Washing Yoga Pants 101: How to Remove Odors from Hot Yoga Clothes

July 05, 2018 | Remove odors from workout clothes

The aromas that permeate from your yoga pants can be a little embarrassing… Okay, a lot embarrassing! If you are a yogi, the chance is you’re very familiar with the unpleasant smell that can become embedded in the fabric of your yoga pants that emit a strong foul odor. If you have experienced this before, don’t worry you aren’t alone! A new widely discussed topic called Yoga Aroma has been introduced to the world, with top brands including Tide that has created a campaign specifically focused on the dreaded Yoga Aroma that many Yogi’s experience after a sweat-filled class. So, what exactly is Yoga Aroma and why is it a widely discussed topic among Yogi’s? Yoga Aroma is described as that crotch smell that is present in your yoga pants, which for some reason seems to be magnified by the material of stretchy yoga pants. Many people may begin to question if the odor down there is a result of some medical issue they are experiencing, but really the chances are that you are completely healthy with only the material of your pants to blame for the less than feminine odor downstairs. Thus, you may wonder how you can eliminate the odors from your yoga pants for good? With some helpful tips and a little 101 on how to wash your yoga pants, you will be a pro at expelling any and all yoga aroma odors from your hot yoga clothes with one wash!

Feminine Odor From SweatingFunky Yoga Pants? What to Know About Moisture Wicking Leggings

Even though yoga pants look good, they sure don’t smell good! Yoga pants can collect that less than pleasant odor- specifically in the… crotch area! This is the unfortunate reality for Yogi’s, Hot Yogi’s, and even those that rock athleisure wear on the day to day. Recently more and more women are wearing yoga and athletic apparel every day whether they are working out or just running errands for the day. Regardless if you are breaking a sweat at the yoga studio or at the grocery store the yoga odors can still accumulate in your yoga pants. Yoga pants are made of synthetic fabric that provides moisture wicking abilities that help to quickly wick away sweat, therefore making your yoga leggings more comfortable to wear during a workout. However, the material also makes it difficult to keep them from stinking! Synthetic fabrics contain “moisture channels” that allow perspiration to quickly move through, but these channels also contain little nooks and crannies that allow for dirt and foul odors to gather into and create the feared yoga aroma in your yoga pants.

Feminine Odor from Sweating: How to Remove Feminine Odor from Yoga Pants

What can you do about this smelly and sometimes embarrassing issue? Is there a magic solution to eradicate any and all sweaty aromas from your stinky yoga pants? Synthetic yoga pants can be difficult to wash and even more difficult to remove the odors from, therefore an accumulation of feminine odor caused by sweating can gather in your yoga pants. If you are sick of this stinky feminine odor in your hot yoga pants, don’t worry there is a solution! With three easy tips, you can kick feminine odor out of your workout pants in one, two, three!

1.) Keep Cotton Workout Leggings Away

You may think changing your yoga pants from synthetic fabric to cotton could be the solution to all your stinky yoga pant problems, but is this in fact true? Although you may think this is the best solution, cotton is really not a great option for moisture and humidity. Cotton tends to get musty and develop that unique musty odor especially when it is in humid environments. Well, when you are discussing yoga aroma the crotch area could definitely be classified as a humid environment that could create a smelly odor. Therefore, it is best to keep cotton workout leggings out of your yoga wardrobe.

2.) Avoid Stretchy Synthetic Pants

Synthetic yoga pants can harbor and breed odors and bacteria within the fabric of the pants. Most odors are made-up of chemical compounds that tend to be polar, like water. But the synthetic fabric is non-polar and non-absorbent, giving the fabric its moisture-wicking abilities. Synthetic yoga pants repel water making it hard to clean and penetrate with water, thus leading to the odor issue in many yoga pants. Although avoiding synthetic yoga pants can be ideal in removing feminine odor in yoga pants there are other things you can do to the fabric, so you can wear your synthetic fabrics with pride and no odor.  

3.) Clean Sweaty Yoga Pants Consistently

What you use to clean your synthetic fabrics can be critical in completely removing yoga aroma. You may think that detergent and a dry cycle is all you need to really clean the fabric of your yoga pants, but in most cases, you need an extra boost in your laundry routine to completely eradicate odors especially from hot yoga pants. The odors created from sweat may present specific challenges in your washing routine, as detergent will simply only mask the odors rather than remove them. Adding into your washing routine a specifically geared sport odor laundry additive to remove the stubborn sweat caused by yoga could be essential. The OdorKlenz Sport Laundry Additive was optimized to remove and neutralize the stubborn sweat and body odors from your workout clothes, particularly your sweaty yoga pants. OdorKlenz utilizes a patented earth mineral technology that is effective against a broad spectrum of chemicals and odors, specifically those of sweat. How to Remove Feminine Odor from Yoga Pants