The Real Way To Care For Your Running Clothes

Published September 14, 2015 03:30PM

Running clothes can cool, warm, guard, protect, slim, lift, support—we’re exhausted thinking about it! And think about the daily onslaught of sweat and grime. Yet, how do we treat them in return? I don’t know about you, but my sweaty togs usually spend a couple days in a damp, dark laundry basket before making it to the wash. Not something I recommend.

We checked in with Teri Taylor, Product Designer for Sugoi’s training category, for her top tips about washing technical wear.

“The first thing is to be conscious of what you are washing with what,” Taylor says. “Notice the fabrics.”

Taylor pays a lot of attention to fabrics—how they function, wear and wash. Much of the latest running wear includes multiple types of fabrics, all strategically placed to deliver optimum cooling, wicking and durability. Taylor says that selecting complimentary fabrics to be used in the same shirt is an important part of product design. Once you’ve determined which fabrics can be washed together, and you know not to wash a delicate running tank with a Velcro bedecked rain jacket, that is a start, but you still have to get gear clean.

Read on for Taylor’s top-five tips for keeping your running clothes summer-breeze fresh.

You aren’t doing your clothes, yourself or your running partners any favors by wearing clothes a few times before washing. The longer dirty clothes sit without being washed, the more likely they are to hold odors.

Taylor prefers more gentle and natural liquid soaps, ideally surfactant-free. Also avoid fabric softeners, using too much soap and heavily scented detergents.

Hanging clothes to air dry is the best option. You don’t always have to, but apparel will generally last longer.

Separate laundry and wash similar fabrics together, which means wash technical clothes with other technical clothes—not in the same load as your favorite jeans or fluffy towels.