Boxing gloves stink - what can I do about it?
In this article, I would like to look at the options you have for cleaning your gloves and making sure they don't stink in the first place!
I remember my first boxing training session for quite a long time. Half because it was so strenuous. But also because my hands were still
still smelled of the gloves I'd been wearing for ten minutes.
When you think about where the smell of the gloves actually comes from, you never want to wear boxing gloves again.
What can I do about smelly gloves?
This is one of the things I've heard quite often in the meantime. But this approach starts too late.
Because there is no satisfactory answer to this question. The gloves are finely crafted products.
Inside they are made of foam and several seams. They are made of natural materials such as leather (there are also artificial leather gloves, but I won't go into that. Anyone who owns artificial leather gloves should buy good gloves)
And they require a lot of care when cleaning. Before I go on to tell you how to protect your gloves, I would first like to tell you what you should avoid at all costs!
What should I avoid when cleaning my gloves?
Putting gloves in the washing machine
Are you wondering whether you can wash gloves in the washing machine? I would love to answer: "I hope you can hear me banging my head against the desk at this question." Unfortunately, I can't allow myself this mocking comment, as I have tried to do this myself
And so I can say from experience: it's not a good idea to try to clean boxing gloves in the washing machine. If you think about it a bit, this is actually obvious.
Febreeze sprays
The same applies if you try to use fragrance sprays or similar. To go into this again. Even the best gloves are made of sensitive seams. Fragrances and other ingredients in the sprays may gently give clothing a good fragrance.
However, the gloves are too sensitive for this and this often leads to problems with the durability of the glove even after infrequent use.
How can I ensure that my gloves don't start to stink?
Excellent! That's the right approach, which is also easy on your wallet.
Almost nothing in boxing costs as much as high-quality gloves. And with a few small measures you can
the durability and wearing comfort can be improved.
To do this, you first have to ask yourself what causes the odour in boxing gloves.
Similar to the underarm odour of teenagers, the strong smell of gloves is caused by bacteria produced by sweat!
This means that, in principle, the sweat that gets into the gloves is not bad.
However, if this happens to too great an extent, which is coupled with poor ventilation, pure bacterial centres are formed.
But we do have a few options for preventing the odour from boxing gloves:
Optimally, we utilise these options!
We can reduce the amount of sweat that gets into the glove.
We can prevent the formation of bacteria.
We can use high-quality materials.
Option 1 - Reduce the amount of sweat!
One of the options we have is to reduce the amount of sweat. The most common option for this is a hand bandage. The purpose of this is not only to protect the glove from sweat, but also to protect the knuckles and joints.
Especially in view of the fact that the bandages are available at really low prices compared to their benefits, no athlete should do without them.
You can find bandages here: Bandages and undergloves
Option 2 - Prevent the formation of bacteria!
As already mentioned, boxing gloves are so sensitive, especially on the inside, that any scented sprays or deodorants will cause the seams on the inside to dissolve. However, for a few years now there has been a manufacturer who has taken this problem to heart. "No stink" has developed a deodorant cushion for gloves that prevents odours and bacteria from forming.
A little tip from me: cinnamon bark or cinnamon soles. They also help. The antibacterial, antiviral and disinfectant effect of cinnamon can help prevent bacteria, viruses and spores from sticking to boxing gloves. In addition to the pleasant scent, cinnamon also has the advantage that it binds moisture and eliminates odours. People with a tendency to sweaty hands can therefore particularly benefit from cinnamon soles.
Leather instead of artificial leather
You can take the first step against smelly boxing gloves before you buy them. The material from which boxing gloves are made plays a decisive role in whether and how quickly your boxing gloves start to pollute the air.
Boxing gloves made from artificial leather have one major disadvantage: they are not breathable! While boxing gloves made from real leather can release moisture through the leather, heat builds up in synthetic leather gloves, causing your hands to sweat even faster and more.
So if you want to prevent your boxing gloves from quickly starting to stink, you should buy boxing gloves made from real leather.
If you're about to buy your first pair of boxing gloves, read our boxing glove guide
Airing, airing and more airing
The most important thing to do to prevent odours, especially if you are not using odour neutralisers, is to air, air and air some more. Ideally, our boxing gloves should be aired in the sun, which dries them even faster and prevents odours from forming.
It is important that you take your boxing gloves out of your sports bag DIRECTLY AFTER TRAINING and open the Velcro fastener as wide as possible so that the sweat cannot even start to dry in the gloves.
When it's already too late
If you are reading this article while the smelly boxing gloves are already polluting the air in your room, it doesn't have to be too late. In this case, it can help to use disinfectant hygiene spray to eliminate the odours. However, this will only help in the long term if the bacteria have not yet settled in the upholstery. If this is the case, you can use the sprays to contain the odour, at least temporarily.
We hope that this article has helped you to prevent the odour of smelly boxing gloves. If you have any other tips that have helped you, write them in the comments.
And if all else fails and you can no longer stand the odour, take a positive approach and look forward to a new pair of boxing gloves.
You can find our large selection here: Boxing gloves
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