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I've got some leather palmed giro dhd gloves which I've had for about 4 years . They're the only pair I've got ,basically because I love them & they seem to be absolutely bomb proof .I'll chuck them in the washing machine every now and then and let them dry naturally but lately even after the first ride they stink .
Has anyone got any tips on how to get them back to smelling lovely again ?
You ideally need to wash them all the time, but I note they are leather. My synthetic gloves are washed every use.
Some form of anti-bacterial spray after use?
Wash them in halo.
And leave them out in the sun.
I've never heard of Halo sportswash before ( just googled it ) .... might be worth buying anyway
Thanks
If you have to wash them more often, rub a bit of beeswash conditioner on the plams. It won't make them slippery and won't block the pores if you use sparingly.
yup halo for all cycling stuff, I much prefer the halo smell to the persil smell
Definitely put them in direct sun if you can. It kills off many of the stinky bugs
DHDs had synthetic palms.
Try leaving them in the freezer overnight or buy some new ones. Four years is a good innings for a pair of gloves.
Am I the only one thinking "Spinal Tap"?
Nope - me too
Definitely sunlight, it kills the bacteria that otherwise will wake up and start working again as soon as you sweat in the gloves on the next ride. Washing will remove the smell, but not the bacteria. Frequently don't bother washing my gloves after a ride, just hang them in the sun for a day and they are fine. Try fingerless mitts, in my experience they rarely get smelly.
I ride all day long in the sunshine, why doesn't that stop them smelling?
I guess as you are sweating the bacteria are multiplying faster than any sunlight could kill them off, take away the "food source" (you) and the sunlight can do its work.
Many years ago in a baking hot cable car going up an Alp, we were wondering what the stench was. Turned out to be a pair of gloves that someone had been wearing for a fortnight of MTBing in an Alpine summer. They were absolutely rancid, almost like vinegar.
Don't think he bothered bringing them home, they just went in the bin on the final day.
Halo Sportswash is really good.
Being in Australia my gloves are almost permanently like this! Worst thing is that after commuting and showering my hands sometimes still smell 😂
A mate swears the best option is to put the gloves in a microwave with a cup of water for a minute. I haven't bothered yet.
Four years, though!!!
I had a riding buddy years ago who never, ever washed his gloves (as in for months on end). They got so smelly that he was gagging when he tried to drink from a water bottle. I think that's when he finally binned them and got some new ones.
I wash my gloves after every ride, or once a week if I'm just commuting and not getting sweaty.
Splash of dettol in the wash to nuke the bacteria helps although you'll have a whiff of that for the next few rides!
You can get Halo in Sainsbury's. It has replaced non bio for all our sports stuff.
Napysan in the wash kills the bacteria. However, from experience if you wash leather palmed gloves and leave them in the sun they will go very hard and will take several rides to soften up again.
Oh good point.
Yeah when i say leave them in the sun. Dry them first.
wash them at the same time you wash the rest of your kit.
Tumble drier is best for killing bugs (heat) then next best is outside. no excuses for stinking kit these days TBH
Always hand wash my gloves after every ride with a tiny bit of hand wash liquid. Once a month or so, put a scoop of bicarbonate-soda in the water.
For a dose of UV, presumably it makes sense (if possible) to turn them inside out?
Another option is Sink the Stink, divers use it on smelly wetsuits and it actually works on climbing shoes too; gloves would be a pushover. Expensive though.
I use milton tablets, as in the baby bottle sterilizing stuff. Entirely removes the smell from my gloves and I'm working on the assumption that if it's safe enough for babies it can't be doing that much damage to a pair of gloves. Also dead cheap!
Or you could just wash them each time you use them? Like the thread last week about the guy that never washes his towel and wonders why it is brown and slimy - it would never occur to me not to wash gloves with each use.
This does rely on having a few pairs on the go.
A friend of mine many years ago got a minging bacterial infection on his hands from not washing his gloves.
I use milton tablets, as in the baby bottle sterilizing stuff. Entirely removes the smell from my gloves and I’m working on the assumption that if it’s safe enough for babies it can’t be doing that much damage to a pair of gloves. Also dead cheap!
Bloody heathen using cheap domestic consumables to fix problems with complex, lab-engineered, performance apparel. 😉