Boxing gloves are part of the indispensable paraphernalia that any serious boxer would need to fight and defend themselves. However, these essentials of boxing require great care to ensure tip-top hygienic conditions as well as increasing their longevity. While smelly gloves may not be a strange thing to any rigorous training boxer, knowing how to clean your gloves thoroughly is a perfect plus. Have you ever thought of how to get rid of those odor bacteria in your gloves? Well, that’s exactly what we’re going to teach you in this article. Ready to get started? Here is how to clean your boxing gloves step by step.
Table of Contents
1. Clean Off The Sweat on Your Gloves
First, get your gloves out of your gym bag to ensure they’re well aerated to prevent the rapid multiplication of the bacteria. As soon as you get the gloves out of the bag, use a clean piece of cloth or towel to absorb excess moisture. After that, wrap a towel or a portion of cloth around your hand and insert it into its gloves. Repeat the process with other gloves to ensure that they’re free from sweat. Since the odor-causing bacteria feeds on the sweat and multiplies massively, keeping your gloves dry after exercise can effectively control odor. However, we still have to go ahead and eliminate the smell by sanitizing the gloves.
2. Sanitize Your Gloves
After cleaning out the excess moisture in the gloves, the next important step is to sanitize the gloves. At this point, we have several methods that you can use depending on your choice, preference, and availability of ingredients. Some of the conventional techniques that you can use to sanitize your gloves include antibacterial solution, deodorizers, salt water, baking soda, freezing, apple cider vinegar, wet cloth, and lavender oil.
i. Use Of Anti-Bacterial Spray
The use of anti-bacterial is one of the surefire ways to keep the smelly odor bacteria at bay. Even though most of the anti-bacterial can be used to keep off the foul smell bacteria, not all are effective. However, most people prefer using Lysol or Febreeze to keep bacteria out of their gloves. All you should do is to spray your gloves with anti-bacterial after you get out of the gym. But you should do a bit of research before choosing the best anti-bacterial to use. In addition to that, you should avoid some brands such as Febreeze that will only mask the odor and doesn’t kill the bacteria. Without mentioning, Febreeze also causes your gloves to be stiff.
ii. Use Of Salt Water
This is yet another promising way to clean your boxing gloves and keep the odor-causing bacteria at their minimum. As you expect, there is a bit of science involved in the action of this common yet incredible solution. It can kill nearly all the bacteria that cause the annoying smell in your gloves. Since this isn’t a science class, we won’t bore you with the chemistry that occurs. But all you should know is that the saline or saltwater breaks down and dissolves any smell-causing bacteria in your gloves. All you should do is to soak your gloves overnight in saltwater. However, this method may not get down pretty well if your gloves are made up of salt-sensitive material. Therefore, you should do thorough research before using a salt solution for cleaning your gloves.
iii. Use Of Baking Soda
Did you know that some of your everyday household items can be multipurpose? Well, that’s it. The ordinary baking soda is one of the household items that you can depend on in keeping your gloves clean. With the baking soda, you can clean your boxing gloves real quick. All you should do is to start by cleaning your boxing gloves with a wet towel or a piece of cloth. When done doing that, half fill both the socks with baking soda and insert them into the gloves. And after that, close the straps and leave the baking soda to stay overnight. By the following morning, the baking soda will have absorbed all the stinky odor.
iv. Use Of Apple cider Vinegar
Apple Cider vinegar is another perfect solution that can keep your gloves clean and fresh-smelling. It effectively eliminates the smell-causing odor from your gloves with no much effort and money involved. Use a tablespoonful of cider vinegar and rub it both on the inside as well as the outside of your boxing gloves. Leave the vinegar to stay on your gloves overnight. Once it dries, all the astonishing smell will be no more. Also, you can use white vinegar to perform the same magic. Mix half vinegar and half clean water. After that, transfer the solution into a spray bottle and then make a thin spray on the inside and outer surface of the gloves. After thoroughly coating the surface with a light mist, wipe out the spray to clean sweat and dirt. And that’s it.
v. Use Of Lavender Oil
Lavender oil is one of the effective disinfectants that you can use for cleaning your boxing gloves. The oil will not only eliminate the irritating smell but will also enhance the durability of the product. If you aren’t fun of lavender oil, you can use tea tree oil instead. But you should be careful as not all the boxing gloves will go well with these oils. For instance, lavender oil can deteriorate the quality and longevity of vinyl boxing gloves. If you choose to use this method, put about six drops of lavender or tea tree oil into a cup of water. Having done that, soak a clean piece of cloth in the mixture. And then use the cloth to wipe the gloves inside and outside. When through with the task, air-dry the gloves. And that should be it.
3. Conditioning And Drying Your Gloves
Before heading to dry your gloves, it would be better to condition them, especially those made up of leather. To do that, put a few drops of oil or conditioner on the surface of the gloves. And after that, use a lint-free cloth to rub it gently on the surface and then wipe it dry. Apart from conditioning, another essential step involves drying your gloves to eliminate excess moisture. You can do that by air-drying them while in a wide-open position. Also, you can staff the gloves with newspapers to absorb the moisture. And lastly, you can use a blow-dryer to remove the excess moisture.
4. Keep Your Gloves Fresh-Smelling
After cleaning your gloves, it would be pretty good to keep them smelling fresh. One of the ways to do that is by using cedar chips. This will not only keep them fresh breath in your glove but also absorbs moisture from the gloves. Other than that, you can also use essential oils such as lemongrass, peppermint, eucalyptus, and or orange.
Conclusion
Cleaning boxing gloves does not only make them clean and hygienic but also great at enhancing their durability. However, always ensure you’re using the most appropriate cleaning methods and chemicals to avoid damage to your gloves.