cleaning gloves that smell like death

[jeff da goalie]

So, I bought some used Factory MAD gloves that smell like death.  Ok, maybe not death, but they're in the ICU and going through multiple organ failure.

My plan is to 1) use my ozone generator multiple times 2) pour boiling water down them and dry them out and 3) use the stuff I use on my own gloves -- it's sold to hunters to remove human scent.  

Any other suggestions?  The trapper in particular closes like a dream and I'd really hate to have to get rid of these.  I'm pretty particular about smell and my own gloves that i bought new are in pretty good shape smell wise.

[Lucky Pucker]

[dreadlocked1]

Bathtub full of hot water, laundry soap, toothbrush, scrub and let soak.  Drain tub of nastiness, rinse, repeat without soap, a few more times till water doesn't change color or soap keeps forming.  Then air dry with some fans for 24 to 48 hours.

[Snowman30]

Ether one of the soaps will also help:

https://rockingreen.ca/products/platinum-series-active-wear-detergent

https://hexperformance.com

I have use both on some pretty rank stuff and it removed what caused the smell. I bought a set of used gloves and they were bad put them in the bucket with Rocking Green in one and Hex in the other. Both removed the stink and the water looked terrible after. It was this nasty Brown color.

[Snowman30]

For $6 You can get a sample from Rockin green of the active wear soap 

https://rockingreen.com/products/sport-free-sample-kit

[IPv6Freely]

Soak in bathtub full of oxyclean. Drain, rinse, repeat. Usually after the second soak the smell is gone, but I also hang up my gear in front of a box fan after every skate so its a good 8-12 months before my stuff smells in the first place. 

[Chenner29]

10 hours ago, dreadlocked1 said:

Bathtub full of hot water, laundry soap, toothbrush, scrub and let soak.  Drain tub of nastiness, rinse, repeat without soap, a few more times till water doesn't change color or soap keeps forming.  Then air dry with some fans for 24 to 48 hours.

This.  I'd also add some Oxi Clean in there (2 scoops).

I don't think any kind of superficial surface spray will have an effect. You need something to penetrate into the nash/suregrip/whatever type of palm is being used in these gloves.

[seagoal]

Do you soak the blocker too, all in...board and everything?

My stuff has started to acquire a "fragrance" that my partner ain't too amused with.

[Chenner29]

6 minutes ago, seagoal said:

Do you soak the blocker too, all in...board and everything?

My stuff has started to acquire a "fragrance" that my partner ain't too amused with.

You can do that, or you can dip just the hand/palm portion and squeeze out all the bad shit.

If your board is removable, you can take it out before cleaning.

[seagoal]

1 minute ago, Chenner29 said:

You can do that, or you can dip just the hand/palm portion and squeeze out all the bad shit.

If your board is removable, you can take it out before cleaning.

Ah, ok.

I've done that before without soaking by just putting soap in my hand, warm water, hand in blocker, and then just squeezing repeatedly. 

[dreadlocked1]

Completely submerge everything imo.  That's what I do and have had zero issues the past 11 years with only two sets of gear.

[jeff da goalie]

here's a thought:  We have a toploader washing machine without an agitator.  i'm thinking that i can put it in the washer on a delicate/no spin cycle and it does the same thing, but with less effort in filling a tub.  

[seagoal]

Man, I admire you guys for doing this I just don't think I could do it.

I keep thinking of a pair of jeans that are super crisp and stiff off the rack and then after every wash they get softer and softer.  Soaking in water changes things on some level.

I get that some folks say they've done it for years without problems, but in my mind I always fill in the ...I hear with "...that I notice or care about."

Don't get me wrong, I'm not claiming soaking causing problems,  just saying I'm too much of a cynic to do it. 

Cheers

[jeff da goalie]

1 minute ago, seagoal said:

Man, I admire you guys for doing this I just don't think I could do it.

I keep thinking of a pair of jeans that are super crisp and stiff off the rack and then after every wash they get softer and softer.  Soaking in water changes things on some level.

I get that some folks say they've done it for years without problems, but in my mind I always fill in the ...I hear with "...that I notice or care about."

Don't get me wrong, I'm not claiming soaking causing problems,  just saying I'm too much of a cynic to do it. 

Cheers

the alternative for me is getting rid of the gloves.  I can't stand stank.  My gear doesn't smell after years of use because i take care of it.  But when I buy used, you're buying the prior owner's level of hygiene -- or lack thereof.  

[seagoal]

1 minute ago, jeff da goalie said:

the alternative for me is getting rid of the gloves.  I can't stand stank.  My gear doesn't smell after years of use because i take care of it.  But when I buy used, you're buying the prior owner's level of hygiene -- or lack thereof.  

Ha, yes.

I bought used gloves from NCAA Div 1 goalie who didn't tell me they'd been in a closed bag for several months. I opened the box in my work office and it literally gagged me and I had to do some damage control in there for the smell. 

I couldn't use them for too long. One of my relaxed postures while playing is butt of stick on ice, trapper over the toe of the blade,  mask forward into the glove.  Yeah, I couldn't do that with these mitts. No way.

They now live in our garage away from my good gear in our basement. 

This thread has inspired me to soak these used gloves since as they are now they're useless to me.

[dreadlocked1]

If the washer doesn't have an agitator then you should be good to go as well, but then you're not getting in the crevices, finger stalls, the tips of the fingers with a good manual scrub.  I once tore a hole and lost some stiching off my latest blocker due to trying with an agitator because there was room.  Not good enough lol.  That first dip will always generate nasty water.  You need to scrub and then exchange that water to rinse with new water and repeat until the water stops changing at all.  3 to 4 times altogether imo.   Using a washer you wont be able to be sure.  Also I use Borax as well from time to time.  I do this with all my equipment except the skates and leg pads, it's free, just time consuming and you need to get towels under the gear as there is a lot of water in them to drip out. 

[Kirk3190]

 

[seagoal]

19 minutes ago, Kirk3190 said:

 

Ha, nice

Kirk for the win. 

As much as I have joked about Warrior gear being made of 100% velcro, this is probably the best benefit of it, for sure. 

[motowngoalie]

40 minutes ago, Kirk3190 said:

 

This is one of my favorite parts of Warrior gloves. Pull the liners out, spray some oxyclean inside, throw them in the washing machine. Rosy fresh 

[dreadlocked1]

Awesome and look forward to upgrading to someday.  I would still do a thorough washing, just less often like once per year instead of 2-3x.

[jayluv54]

soak in Oxyclean, baking soda, vinegar and lemon juice.  This worked on a lightly used chesty I bought once that smelled like the owner never wore deodorant...ever.  My wife had to do it for me because I would gag anytime I went near it.  BO is one of the hardest smells to eradicate.  

[MangoRhinehart]

Ozone. I had a set of scary used gloves that I was scared to put my hand into them, came out smelling good.

[TDS-MN]

A reply to an old thread, but with a different slant.  I acquired my gear used, and like others, found it to be very smelly.  

I went to a local shop that offers Ozone cleaning, and was able to have everything thrown in the machine.  'Bout an hour later, stuff came out, and the stink was gone.  I would say that my gloves smelled like leather again, definitely nothing awful anymore.

I've played net probably a couple times a month for a bit over a year, and they still smell decent.  I do spray them with a odor reduction product I got at Pure Hockey, and have been putting them on the Peet air dryer after use.  They will feel a little 'crunchy' after drying, but they soften up nice after a couple minutes back on my hand.  

I would say that I was very satisfied with the ozone cleaning method, and have never felt the need to soak them.

They charged me $25 to put helmet, chest, breezers, gloves, pads, skates and bag in the machine.  Super easy.

[Puckstopper]

I second the idea of a shock ozone treatment.  I've seen it work wonders on some pretty rank gear.

I use a product called Scenturion every 5-10 skates and 9 months in to ownership neither of my sets of gear has any funk to speak of.

[jeff da goalie]

On 2/16/2020 at 9:22 AM, Puckstopper said:

I second the idea of a shock ozone treatment.  I've seen it work wonders on some pretty rank gear.

I use a product called Scenturion every 5-10 skates and 9 months in to ownership neither of my sets of gear has any funk to speak of.

thanks for the recommendation, I bought some Scenturion to try out.

I've given gear the full on ozone treatment (even hit it twice) and it helps but doesn't totally eliminate the funk in my experience.