With new technologies coming out every year that promise to simultaneously enhance moisture-wicking properties and decrease stink, there is hope. ‘s materials manager, Carol Little, explains the basics behind the B.O.
鈥淲ool and cotton typically don鈥檛 smell as bad as polyester because odor doesn鈥檛 get trapped inside of the yarn,鈥 she says. Little likens natural fabrics to a sponge鈥攖hey鈥檒l absorb sweat and the odor-causing bacteria that feeds on it, but they鈥檙e easy to wring out.
Not so with synthetic fibers like polyester, the current favorite among sports clothing manufacturers. 鈥淭he odor gets into the plastic and it鈥檚 hard to get it out,鈥 she says. 聽So companies like Little鈥檚 have been adding special treatments to their polyester to get it to smell better while you wear it, then release any wonky scents in the wash.
Adding silver to polyester fibers is one popular stink-combating option. 鈥淪ilver attaches to the bacteria at the molecular level to help remove it from the material so it鈥檚 not trapped inside the fiber,鈥 Little says.
Pearl Izumi, , and other outdoor clothing brands make some of their products with a type of polyester that contains molecules of volcanic ash. Besides enhancing a garment鈥檚 moisture-wicking ability, it鈥檚 also tough on stink. 鈥淚t鈥檚 called Minerale, and its embedded into the yarn fiber and has a pore size about the same as an odor molecule,鈥 says Little.聽 鈥淚t traps the odor molecule so when the fabric is washed in warm water, it releases the odor molecules from the fiber.鈥
Just don鈥檛 reach for fabric softeners to mask those odors, she warns. 鈥淭hey cover up the fibers and inhibit their moisture-wicking properties.鈥 Instead, be sure to wash your synthetic workout clothes with Tide or a hardy sports detergent after every training session to rid them of any unruly stench.