Your lacrosse gloves and pads can turn pretty nasty after some rainy or hot, sweaty games. Here are a few tips to help with the smell, and most importantly the germs and bacteria.
#1 Prevention – Hang your gear to dry immediately when you get home. We have hooks in our garage that used to hold the step ladder, but are now covered in lax gear.
Wipe out the interior of your bag with Clorox wipes. Yes, that bag that holds all of your gear will harbor the bacteria even while you are cleaning the pads. Wipes also work well for your helmet interior.
Febreze or dryer sheets help with the smell on an occasional basis. Look for the Antibacterial Febeeze. Be careful about dousing the gloves with Febreze as the chemical has been known to loosen the glue that holds parts of the gloves together. These do not kill MRSA or other harmful bacteria.
Wash you gear. Veteran lacrosse mom Scotti Brown uses Hibiclens liquid soap. Soak your gear in warm water and cleanser and dry with a fan and air flow. Put paper towels loosely in the gloves or direct airflow inside to help. Do not put your gear in the washer or dryer!
For your lycra athletic clothing, we have had great success Win Detergent http://www.windetergent.com/
Most important, don’t let that gear hibernate in a wet, dark bag over the weekend!
Resources:
http://www.hibiclens.com/athletes.html
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5233a4.htm
Please comment with any successes you have had cleaning your gear!
~Alex “don’t touch anything until you wash those hands” Lytle
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