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Many women enjoy yoga as a form of exercise due to its various health benefits. It can help improve flexibility, increase physical strength, and reduce stress. But like with any other types of workout, the right gear needs to be worn by yoga practitioners to be able to do yoga properly. They need clothes that will allow them to move comfortably as well as provide them with ample support, especially for the upper body and back, while performing yoga exercises.
Among the most popular types of clothes that a lot of yogis wear are yoga pants and sports leggings. Both are typically stretchy opaque pants and often have sweat-wicking features. The main difference between the two is that leggings usually have a skin-tight fit from the waist down to the ankle, while many sports yoga pants have contours that flare out from the calf and open wide at the ankle.
If you have been practicing yoga for a while now, you know that some poses require a lot of effort to perfect, so each session can make you very sweaty. Unfortunately, that might mean you often notice a musty smell emanating from your stretchy bottoms. This can be very discouraging and embarrassing if your fellow yogis get a whiff of an unpleasant odor as you practice your downward dog pose. Fortunately, there are different ways you can remedy the situation just by adjusting your laundry routine.
To learn more about how to remove funky odors from your yoga pants, read on.
Sweat, dead skin cells, the natural oils your body produces, but most especially the bacteria that grow on them, are the typical culprits behind the distinct smell in your yoga pants. When any of these start to build up and stick to your workout clothes, they can develop into a funky scent. To get rid of the odor, make sure to wash your yoga pants right after using them. Putting your yoga pants into the washing machine immediately removes any odor-causing bacteria.
Since the interior part of the garment is in contact with your skin, it’s best to turn your stretchy bottoms inside out before washing them. This way, it gets the thorough wash it needs to remove all the nasty stuff from the fabric.
While you might think using more detergent guarantees cleaner and fresher clothes, it might do the opposite. When you add a large amount of detergent to the wash, soap residue can remain and cling to the fabric of the pants. When the residue builds up over time, it can increase bacterial growth that causes foul odor on your clothes. As such, it’s prudent to use detergent only sparingly.
The challenge a lot of people often face in the laundry department is that many detergent manufacturers make it easy for you to put too much detergent using the scoops typically provided. Given this is the case, it’s best to be more cautious and take note of the recommended amount of detergent you need for small, medium, and large laundry loads. You can place a marker on your scoop or cup for the appropriate amount of detergent you need so you can avoid adding too much detergent each time you put a load in the washing machine.
When washing your yoga pants, refrain from using fabric softeners. Whether they are in liquid or sheet forms, fabric softeners can leave behind a coating that can build up over time. Eventually, it will turn into a sort of barrier that will keep water and detergent from properly getting between the fibers of the fabric. When this happens, it will be harder to remove dirt and odor from your used pants.
For intense funky scents, detergent alone may not be enough to completely get rid of the smell. In this case, the best option is to add odor eliminators. While you can find different kinds of laundry boosters or add-ons to improve the washing process, you can also check out natural variations commonly found in most households, such as white vinegar and lemon juice.
To use vinegar in the wash, add a half to a full cup to the rinse cycle, depending on how large the load is. Put the liquid into your washing machine’s fabric softener dispenser before you start the wash. If your yoga pants are extra stinky, soak them in the sink or basin with a cup of white vinegar along with some cold water. Leave your pants for 15–30 minutes before placing them in the washing machine.
Lemon juice is also effective in removing funky odors from your yoga pants due to its citric acid content. Unlike fabric softener that masks foul smells with fragrant ones, lemon juice effectively removes the funky smells. To use as an odor eliminator, squeeze a large lemon and add the juice to the load of, along with any detergent you’re already using. Aside from your yoga pants, you can also use white vinegar and lemon juice to make your cotton leggings smell fresh.
Practicing yoga provides a lot of health benefits. While it might not be as strenuous as other workout routines, each yoga class can still become an intense sweat session. If the suggestions mentioned above are not enough to salvage your stinky stretchy pants, you can always get a new pair. You can shop at No nonsense for all types of sports and trendy leggings that will make you feel and look good whether you are inside or outside the yoga studio.
