13 replies to this topic

[Cajuncubsfan]

I have a Champro Pro-Plus Chest Protector. It's not bad but the foam padding on the inside socks up all the sweat. Now after three years it is smelling bad. I washed it in the washing machine but even after just one game it is back to stinking. Any ideas?!?

I want a West vest, but I can't get one right now.

[kylejt]

Lysol. You need to kill the stuff that's making it stink. Do that after every game. Don't bother with Fabreeze, or other stuff that just masks the smell. You need to kill the bacteria build up. And I don't think a trip through the washer will do it.

Are those things designed to run through the washing machine?

[Cajuncubsfan]

I don't know if it's meant to run through a washer but I had to try something. I will pull it out tomorrow and Lysol the hell out of it.

[Majordave]

I take mine, WV Gold, into the bathtub, soak it in warm water, scrub it with lysol or mr. clean, rinse it well, hang it over the shower spigot til dry (usually about 24 to 36 hours. I do this at least twice a season (mid-summer and at end of fall ball)

[SAB_UIC_TX]

I spray mine down with fabrise after every use. Every month or so I hang it on the fence and hit it with the how and some soap and let it hang dry. I think what has kept mine smelling good is the fairies after every use. I do this with my shin guards too after every use.

[johnnyg08]

I carry a lysol aerosol with me and after every game it gets sprayed down.

[FranklinT]

I have a Champro Pro-Plus Chest Protector. It's not bad but the foam padding on the inside socks up all the sweat. Now after three years it is smelling bad. I washed it in the washing machine but even after just one game it is back to stinking. Any ideas?!?

I want a West vest, but I can't get one right now.

Try a product called Zorbx

[boyinr]

You might want to look for someone in your area that cleans hockey/lacrosse gear or fire fighters gear. Most of them use ozone or something similar to kill the bacteria. I also clean mine after every use and air dry in the sun after. This is a key reason why I have 3 CPs that I rotate between.

[Kevin Finnerty]

Boyinr is all over it. The ozone machine is the thing.

But if you choose to do it yourself, a high-pressure sprayer and a little laundry soap (it doesn't foam up as much as most other soaps, so it rinses easily), and those pads will be just lovely. I go to the do-it-yourself car wash and spray the hell out of my CP's pads. (I just spray and wipe the plastic shell by hand.)

I have a very old Douglas that I acquired on ebay from an oldtimer in Florida. It arrived with the guy's sweat stains on it. (Don't worry, I thanked him.) That's when I originally employed the car-wash-pressure-sprayer method. That Douglas is just rosy now.

Additional note: Lysol or Febreze... they're both fine. Febreze Sport is not as pungent as Lysol, and is a good deodorizer and disinfectant, because it has a good dose of alcohol in its formula. It's designed for uses where the smell of Lysol is undesirable. Lysol is the king of disinfectants, but it has that distinctive smell. You Febreze or Lysol treat your CP each time, and one of these industrial-strength cleanings is seldom required.

[NWA_UMP]

I spray my hats with Lysol type sprays after each use...allow to air dry and pack them in my bag. They don't get funky as quickly and I have no ill effects to report on the hats. I have used the same caps now for 2 seasons and the look great...except for the normal sun fading...they will be replaced for that reason alone.

[detailshp]

Lysol ( or generics ) is a bacteria killer that uses an airborne ammonia chloride as its disinfectant. It usually uses some sort of ethyl chloride propellant, and leaves a distinctive smell that regardless of what flavor you get, will linger after it dries. It literally disintegrates any living organism it finds. Dont believe me? Spray a little on your hand that has a small cut or not fully healed wound.

Febreeze ( and its generics ) uses an enzyme to attact the living organism embedded in your sweat molecules and basically "munches" them to render them odorless. Thats why when you get pet stain cleaner, they tell you to soak the area and let air dry, do not suck up the excess in an extractor or rub dry, and also tell you that the smell might actually be worse while the enzyme breaks down the molecules.

Enzyme cleaners do not have a smell. Febreeze actually adds fragrance to their product, and that is what you smell after the enzyme does it work.

The guys that clean hockey gear and football gear use Ozone machines. They are not nearly as expensive as they used to be. You can get a nice small machine online from a hydroponics grower for around 75 -125 bucks, and basically they will never go bad, unless you mistreat them. I use my ozone machine here at work and just stick it in my vehicle during the day while I am at work with my gear in the back. By the end of the day, voila! Ozone works by starving the living organism of oxygen, ( on in hydroponics, starting the catalyst reaction ) thereby killing the bacteria. Dead bacteria tell no tales, or in this case, smell no more. Ozone leaves a distinct odor also, and attaches itself to the fabrics of the whatever you are cleaning.

ALL that crap being said, for a stinky CP I would use the ozone machine. Once its NOT stinky, maintenance sprays with a fabreeze fragrance you can stand is probably enough to keep the daily stink off. Lysol can irritate your skin if your not careful, ( like if its still damp the next day or that afternoon from an earlier plate game ) because ammonia and ethyl chloride ( alcohol ) dry out skin and cause chafing.

Hope this helps.

[Kevin Finnerty]

Do people call you "Professor"? That was fantastic stuff!

And I knew Febreze was better for this kind of thing.

I was thinking, my dad has an ozone machine that his nagging wife made him stick on a shelf in the garage. I'm thinking of taking it off his hands, but that would just free up space for his nagging wife to make him store something else that he likes. It's a dilemma.

[detailshp]

Kevin;

Nah, that stuff is just in my wheelhouse. I've owned a year round Auto detail shop since 1996. Before that, I worked at a 13 location carwash chain as the equipment repair/quality control manager. I have a lot of useless chemical, cleaning, carwashing, and business operation knowledge floating around in my head. Thanks for the compliment.

[Kevin Finnerty]

That's great stuff. I like to keep the ride pretty clean, but I defer to you overall.

I gotta go... the weather cleared up and I need to go wash my car.