How do you get rid of the smell from your hockey equipment?
After a hockey game, it is normal for bad odors to settle in the sports bag, on the clothes and everywhere on the sports equipment.
Sweat and humidity are responsible for this bad smell that invades absolutely everything. So here are 10 tips for cleaning but above all removing that smell of hockey equipment!
Tips for removing the smell from your sports equipment:
1. Empty all contents of the hockey pocket
The very first thing to do when you get home is to empty the whole hockey bag! We take absolutely everything out of the bag, gloves, skates, helmet, sweater, protective accessories and other hockey equipment.
Never leave the bag with all the hockey equipment lying around in a corner of the house. A few minutes are enough to give off a strong smell!
So when you get home, hurry to open your hockey pocket and empty it. Good ventilation will certainly not hurt.
The first tip to get rid of the smell of your hockey equipment is of course to wash it and maintain it properly, after each game and practice.
So put in the washing machine all the equipment that can go there, for example the jersey and the hockey socks. Once the machine cycle is complete, hang up the sportswear to air dry.
Be sure to follow washing instructions on the sportswear label before machine washing.
3. Spray disinfectant on hockey equipment
To clean or rather to deodorize other hockey accessories and equipment such as: gloves, skates, helmet, elbow pads or even shoulder pads, aerosol disinfectant is the solution.
Indeed, it is possible to buy in store or online a disinfectant in the form of an aerosol. This product can be sprayed directly on hockey equipment to eliminate odor-causing bacteria.
Spray fabric freshener!
You can also spritz on a fabric freshener spray from time to time… You know, kinda like the Febreze product! This will be very good at removing or at least alleviating bad textile odors from your hockey equipment or any other sport.
4. Dryer sheets against hockey smell
If you can’t wash your child’s hockey gear after every game or practice, then the dryer sheet trick is great.
Simply place 1 or 2 fabric softener sheets directly into your child’s gym bag. A good smell will be diffused on all the equipment and sportswear.
Regularly wash hockey clothing and equipment!
On the other hand, it is very important to wash all hockey equipment as often as possible because bacteria can develop there and become a real danger to the player’s health.
On this subject, here is a statement from Dr. Caroline Quach (microbiologist-infectiologist and pediatrician):
It is the heat-humidity species that is an ideal environment for bacteria to grow. So after an hour and a half of hockey practice, these bacteria have already multiplied. And since it keeps getting wet in the bag for hours, it keeps reoccurring.
The hockey helmet is one of the pieces of equipment that is often overlooked when it comes to cleaning and yet it also gives off unpleasant odors.
Here are the steps to properly clean your hockey helmet:
- Mix a peel of liquid dish soap in cold water.
- Rub the entire inside of the helmet, not forgetting the visor (use a cloth or sponge).
- Rub again with a damp cloth to remove excess soap from the helmet.
- Allow to air dry until the next hockey game.
You can of course use the soapy water trick for other equipment and accessories such as:
- skates
- gloves
- the shoulder pads
- elbow pads
- hockey pants
6. Eliminate hockey smell with baking soda
To deodorize and eliminate bad odors inside a hockey bag, baking soda is an excellent natural solution to try.
This trick can be useful to neutralize bad odors while waiting for the real washing of your hockey equipment!
- Sprinkle a good amount of baking soda inside the gym bag.
- Leave to act for several hours or better overnight.
- Remove the baking soda from the bag, shaking it to finish.
You can use baking soda to remove bad odors from ice skates or even hockey gloves.
7. Dry the ice skates well
It is very important to let the ice skates dry thoroughly after each hockey game and practice.
The skate is without a doubt one of the pieces of equipment where moisture, sweat, heat and bacteria form the fastest when playing hockey.
So you can put the ice skates on a rack inside the house or even better directly on the balcony if the temperature allows it of course.
Use a hair dryer to dry the skates!
To dry the inside of the pads even more quickly, you can use the hair dryer set to low temperature (never hot air because you risk damaging the material).
Sprinkle some talcum powder to finish!
Finally, once the pads are completely dry, sprinkle a little talcum powder inside the pads to eliminate the bad odors that still persist.
Now that you know how to get rid of your hockey team smell, find out how to do it for your sneakers: How to remove bad odors in shoes?