How does everyone wash their knee sleeves and how often? I’ve tried hand washing with just water, hand washing with soap, and machine washing with just water. Employing those methods seems to make them not smell but as soon as I sweat in them again might as well have not even washed them. Going to try machine washing with soap next but was wondering if anyone had any tricks or tips
I haven’t washed my knee sleeves since 2011. I just let them air dry.
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Mine didn’t start stinking bad until I washed them.
I want a new pair and they will never see a wash. Maybe a spray of alcohol every now and then
Oddly enough I had never washed mine then a buddy recommended that I should and that’s when they started to be really bad
Sometimes, it’s better not to see how disgusting you truly are:
If you look closely, you can see pieces of dead skin in the water.
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I think I’m washing mine wrong because the water has never looked like that…
I don’t use mine that much but in the summer the sweat can get pretty real. I used to open the sleeves up put them upright and use one of those shoe spray like odor eaters and air dry.
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I wouldn’t wash them in a machine because it will probably make them wear out faster and might not wash them too good either. I wash my sleeves every couple months (the pair I mostly use I have had for over three years) when they start to smell a bit, what I do is hand wash with laundry soap but let them soak for a couple hours first. It’s true that they can stink more after you wash them if you don’t wash them good because you are putting water on all kinds of germs and then letting it air dry, that sounds like a recipe for stink right there. After a while the smell might linger even after a good washing, what you can do soak them with both laundry soap and baking soda, be generous with the baking soda. Let them soak for at least 4 hours or so, scrub them in the same water and dump it, rinse them out, and wash again with more soap.
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They do start to smell after a few uses, especially if you forget them in your gym bag and don’t let them air dry. I’ve been to a gym once, where someone stank so badly (despite looking fairly clean and tidy) I would skip squats as I did not want to work out next to them…
I use the blue rehbands myself and I just turn them inside-out and throw them in the shower on the floor after every first (sometimes second) use. I don’t actively wash them but just let the soapy water run around them. Quick squeeze to drain most of the water off and then let them dry. Been doing that for a few years now and have not noticed any deterioration in quality or smell.
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Yeah don’t boil them without unless you’re doing it in a chemistry lab. You don’t want knee sleeve funk water all over your kitchen.
Nowadays I just wash them occasionally next to my equally funky toe shoes and hit them with some lysol non-bleach disinfectant to kill the smellies.
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You boiled knee sleeves?
I did. They were super fucking nasty at the time. Probably 3 or 4 months with no maintenance and lots of heavy squatting by a man who’s never had a problem with insufficient sweat output. I knew the smell was bacterial in origin, and I knew that killing it with fire would not leave me with any knee sleeves at all, so I went ahead and boiled the wretched implements.
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That must have smelled horrible. It would be better to soak them in rubbing alcohol or Dettol or something like that.
I only wash my sleeves about every 2-3 months but I also train at home so I can let them air dry as soon as I’m done. I can imagine if you have them in a gym bag with some other sweaty clothes for the rest of the day it could get bad quick.
It did.
Nice to know now. Where were you when I had two bright blue neoprene tubes of pestilence plaguing my home? Probably squatting somewhere in your daisy-fresh sleeves, that’s where.
Well well well Mr. Expert, you probably couldn’t handle boiling your knee sleeves like a real man, could you?
While you are sitting in your ivory tower imagining this or that, the rest of us are out there getting things done. Think about that for a minute the next time you think you know something about lifting.
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Priceless! I knew you were the right man for the job. The original story was unforgettable… 
I use mine 3 times a week, but only wash in cold water once a week. For the other 2 days I just air dry them on the line outside.
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I wash mine every few months by just soaking them in water and letting them air dry.
I also wear tiger-balm, biofreeze, absorbine (equestrian liniment), or some other product like that before I put on sleeves. Feels good and keeps the stuff smelling like it.
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When the stink becomes unbearable.
Washing machine, usually 2x. Air dry or dryer