Fabrics used in today’s fitness clothes continue to be on the leading edge of micro fabric design. While the enhanced fabric designs give us better fitting garments that can actually enhance performance, they also come with a down side. Up until about 1980, most fitness and cycling clothing was constructed of cotton, wool or nylon. Even though fabrics such as Polyester, Spandex this is the generic name for Polyeurethane and Neoprene, were invented in the 1940’s. But since the 1980's further developments in these fabrics have seen to the demise of their use in spots where athletes sweat.

While cotton and cotton blend fabrics are still boasted as some of the most breathable and moisture absorbing fabrics on the market, they are not particular know for their elastic or quick drying qualities. Unlike cotton, most micro fabrics used in today’s cycling clothes have moisture wicking qualities, are breathable, have good fabric memory and dry quickly. All this equates to a complex, multi tasking fabric that really does its job.

A of the few downsides to today’s polyester micro fabrics include,

• UV damage from sunlight
• Fabric pore blockage
• Fabric Distress

Each of these conditions can lead to the early demise of your cycling gear. So how do you avoid having hundreds or even thousands of dollars of gear go to waste? Well step one would be proper care.

Washing your cycling or fitness clothes actually performs a number of tasks;

• Release odors
• Removes Bacteria
• Removes unwanted dirt, oils and fungus

What makes our fitness and cycling clothes smell and be dangerous to our health? Unclean fitness clothes store a number of things that can actually be detrimental to your health. While the traces of ammonia and urea that are excreted by our sweat are nominal, they become a breading ground for bacteria. The moist warmth of a used garment is an ideal place for bacteria to multiple and spread. While much of this bacteria is harmless, some of it is not and can lead all types of infections.

What is sweat made of?

While sweat is largely composed of water, it also contains, ammonia, urea, sodium, potassium, magnesium, phosphates and sugars. In addition, sweat can contain hormones. When mixed with bacteria naturally living on your skin and you can have quite a stinky and toxic mixture. The combination of these creates an acidic combination that can actually eat away at fabrics as well as diminish there ability to perform.

How do you know when to wash your gear?

It may seem unsanitary, but items such as leg warmers, arm warmers, shoe covers and jerseys should be assessed every time they are worn to determine if they need to be washed. Washing you clothes to frequently can actually shorten the fabric life. Washing them not enough can do the same. A quick sniff test of the above garments will quickly tell you if they need to be washed. If the garment smells, its time to wash it.

Cycling clothes that have direct contact in wear contact regions should be washed after each wearing. Examples of these garments would be; socks, padded shorts or tights, cycling brief, skull caps or jerseys if worn without a base layer.

How should you wash athletic wear:

1. First and foremost, you should always follow the manufacturer recommended care instructions. While machine washing with standard detergents and machine drying may not appear to damage your clothing it will most certainly shorten the life of the fabric and your enjoyment.
2. Zip up zippers, close Velcro, tie up ties and turn your garments inside out.
3. Hand WashWhile machine washing on gentle will get your clothes clean and may seem to be harmless the spinning and ringing process of most washing machines can actually tear the fabric and overstretch the fabric memory. While this may not immediately appear, over time your garment will wear faster forcing you to replace them sooner.
4. Rinse your gear immediately after use This will help prevent oils, bacteria and dirt from setting into the fabric and making them smell.
5. Use a gentle, liquid laundry detergent in tepid water. While there are many specific detergents made for micro fiber fabrics such as, If gentle detergent is not available, a suitable replacement can be baby shampoo. (don’t try this on wool apparel. Use only wool specific soaps.)
6. Avoid rubbing or applying stress on the seams. Never use harsh abrasives or scouring pads.
7. Hang dry in the shade. While most micro fibers can with stand low heat, it is always recommended that you line dry your garment. Do not hang them in direct sunlight. If you are finding that your gear is beginning to sag, you can dry them on a medium setting immediately after being washed on occasion. This will tight the weave of the fabric up. Never dry you apparel on a high setting or in a commercial drier. High heat setting sna d commercial driers can actually melt the weave of the fabric and prevent them from stretching. High heats can also seal pores that help you fabrics breathe. Also you should never dry a wool garment.