Sports are awesome for teaching kids teamwork, discipline, resilience and how to keep going when things get hard. They are significantly less awesome for teaching your car what a hockey locker room smells like.
If cleats, skates, helmets, gloves or gym bags are stinking up your closets, car or mudroom, you are very much not alone. Sports gear has an impressive ability to hold onto sweat, body oils and moisture—and a lot of it can’t exactly be tossed into the washing machine every night.
The good news: you don’t need to cover the smell with heavily scented deodorizers and hope for the best. A few simple habits can help keep odor from building up, and the right deodorizer can tackle stubborn sports stink at the source.
Why Does Sports Gear Smell So Bad?
Sweat itself isn’t the whole problem. Body oils, dead skin and moisture can build up in fabrics, foam, straps and other hard-to-wash materials. Now you have a breeding ground for bacteria, mold, and mildew – where odors thrive! Then gear gets zipped into a bag or tossed into the back of the car while it’s still damp—which is basically an engraved invitation for stubborn odors to move in.
And unlike a cotton T-shirt, sports equipment often has layers of padding, synthetic materials and little seams where moisture and odor can hang around long after practice ends.
The biggest rule of sports-gear stink is simple: don’t let damp gear sit trapped in a closed bag. Air it out whenever you can, and tackle odor before it has time to become part of the equipment’s personality.
What About Smelly Workout Clothes and Team Uniforms?
Washable athletic clothing deserves slightly different treatment from helmets, cleats and pads. Performance fabrics can hold onto body oils, detergent residue and fabric-softener buildup, so using more detergent isn’t always the answer.
If the problem is stinky workout clothes or uniforms, our guide to how to deodorize laundry naturally and stop stubborn odors explains why too much detergent, fabric softener, and dryer heat can all make the stink problem worse.
For especially stubborn odor-prone areas like armpits and seams, you can also pretreat washable clothing with Force of Nature before laundering. Spray to saturate, wait 2 minutes and then wash as normal. Test fabric first in an inconspicuous spot to make sure it’s colorfast.
How to Get Smell Out of Cleats, Skates & Shoes
Cleats, skates and athletic shoes may be the MVPs of the sports-stink hall of fame. They’re warm, enclosed and frequently damp—and they don’t usually get washed after every use (if ever!).
Air fresheners and dryer sheets can make the bag smell temporarily more pleasant, but they don’t necessarily deal with what’s causing the odor in the first place.
For old, set-in odors:
- Open the shoes or skates as much as possible and let them air out.
- Spray the interior thoroughly with Force of Nature until the odor-prone surfaces are fully saturated. Force of Nature is a non-toxic, fragrance-free deodorizer that tackles stubborn sports gear odors at the source and prevents them from coming back. It’s also an EPA registered multi-purpose cleaner and disinfectant that kills 99.9% of germs when used as directed on hard nonporous surfaces.
- Let them dry completely. Don’t rinse.
- After that first deep deodorizing treatment, give the inside a quick spray after each wearing and let it air dry before tossing it back in the bag.
That little post-practice habit is a lot easier than discovering the cleats in the trunk three days later and questioning every life choice that led you there.
How to Get Smell Out of Hockey Gloves
If the phrase “hockey hands” means something to you, no further explanation is required. 😄
Gloves are particularly good at hanging onto odor because sweat gets into the fabric, foam, palms and all the little layers that are difficult to clean thoroughly.
For the first treatment, spray the inside of the gloves thoroughly—and we mean saturated—with Force of Nature and allow them to dry completely. Be sure to get into the fingers, palms and any fabric or foam areas that spend the most time against sweaty hands.
After that, a quick spray after each use can help prevent the stink from getting so deeply established in the first place.
And please, for the love of every parent who has ever driven home from hockey practice, let the gloves dry before putting them back into a zipped equipment bag.
How to Deodorize Pads, Guards & Helmets
Pads, guards and helmets have the same basic problem: sweat and body oils build up in materials that aren’t practical to run through the washer every night.
After practice or a game, take gear out of the bag and let it air out. Then spray the odor-prone areas with Force of Nature—especially foam, padding, straps and anywhere that sits directly against skin.
For gear with stubborn, established odor, thoroughly wet the affected areas the first time and allow them to dry completely. For ongoing maintenance, spray after use and let the equipment dry before storing it.
Always follow the equipment manufacturer’s care instructions, especially for specialty materials.
How to Get Smell Out of a Gym Bag
A gym bag should ideally be transportation, not long-term housing for damp gear. We know. Tell that to the child who believes the bag is a portable archaeological site.
Empty it after practice, remove anything damp and leave the bag open so it can dry out.
If the bag itself smells, spray the interior with Force of Nature and allow it to dry completely. Pay attention to the bottom, pockets and corners where sweaty socks and mystery objects tend to congregate.
This is especially handy for gym bags and equipment carriers that are too awkward—or too questionable—to toss into the washing machine.
How to Keep Sports Gear From Smelling in the First Place
Once you’ve dealt with existing odor, a few habits can make a huge difference:
- Get damp gear out of the bag. Let it air out as soon as you get home.
- Let everything dry completely before storing it. Closing damp equipment back up is basically hitting snooze on tomorrow’s stink.
- Spray odor-prone gear after use. Cleats, gloves, helmets, pads and bags are much easier to maintain than to rescue after a season of accumulated funk.
- Wash washable items promptly. Uniforms, socks and workout clothes shouldn’t spend three days marinating in the hamper.
- Don’t try to cover up the stink with fragranced deodorizers. A stronger smell layered on top of the original smell is still two smells.
What Should You Use to Deodorize Sports Gear?
For gear that’s difficult to wash, look for a deodorizer that actually deals with stubborn odor rather than simply adding perfume on top of it.
Force of Nature is a cleaner, deodorizer and EPA-registered disinfectant you make right on your countertop from salt, water and vinegar.
It’s an appliance that uses electricity to convert those simple ingredients into a powerful formula containing hypochlorous acid—the disinfecting and deodorizing ingredient—and sodium hydroxide, the cleaning ingredient.
So unlike a product that only has one job, Force of Nature can go from deodorizing the hockey bag to cleaning the kitchen counter, bathroom, high chair, pet gear and plenty of other messes around the house.
It contains no bleach, quats, ammonia, dyes, preservatives or added fragrance, which is especially nice when the thing you’re spraying is going right back against your kid’s skin at practice tomorrow.
And for hard, non-porous surfaces, Force of Nature is an EPA-registered disinfectant that kills 99.9% of germs when used as directed.
If sports gear odor is what introduces you to Force of Nature, there’s a pretty good chance the cleats won’t be the last thing you use it on.
Your Questions About Sports Gear Odors, Answered
How do you get smell out of sports gear?
Start by getting damp gear out of your gym bag and letting it dry completely. Treat the areas that hold onto sweat and body oils—like padding, foam, straps, shoes and gloves—with a deodorizer that tackles odor at the source. Force of Nature is a non-toxic, fragrance-free cleaner and deodorizer that tackles stubborn sports gear odors at the source and prevents them from coming back. Thoroughly spray the gear, then let it air dry completely.
How do you get smell out of hockey gear?
Air hockey gear out as soon as possible after use instead of leaving it zipped inside the equipment bag. For the first treatment, thoroughly spray gloves, pads, helmet padding and straps with Force of Nature and let them air dry completely. After that, spray gear after every use. Force of Nature is a non-toxic, fragrance-free cleaner and deodorizer that tackles stubborn hockey gear odors at the source and prevents them from coming back
How do you get the smell out of hockey gloves?
Hockey gloves hold onto sweat in the palms, fingers, foam and fabric layers. For the first treatment, thoroughly saturate the inside of the gloves with Force of Nature and allow them to dry completely. After that, spraying them after each use and letting them air out can help keep odor from building back up. Force of Nature is a non-toxic, fragrance-free cleaner and deodorizer that tackles stubborn hockey glove odors at the source and prevents them from coming back.
How do you get smell out of cleats and athletic shoes?
Take cleats or shoes out of the gym bag, open them up and let them air dry. For the first treatment, thoroughly saturate the inside with Force of Nature and allow them to dry completely. After that, a quick spray after each wearing can help keep the funk from settling back in. Force of Nature is a non-toxic, fragrance-free cleaner and deodorizer that tackles stubborn cleat and athletic-shoe odors at the source and prevents them from coming back.
How do you deodorize a gym bag?
Empty the bag after use and remove damp clothing or gear instead of letting it sit zipped inside. If the bag itself smells, spray the interior—including the bottom, pockets and corners—with Force of Nature and let it dry completely before packing it again. Force of Nature is a non-toxic, fragrance-free cleaner and deodorizer that tackles stubborn gym bag odors at the source and prevents them from coming back.
How can you keep sports gear from smelling?
The biggest thing is moisture control: get damp gear out of the bag, let it air out and dry completely before storing it. Wash washable clothing promptly and regularly spray hard-to-wash odor-prone gear like gloves, cleats, pads and bags with a deodorizer like Force of Nature before the smell becomes deeply established.
