Your boxing glove, shin /instep guard, uniform or gi stinks because your uncleaned training sweat is feeding new life, in the form of bacteria and fungus. That smell….that’s the new life’s gases emitting from feeding off the nutrients contained in your sweat. Often, after training, you stash your gear into your sealed bag and it remains there till next session. In the cosy , undisturbed darkness, the spores and bacteria feast on your evening’s training toil. That smell , or stink is the evidence of their growth.
The consequence of not dealing with this issue is that cuts, and exposed weaknesses in your body , eye mouth, cut fingers and knuckles serve as entry points for these fungi and bacteria to enter. If the bacteria belongs to someone else, then you run the risk of getting staphylococcus, skin irritations, swellings and whatever other dis eases leading to potentially serious infections and possibly death by way of sepsis ( extreme, I know).
No amount of perfume, talk or other devices that remove the smell will address this issue. You have to get rid of the bugs and start anaging your kit in an organised methodical manner.
The quickest way to get rid of smell in boxing gloves is to place your kit into a zip lock bag and FREEZE it for a couple of days This will get rid of the stink immediately…for free.
Thereafter , thawing your kit, wash thoroughly and disinfect with appropriate disinfectant. Leave to dry in a light, ventilated location till dry.
Apply leather conditioner to leathers to moisturise and guard from the leather drying out.
LONG TERM SOLUTIONS
For healthy, hygienic training first, we recommend you store your kit into a Reflex Sports bag https://www.rayhanas.com/product/reflex-gear-bag/ Our unique sports bag is fully ventilated and exposed to light. Ensuring that bacteria don’t get that comfortable space to blossom. Our Reflex carry bag, is large enough to hold Muay thai pads, focus mitts, gloves, gis , uniforms, knives, pretty well most of your Martial Arts training equipments. With multi handles all over, removeable padded shoulder straps a very convenient bag to carry about.
We recommend that you wash all clothing after training, dry and have ready for the next day.
If this is not possible keep a spare set of uniforms , shorts, wraps, ready for use on the next session.
Gloves, Focus mitts , Thai pads , shin/instep guards , be wiped and left to dry. We suggest that you wipe down once a week with a light solution of diluted antiseptic solution. For the gloves, we recommend that you roll up your local suburban newspaper – no too large mind, and stuff it into the glove to absorb the inner sweat overnight.
Regular attention to the hygiene of your Uniforms, shorts, boxing gloves, karate gloves, shin guards, head guards etc…will not only ensure longevity for your equipment, but a safe and healthy environment for your body to safetly be.
Ray – Hana’s we make our equipment to last – and we hope your enthusiasm for training lasts as long as our products do !
Happy training
Ray
