How long can you leave polyester shirts and hats unwashed until they stain?

3point0 · Jul 19, 2016

After playing, if we don't have other laundry to do, I wash my hat by hand so that it doesn't stain. I do the same with white polyester shirts (must in the summer!), because I'm afraid if I leave it for a couple days until we get enough white laundry to fill the machine, the shirt will start to yellow. I don't like to run the machine just for a couple shirts. And that handwashing takes time, and I hate it. On the upside, they dry quickly, and I only need one shirt and one hat.

How justified is my fear? If it's ok to toss sweaty polyester in the hamper to wash 3 days later, I'd love to just get a couple more shirts and hats so I can rotate through them.

I know that shirts of color are fine. Shorts hardly get any sweat, and I don't wash them frequently.

Tennis_Hands · Jul 19, 2016

You have got bigger problems with synthetics than staining.

ArliHawk · Jul 19, 2016

3point0 said:
After playing, if we don't have other laundry to do, I wash my hat by hand so that it doesn't stain. I do the same with white polyester shirts (must in the summer!), because I'm afraid if I leave it for a couple days until we get enough white laundry to fill the machine, the shirt will start to yellow. I don't like to run the machine just for a couple shirts. And that handwashing takes time, and I hate it. On the upside, they dry quickly, and I only need one shirt and one hat.

How justified is my fear? If it's ok to toss sweaty polyester in the hamper to wash 3 days later, I'd love to just get a couple more shirts and hats so I can rotate through them.

I know that shirts of color are fine. Shorts hardly get any sweat, and I don't wash them frequently.

I leave my colored shirts in a separate hamper and wash when I have enough to justify it. usually use some kind of sports wash which really helps to remove the funk.

cknobman · Jul 19, 2016

I've never "stained" a poly shirt no matter what I get on it.

I throw all my tennis clothes in a special hamper and dont wash until it fills up or I run out of clothes. Sometimes it can take 2 weeks before that happens.

3point0 · Jul 19, 2016

What about hats? I'm pretty sure if you let them sit for 2 weeks (worse yet, if you keep wearing and adding more sweat) it will develop that stain around the base of the bill that's impossible to get out.

Fintft · Jul 19, 2016

My white shirts don't seem to stain(dry fit, clima cool etc) even after a couple of days- I got at least 7 white ones + a couple of colored ones.

My dark shorts also collect sweat and I think I only wash them once per week, as I got about 3-4 pairs.

Don't wear hats and hardly ever a visor.

Fintft · Jul 19, 2016

Duplicate post

Deleted member 733170 · Jul 20, 2016

How many times can you wear say a poly shirt before it starts to fall apart, that is to say how many wash cycles ?

cknobman · Jul 20, 2016

YetAnotherFedFan said:
How many times can you wear say a poly shirt before it starts to fall apart, that is to say how many wash cycles ?

If you do not put them in the dryer then I would say a hundred times or more, LOL.

I have 5 year old polyester shirts and shorts that are still in great condition.

Always always always hang dry polyester and dri fit clothing, NEVER put them in the dryer. Shirts, shorts, hats, etc..... hang dry everything.

norcal · Jul 20, 2016

3point0 said:
Shorts hardly get any sweat, and I don't wash them frequently.

tennytive · Jul 20, 2016

Mine get stained from sunscreen around the collar and my white shorts got stained along the hem at the bottom for the same reason. I finally replaced my white shirts after 5 years or so and I've taken to soaking the new ones in a bucket with cold water and oxyclean right after I get home from playing. I sometimes hang them to dry, but often just toss them in the dryer with a full load. Didn't know that was a *bad* thing, figured the other clothes would protect the tennis dri fit shirts sort of as a safety in numbers concept. No damage that I can ever remember, but appreciate the heads up from cknobman.

cknobman · Jul 21, 2016

I just want to clarify that you can dry your polyester in the dryer but it should always be on the lowest heat setting possible if not air dry only.
Heat causes the material to break down quicker, shrink, get those "snags/runs" in it, and even melt.

I used to get a lot of those runs/snags in my polyester shirts and went googling to find out that drying them so much was bad.
Now that I hang dry my stuff I never get those runs/snags anymore.

http://www.wikihow.com/Wash-Polyester

2nd Serve Ace · Jul 25, 2016

3point0 said:
After playing, if we don't have other laundry to do, I wash my hat by hand so that it doesn't stain. I do the same with white polyester shirts (must in the summer!), because I'm afraid if I leave it for a couple days until we get enough white laundry to fill the machine, the shirt will start to yellow. I don't like to run the machine just for a couple shirts. And that handwashing takes time, and I hate it. On the upside, they dry quickly, and I only need one shirt and one hat.

How justified is my fear? If it's ok to toss sweaty polyester in the hamper to wash 3 days later, I'd love to just get a couple more shirts and hats so I can rotate through them.

I know that shirts of color are fine. Shorts hardly get any sweat, and I don't wash them frequently.

White hats don't stain if you machine wash them within one week of use. White shirts are a different story! Either hand wash them quickly, or do a bleach bath with them every 6 mths if you only do machine wash.

Tennis_Hands · Jul 26, 2016

There are two things that I learn from this thread:

1) most people, who have posted in this thread, have nearly odourless bodies, which results in sports clothing not getting stinky after someone was sweating in it for between 1 and 4 hours

2) one week of unwashed sports clothing is perfectly acceptable.

As norcal said:

norcal said:

Rosstour · Jul 27, 2016

Those Dri-Fit shirts start smelling awful as soon as I begin to sweat--like they haven't been washed in a week.

The Fed stuff loses the smell after one wash load but the Rafa gear and my perforated Advantage polo need to be handwashed with lots of scrubbing on the pits.

RanchDressing · Jul 29, 2016

Tennis_Hands said:
There are two things that I learn from this thread:

1) most people, who have posted in this thread, have nearly odourless bodies, which results in sports clothing not getting stinky after someone was sweating in it for between 1 and 4 hours

2) one week of unwashed sports clothing is perfectly acceptable.

As norcal said:

Or they just don't play hard enough to sweat. That's an entire possibility. Poly stinks after one use. It's horrible, but it works so whatever.

Sentinel · Jul 29, 2016

3point0 said:
How justified is my fear? If it's ok to toss sweaty polyester in the hamper to wash 3 days later, I'd love to just get a couple more shirts and hats so I can rotate through them.

As one or two others have pointed out, after a couple of hours clothes with a lot of sweat can start stinking. This happens with poly (and even cotton).
I have never scrubbed my sports clothes unless there is some color on the collar (happens on white tennis shirts where the collar touches the neck).

I first rinse in clear water (to get off some sweat). Then put into a bucket of water with detergent. After 30-60 mins or so, i take out and put into a bucket of clear water. Then just hang dry. I do this with shorts, cap, shirt, wristband and socks. Immediately on reaching home.

This does not involve much effort.

Sentinel · Jul 29, 2016

Rosstour said:
Those Dri-Fit shirts start smelling awful as soon as I begin to sweat--like they haven't been washed in a week.

If your clothes start to smell the moment you start sweating, (and you have been wearing them for months) then probably previous washes have not taken out the smell or sweat totally. I have had this with one or two cotton shirts which i have sweated in a lot. My solution usually has been to put it for a machine wash after I have done my hand-wash.

I have tried washing/soaking in water with a little white vinegar, but that did not help. I also sometimes put a few drops of lemon juice in the water hoping to kill the sweat smell.

Rosstour · Jul 30, 2016

Sentinel said:
If your clothes start to smell the moment you start sweating, (and you have been wearing them for months) then probably previous washes have not taken out the smell or sweat totally. I have had this with one or two cotton shirts which i have sweated in a lot. My solution usually has been to put it for a machine wash after I have done my hand-wash.

I have tried washing/soaking in water with a little white vinegar, but that did not help. I also sometimes put a few drops of lemon juice in the water hoping to kill the sweat smell.

Those are good suggestions. However this happened even when the shirts were new.

As stated, my Federer v-necks can be washed in the machine but the Rafa ones really demand a hand wash.

Sentinel · Jul 30, 2016

Rosstour said:
As stated, my Federer v-necks can be washed in the machine but the Rafa ones really demand a hand wash.

Seriously, there has to be a difference in the material or the thickness or something. Both are Nike so the material/quality should be the same.

Is one porous ?

(I just hope there isn't a joke there that I am missing

)

joohan · Aug 18, 2016

Polyester shirts are designed to be washed frequently. I sweat quite a lot and never wear the same clothes twice without washing them in the meantime. Some poly shirts are better, some are worse but I find non-tennis t shirts (running, cross country skiing, hiking brands) way better overall than typical tennis brands production.

Rjtennis · Aug 21, 2016

tennytive said:
Mine get stained from sunscreen around the collar and my white shorts got stained along the hem at the bottom for the same reason. I finally replaced my white shirts after 5 years or so and I've taken to soaking the new ones in a bucket with cold water and oxyclean right after I get home from playing. I sometimes hang them to dry, but often just toss them in the dryer with a full load. Didn't know that was a *bad* thing, figured the other clothes would protect the tennis dri fit shirts sort of as a safety in numbers concept. No damage that I can ever remember, but appreciate the heads up from cknobman.

Same for. R

cknobman said:
If you do not put them in the dryer then I would say a hundred times or more, LOL.

I have 5 year old polyester shirts and shorts that are still in great condition.

Always always always hang dry polyester and dri fit clothing, NEVER put them in the dryer. Shirts, shorts, hats, etc..... hang dry everything.

I always put them in the dryer with all my other stuff and have never ever had a sort problem. I don't care if stuff wears out over time though I guess.

How long can you leave polyester shirts and hats unwashed until they stain?

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