. I do not have inserts that I can take out of them. I would avoid throwing a whole helmet into the washing machine.
Some players are concerned about throwing your shin guards into the washing machine. I am a little bit as well, but others like coach Jeremey, say they do just fine in the washing machine. But most definitely do not put your entire helmet into the washing machine.
If you have a top load washer, be sure to put it onto a gentle cycle. These are a bit more aggressive than the front load washers.
If you don’t have access to washers that you feel comfortable throwing your gear into you can always wash your gear in a bathtub or even a large Rubbermaid tote. Simply fill it with room temp to cold water and mix in your detergents.
If you are washing by hand in a tub or something, I would use my hands to agitate the gear a little bit. Shake it around, rough it up in the corners just a tad. You will also want it to soak for a few minutes as well. I found that a lot of my gear would float to the top. Get something with a little weight to hold down your pads and make sure they soak. A brick or decently sized rock would work well.
After a few minutes of soaking, I’m sure that water is going to be looking a little dank
Regardless, if you are using a washing machine or a Rubbermaid tote, or a bathtub, you will need a laundry detergent that can handle sports gear. There are some detergents already made specifically for athletic wear. This detergent contains an anti-bacterial property. If you don’t have a specific detergent for your gear, that is alright, you can always buy an anti-bacterial detergent additive that will pair with your favorite detergent.
If washing in a washing machine, be sure to wash on a cold cycle. I, and many other players, believe that adding heat to your gear increases the chance of warping it. You don’t necessarily need hot water, what you really need is something that is anti-bacterial. That will really kill the smell.
Now that our gear is clean, how do we dry it?
Can Hockey Equipment Go In The Dryer?
I’ve got soaking wet gear, now how do I get this stuff dry? Can I put my hockey gear in the dryer?
Avoid putting your hockey gear into the dryer. The heat and tumbling action of the dryer can totally warp your hockey gear.
The heat can break down any glue or sensitive material that might be in your gloves or other pads causing them to fit really funny afterward.
This excludes jerseys, socks, and jocks. These pieces of equipment can totally be placed into the dryer.
The best way that we have found to dry out our gear is to hang it on a drying rack or some sort of clothesline to get good airflow around it. You can speed up drying time by placing an oscillating fan in front of your pads.
I have always dried my gear without a dryer. Before we built our own equipment rack, I just ran a piece of rope, made sure it was taught, and tied my gear to it. Very similar to a clothesline. This worked great in my opinion. Your gear does stay out in the sun, which can cause some breakdown and discoloration so just keep your eye on it.
There is no need to leave it out in the sun for any longer than it needs to be.
If thats not an option maybe you could use an ironing board with the cover removed, they are usually a mesh material underneath. Really any rack with holes will do.
Something that encourages airflow. Get creative
How Can You Wash Hockey Shin Pads?
Although it seems a little unsettling to put your shin pads into the washing machine, there are plenty of players that do it successfully without damaging their shin pads. Some players say that they take their shin pads out of the wash before the spin cycle starts to avoid warping.
I have always just soaked my hockey shin guards in the tub or a large Rubbermaid tote with water and detergent. Using only my hands to agitate and get them clean. This way seems the safest for my shin guards and for my washing machine. I haven’t been brave enough to find out if I can just throw them into the machine yet. However, my shin guards will probably be the next piece I upgrade, so we will find out soon.
Some of the slightly more expensive shin pads like the CCM Tacks 9060, have a removable liner that allows maximum cleaning abilities. You can totally remove the liner and throw that into the washer without any worries. To clean the shell, mild soapy water will do. Lightly scrub with a brush or rag.
As previously stated, always air dry your hockey shin pads. Avoid heat as this could cause your shin pads to become misshapen.
How Often Should You Wash Your Hockey Jersey?
Your hockey jersey should be washed after every use. If you are out there skating hard this thing should be drenched. It pulls all of the sweat from your body and pads. Thankfully, hockey jerseys are easy to wash. You can throw them in with your other workout gear like shorts, sweaty yard shirts, etc…
There are no special washing instructions to really worry about with jerseys. Some people avoid throwing them in the dryer and just let them spin for extra long. Honestly, my jerseys are pretty close to being dry by the time I take them out of the wash.
Along with your jersey, you should also wash your hockey socks, jock, and any other under gear equipment, like under armor shirts or shorts after every use as well. I always throw all of these things in the washing machine at the same time.
Can You Wash A Hockey Bag?
If you have a bag mostly made of canvas you should be able to throw it into the washing machine. I would advise throwing this in by itself because it does have zippers that can tear soft things like padding and jerseys. We will talk more about zippers in a second.
However, if you have something that is lined with some sort of rubber material you can totally take some soap and water, with a towel and give your bag a nice wipe down. Or even take it outside to a hose and spray it with soap and water.
Some people are cautious of throwing their hockey bags into the washing machine or letting them soak in a tub because of the potential to have the zippers rust. If you have plastic zippers you obviously don’t have to worry about that. But if you have some sort of metal zipper you should proceed with caution for sure. You might just want to spot treat your bag if you do have metal zippers.
How To Wash A Hockey Helmet
Hockey helmets should not be added to the washing machine. Some helmets have inserts that can be removed and placed into the washing machine but not all helmets do. In fact, most helmets do not have this ability, and even the ones that do, still have parts that need to be washed because they could be holding on to some stink.
When washing your hockey helmet be sure you use a no-tear shampoo. Something like baby shampoo is perfect. It sucks to have a bit of soap hidden in your helmet only to find it when you are skating hard on the ice and a bead of sweat brings the soap straight into your eyeball.
Make a mixture of no tear soap and water and use a cloth, sponge, or spray bottle to cover your helmet in the cleaner.
From here you can take a hose and rinse your helmet out or dunk it into a bucket or tub of water. Spend some extra time rinsing your helmet. Even if it is a tear-free shampoo that you have left behind it’s a good idea to make sure all of the cleaning agents have been rinsed from your helmet.
How Often Should You Clean Your Hockey Gear And How Do You Do It?
- Wash your protective gear every 3 months when playing once to twice a week
- Wash your jerseys, socks, jock and under armor gear after every use
- Wash your gear with antibacterial detergent
- Always air dry your protective gear
Clean your jersey, socks, jock, and any under gear wear like under armor should be washed after every use. You should wash your hockey gear; elbow pads, gloves, chest protector, pants, and shin guards every 3 months if you play on average once to twice a week.
It is best to always air your gear out as soon as you possibly can, within 30 minutes of playing for the best results.
If your gear stays in your bag for an extended period of time, your hockey equipment will stink sooner than expected. Fresh air and odor-eliminating spray will help your gear stay fresh. Captodor is a good deodorizer for hockey equipment.
Most of your protective hockey gear can be thrown into the washing machine. This includes; elbow pads, gloves, chest protector, pants, and shin guards. If you do not want to put this gear in your washing machine you can also soak them in a bathtub or large Rubbermaid tote.
Always use a detergent with antibacterial cleaning help. This will make sure your gear stays smelling fresh longer.
When drying your gear, make sure you air dry it. On a drying rack or some shelves with good airflow.
These tips should help your gear stay fresh for longer.