r/yoga
Yoga towel cleaning?
This is Ashtanga Yoga Tech Support. Real questions from the yoga community, answered.
The Question
I do hot yoga twice a week and have two sets of mat towels, washing them both each week. Recently, I’ve switched to an all natural laundry detergent because I know that the big brand-name detergents have a lot of harmful chemicals. It works well for me with my clothing, but does not remove the sweat smell from my yoga towels. Looking for recommendations for all natural ways to take the smell out! And for the record, yes I wear regular deodorant – when it comes to hot yoga give me alllll the al…
— via r/yoga
Our Response
White vinegar. That's it.
Add half a cup to the rinse cycle. It breaks down the bacteria causing the smell. Won't damage the fabric. Costs almost nothing.
If they're really funky, presoak them in the sink. Hot water and a cup of vinegar. Thirty minutes. Then wash normal with your natural detergent and vinegar in the rinse.
The smell you're dealing with? That's not leftover sweat. That's bacteria that's living in the fabric. Your natural detergent cleans surface dirt fine. But it's not killing what's growing in there.
Baking soda works too. Quarter cup in the wash. You can do both—baking soda in the wash, vinegar in the rinse. They won't cancel each other out because they hit at different times.
One more thing: don't leave wet towels in your bag. Even for an hour. Bacteria loves that. Get them into air as fast as you can.
Try the vinegar. It'll work.
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