Insight
Insight into sweat odour
Sportswear that still smells after washing does not mean you are doing something wrong. It is a predictable result of how synthetic fibres, sweat and bacteria interact. That insight is where Rewosh started.
Sweat itself barely smells
Most of what your body produces during exercise comes from the eccrine glands and consists largely of water and salt. On its own, that is almost odourless.
The smell comes afterwards. Skin bacteria break down substances in sweat and sebum, and the by-products of that are what we recognise as body odour. Some of those substances are fatty and cling to surfaces rather than dissolving in water.
That last point is what matters in the wash. A substance that dissolves easily in water rinses away. One that prefers to bind to fat does not, which is why an ordinary wash can leave clothing that looks clean but still carries odour.
Add a fabric that actively holds on to those compounds, and the problem builds up.
Why synthetics hold on to it
Fibres that attract fat
Polyester and related fibres are water-repellent. Useful for moving sweat away from the skin, but they also have a strong affinity with the fatty substances that cause odour.
An enormous surface
Technical fabrics are knitted from fine, textured filaments with mesh panels and channels. That structure moves air and moisture well, and at the same time gives residue far more surface to settle into than a flat cotton weave.
Low wash temperatures
Elastane, membranes and bonded seams limit how hot you can safely wash. Lower temperatures are better for the garment, but give any detergent less help in lifting fatty soil.
What that asks of a detergent
A sports detergent has a narrower brief than an all-purpose laundry product, and a harder one.
Lift what water alone leaves behind
Surfactants have a water-loving and a fat-loving end. They surround fatty residue, lift it off the fibre and hold it in the wash water, so it rinses away instead of settling back.
Work at the temperature you actually use
A formula that only performs at 60 °C is of little use for a garment labelled 30 °C. Performance at low temperature is a design requirement, not a bonus.
Respect the construction
Elastic recovery, water-repellent finishes, prints and bonded seams all suffer under the wrong conditions. A specialist detergent is as much about what it leaves alone as about what it tackles.
Rinse out cleanly
Residue left in the fabric can reduce breathability and feed bacteria. Rinsing out completely matters as much as cleaning.
Sportswear is technical fabric. It deserves to be washed like technical fabric.
Built on insight
Rewosh Sport Wash is a powder detergent formulated specifically for sportswear: aimed at the fatty residue that odour comes from, and at fabrics that cannot be washed hot.