Washing Sweaty Clothes After Hot Yoga Classes (Naturally)

March 6, 2013 8:21 pm

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Yoga Clothes Hanging Shirts

As Bikram Yogis, we’re no strangers to a little sweat. Most of us have a plethora of hot yoga gear to keep us in asana heaven all week long. From special skidless hot yoga towels and vacuum sealed water bottles to breathable state of the art yoga clothes, most of us are well equipped to have the best class possible. Prepared as we all are, one question we often get from our students is how to wash and care for their hot yoga clothes. In a perfect world we would all be able to take our clothes and towels straight home, hand wash them and pin them up to air dry in an idyllic sunny field filled with flowers, but that certainly ain’t the case (in Raincouver, especially).

So how do you get the sweaty smell out of your clothes after they’ve had some time to mellow? How do you make sure your clothes stay nice and germ free and fresh class after class? Thanks to Maryanna at Compass and Quill (and student, Aaron J for bringing this to our attention) we found a great recipe that works wonders in the washing machine time after time and includes two natural boosters that will take your laundry detergent to the next level when your hot yoga clothes go for their next spin!

What You’ll Need

 

  • Your regular laundry detergent
    • +10 points if it’s natural and biodegradable
    • +20 points if you made it yourself – check out this easy to make recipe from David Suzuki: How to Make Laundry Soap
  • 1/2 cup Borax 
    • This naturally occurring mineral that boosts the cleaning and deodorizing power of your laundry soap – find it in the laundry soap aisle of any grocery store
  • 1/2 – 1 cup of white vinegar 
    • Helps to soften clothes and kill off any lingering bacteria or germs in your clothes
what-is-borax

 

Instructions for Conventional Washing Machines

Start your washing machine and let it run until there is an inch or two of water in the drum. Add all the above ingredients and let the machine run again for a minute before adding your clothes!

 

Instructions for High Efficiency Washing Machines 

Place the detergent and the Borox into the laundry soap cup and the vinegar into where the fabric softner is supposed to go.

 

Other Tips

Although cold water works for washing your Bikram clothes for the most part, you may want to put your clothes through on the warm or hot setting for any that have been sitting for more than a day or two. Just make sure to check the care instructions on the label first.

How do you care for your yoga gear after class? Comment below and let us know!

 

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