A few weeks ago, I started a 3-part series of things you shouldn’t run without (if you haven’t read part I already, do that now here). Those of us that have been running awhile know that having the right stuff, from gear and gadgets down to the sport wash you use, really does make running more comfortable and enjoyable.
Part II has taken me a little longer to finish (hey, sometimes life gets in the way), but here it is, finally. This post covers my second mission of the year: finding a sport wash that would work in my fancy-schmancy new HE laundry team to de-funkify my gear.
For years I swore by Nathan’s Sport Wash, and will still readily recommend it. It’s gentle on the clothes and easy on the nose, both pre- and post-laundering. However, even though it’s specified as an HE detergent, I found it fell short of stardom once I ditched my old water-hogging top-loading washer.
Sports Suds fell short of the mark as well, plus it’s a powder detergent, which was a strike against it in my books right outta the gate. Good results were achieved with a Tide SportWash sample I’d picked up in a race kit somewhere, but alas, it’s not available in Canada, at least, not in my neck of the woods. If you’re a Canuck in Ontario who’s found a retailer that carries the stuff, gimme a heads-up will ya?
Enter No Sweat™ – a super-duper, fully biodegradable, all-vegetable, odour-eater rated for HE machines. Their claim to fame is that NoSweat blasts odour, banishes stains, protects and preserves the fabric of our not-so-cheap athletic attire. And they’re not wrong – even after a week of stink stewing in the laundry, this stuff gets the p-u out pronto.
That favourite running shirt you thought was trash-bag bound thanks to skunky pits, no matter how many times it’s washed? Sick NoSweat on it! True, it took two washes for my smelly old orange shirt to de-funk, but I was able to save it from landfill hell. And give NoSweat a top-shelf rating.
What’s also great is that it’s fantastic for my office gear as well, so my dress pants and other delicates go right in with the running stuff. (Don’t worry, my office clothes don’t smell NEAR as bad as my running togs!) Check out their “Black Belt Laundry Tips” for helpful info.
Washing my duds with NoSweat makes perfect sense all the way around. I’m saving a few bucks with the water-miser front loading machine, saving my clothes from harsh chemicals, plus saving the environment by using their biodegradable, phosphate-free, enviro-friendly detergent. And, their pricing’s not out to lunch either.
Give No Sweat™ a try – it’s awesome!
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Thanks for the recommendation, Lisa May. I lucked out when I did tech service at my former company to meet with Laidlaw, a detergent company in Illinois (not to be confused with the bus company of the same name). They offered a product called ScentAway to the commercial laundry industry. It’s a final rinse additive and I picked up a few samples from a trade show and it was fantastic! When I sent a note to the product manager about how well it worked on funky running gear (and believe me, Houston running generates a lot of funk), he sent me TWO GALLONS! This was several years ago, and I’m still working on the second gallon. At three ounces per 10 gallons of water, a gallon goes a long way. If I can’t find a laundry supply store willing to sell me more when my final free gallon runs out, your recommendations will definitely come in handy.