Watching international athletic competition is inspiring us to get moving! This article from Heritage Park explains how to wash workout clothes to clean, care for, and protect performance fabric.

If watching a certain set of games in Paris is inspiring you to get up off the couch, you are not alone. Along with cheering, counting medals, and hanging on every syllable of commentary from Snoop, another positive of watching athletes compete is that it motivates us to get moving. According to a study from the National Recreation and Park Association, 61 percent of Americans get motivated to exercise when watching athletes compete; that number jumps to 69 percent when there are children in the house.

Here at Heritage Park, we think that’s a great thing! Anything that motivates healthy habits is a positive. Of course, you can’t go from the couch to the medal podium overnight. We checked in with Dr. Katey Dell Goldberger, PT, DPT, founder of PT+ Physical Therapy in Fairfield, CT, for some advice on how to safely get started with a new routine. Here are Dr. Goldberger’s tips:

1. Start slow and gradually increase time and intensity.
2. Pay attention to pain. It is your body talking to you.
3. Don’t neglect weighted or weight-bearing exercises.

Suiting Up for Exercise: Performance and Wicking Fabrics

While fashion is no reason to delay implementing healthy exercise, it is helpful to have the proper gear. Along with well-fitting, activity-appropriate footwear, you’ll want to invest in a few pieces of comfortable exercise clothing. Popular exercise apparel brands like Nike, Under Armour, Athleta, Lululemon, and more offer clothing made from specialty synthetic fabrics designed to enhance comfort and performance during physical activity. These high-tech pieces deliver essential benefits to exercise:

1. Moisture-Wicking: These fabrics move sweat away from the skin to the outer surface of the garment, where it can evaporate more quickly. This helps keep the wearer dry and comfortable (in contrast to cotton, which absorbs moisture and remains wet).
2. Breathability: Performance fabrics often feature tiny pores that allow air to circulate, helping to regulate body temperature.
3. Stretch and Recovery: Many performance fabrics incorporate elastane or similar materials to provide flexibility and maintain their shape after stretching.
4. Compression: Some garments use tight-fitting fabrics to apply pressure to muscles, potentially improving blood flow and reducing muscle fatigue.
5. Thermoregulation: Advanced fabrics can help maintain optimal body temperature in both hot and cold conditions.

Suffice to say, these are NOT your dad’s gym clothes. But with a little help from Heritage Park, you’ll get your gear clean and smelling fresh

A Sportswear Laundry Routine That’s a Perfect 10

As we noted above, performance fabrics are made to wick, stretch, support you through every aspect of your training and workout regimen. And you’re going to sweat. That’s why you need a detergent powerful enough to obliterate sweat, stains, and odors, not just cover them up with fragrance. At the same time, your detergent should be gentle enough for daily washing and non-irritating to your skin, especially in delicate areas that are prone to chafing.

Heritage Park Activewear Laundry Detergent is made specifically for sports and workout gear. This concentrated, pH-neutral formula is perfect for laundering performance fabrics. It is made with a double dose of laundry enzymes to break down and remove sweat, stains and sports odors from workout gear and gym clothing while protecting the integrity and breathability for wicking fabric. The plant-based liquid detergent is safe (no dyes, phosphates, sulfates, chlorine, bleach, or brighteners) and fragrance-free (no masking unpleasant odors with heavy perfumes). It can be used at any temperature in regular or HE machines or for handwashing.

Supplies You’ll Need to Wash Your Exercise Gear

You will need the following supplies to wash your high performance activewear clothing.

• Heritage Park Activewear Laundry Detergent.
• A washing machine with a gentle cycle.
• Mesh laundry bags for small items.
• A spray bottle for making your own enzyme solution.
• A tub or bucket for pre-soaking.
• A drying rack or lint-free towel.

Simple Steps for Washing Your Exercise Gear

Follow these instructions to wash workout attire made from cotton, nylon, polyester, elastane, and other technical fabric. When washing bras, we recommend removing any pads that are not attached and placing them in a mesh laundry bag. 

Step 1: Read the Care Label

Follow the care instructions on the garment label (this is good advice no matter what you’re laundering).

Step 2: Get Out of Your Sweaty Clothing ASAP

Change out of your sweaty clothing as soon as possible after a workout to prevent sweat, odor, and stains from soaking into the fabric. Don’t ball up your sweaty clothes or toss them into a gym bag, which is the perfect breeding ground for bacteria.

Step 3: Pretreat and Presoak Stains 

Pre-treat or pre-soak any sweat stains or other dirt as soon as possible. Use an enzyme stain remover or make a solution of a 1:1 ratio of Heritage Park Activewear Laundry Detergent and water in a spray bottle. You can also pre-soak in warm water and a concentrated solution of Activewear Detergent.

Step 4: Wash Like Fabrics Together

Workout clothing should be washed in its own load or with other similar fabrics, sorted by color. NEVER wash your sports bra or exercise clothing with towels or socks to prevent lint.

Step 5: Use a Mesh Laundry Bag

Put small/delicate items in a mesh laundry bag to safeguard them from snagging on burrs inside the machine tub or twisting on the agitator. Fasten any hooks on bras. them from snagging on tiny burrs of metal inside the machine tub or twisting around the agitator mechanism. Fasten any hooks on bras before washing.

Step 6: Use A Gentle Wash Cycle and Cold or Warm Water

Even if your clothing is sweaty, resist the temptation to use a powerful cycle and hot water. These are not recommended for performance synthetic fabric. Choose a delicate or hand washing cycle for your machine.

Step 7: Skip the Bleach, Fabric Softener, or Dryer Sheets

These products are ruinous to performance and moisture wicking fabric. Bleach will cause discoloration and yellowing, and fabric softeners and dryer sheets will leave a waxy build-up both on fabric and on the inside of your machine. These products also degrade the wicking properties of exercise gear. If you want to give your clothing an extra boost of freshness, add a scoop of Naturally Bright Oxygen Powder, which harnesses the chemical reaction of oxygen in water to lift away stains and odors.

Step 8: Air Dry or Tumble Dry on Low

Most sports and athletic clothing can be tumbled dry on low heat. This is okay, but we recommend laying these items on a lint-free towel or a drying rack to dry. This will prevent any damage from heat and allow them to regain their shape and compression.

You can also hand wash your performance gear by dissolving a small amount of Activewear Detergent in warm to cool water in a sink or basin. Swish to dissolve and submerge your item. Gently rub to remove dirt and stains; soak if necessary. Rinse thoroughly and dry according to Step 8 above.

We hope this article has given you the insight you need to launder your performance and workout clothing. As always, the Heritage Park team is here—proudly headquartered in the USA—to answer questions about our products and all things laundry-related. Give us a call or send an email; we’d love to hear from you.

Our Clients Also Ask

How do you wash athletic material?

Always read care guidelines but most athletic apparel can be washed in your machine or by hand using a detergent made to clean and protect performance fabric.

How do you wash active fabric?

Activewear fabric can be washed by hand or machine following care guidelines. We recommend using an enzyme-based detergent made for cleaning sweat, dirt, stains, and odors like Heritage Park Activewear Detergent.

Can you tumble dry activewear?

Most activewear says it can be tumbled dry on low heat. However, we recommend hanging these items to dry whenever possible as heat can degrade the compression/elasticity of high-tech fabrics.

Should you wash workout clothes in hot or cold water?

Cool to lukewarm water is the best choice for workout gear.

How do you wash stinky gym clothes?

If gym or workout clothes are stinky, our recommendation is to pre soak them in Heritage Park Activewear Detergent and Heritage Park Naturally Bright Oxygen Powder for an hour. Launder according to the care label, again using Activewear Detergent and a scoop of Naturally Bright Oxygen Powder in the machine.

How do you clean performance fabric?

Performance fabric can be washed either by hand or machine according to directions. Use a detergent made to clean and protect the wicking and compression properties of high-tech fabric like Heritage Park Activewear Detergent.

How to get blood out of performance fabric?

You can get blood out of performance fabric by flushing it out with cold water from the reverse side. If the stain is persistent, soak in cold water.

Can you wash performance fabric in the washing machine?

Yes, you can wash performance fabric in the washing machine. Any small or delicate items may be placed in mesh laundry bags to protect them from damage from the metal drum and agitator.

Can you use oxygen bleach on performance fabric?

You can use oxygen bleach on most performance fabrics. You may wish to test first in an inconspicuous spot to ensure color fastness.