How to look after your gym kit for longer
To start with, don’t leave sweaty kit sitting in a gym bag. “As soon as you get home, take everything out of the bag and either wash it or hang it up to dry before putting it in the laundry basket,” says Louisa. “Leaving damp, sweaty clothes scrunched up gives bacteria the perfect conditions to get to work.”
As mentioned in the quiz above, turn everything inside out before washing, so that your detergent can reach the sweat and bacteria inside – but don’t overdo it on the detergent, and remember to skip the fabric softener. “Excess detergent leaves residue behind in the fibres, which can then trap odours,” adds Louisa.
A laundry cleanser or sportswear-specific detergent such as GymSpin capsules or Titan Detergent can work well for very sweaty kit, especially technical fibres.
When to accept defeat
However, no amount of careful laundering will grant activewear immortality. Sweat and body oils inevitably degrade elastane and technical materials.
Sports bras suffer the swiftest demise. Unsupported breasts move up to 21cm during high-impact movement, according to research by the University of Portsmouth, making proper support essential. Mari Thomas-Welland, founder of sportswear brand Maaree, advises replacing them every six to 12 months. “The elastane is the thing that wears down quickest,” she says. “Once it stops springing back, the bra stops holding you the way it did when it was new.”