Keeping gear fresh

[Zip]

Hi all,

I just got my new set in and its likely going to be the last set I get for a long time so I am very invested in making this last and keeping it in great condition.

My plan of course is to get the gear out, wipe it down and air it after every use, but wanting to go a step further I wondered what sprays/cleaning tools you use to keep your gear fresh as possible, specifically thinking along the lines of the inside of your gloves and what can be used on helmet foams.

Cheers!

[MTH]

Airing it out will be the best thing for it. I don't really use anything extra - others do and will chip in.

Helmet foam is tough. I try to wash my helmet semi regularly and use dish soap and warm water. Foam hardens anyway, so when it's time to replace it, there are tons of options available.

Gloves I have mostly just used hot water and run it through them to remove some of the grime. I replace blocker palms too to keep my old blockers like new.

Be cautious of sunlight on your gear. Tempting to throw it in the sun and bake it dry fast. Sunlight can damage the jenpro materials.

[Puckstopper]

My drying/sanitization routine is a little over the top, but my choices were make sure my wife couldn't smell the gear if I wanted to keep it in the basement, or buy a shed and keep it outside (our bedroom was over the garage in the old house, so that wasn't happening).   My routine is:

• Dry everything on a wire rack, with fans blowing from one side and down from above. 
• The gloves go on a Peet boot dryer.  Be careful with this, I damaged a blocker palm by leaving all the weight of the glove pulling against the attachement, but have had no other problems in over a decade. 
• I use a fresh sweatband in my helmet every game and just rinse the inside of it out with water postgame
• Everything (including the inside of my bag) gets hit with Scenturion spray every 2-4 skates. 
• All clothing is brought in and washed same/next day.   

I have a tiny amount of funk in my oldest catch glove, but everything else is remarkably stink free.  The one thing I noticed was that funk seems to migrate from old gear to new.    Makes sense right?  Bacteria or fungus transfers and takes hold on the new stuff due to proximity.   So the biggest thing to do would be to get any older gear you're keeping as clean as you can, and then keep up on maintenance from there.  

[coopaloop1234]

Not as involved as @Puckstopper, but gear is dried out on wire shelving, sprayed down with deodorizer, and I point a fan at my gear over night. All done in my garage. 

Gear is generally dry and odor free in 24h. 

Deodorizer: https://pow-air.com/#/products/sport-spray

Storage Set Up: 

[seagoal]

One simple thing @Zip is just keep a designated gear towel in your bag and wipe down all your gear after you play and try to really dry each piece, soaking up as much water/sweat as you can.  This is a constant challenge for me (and @coopaloop1234) living in the Pacific Northwest.  Keeping gear dry is challenging in the winter when it's cold and wet and I play a lot. 

But yeah, good open shelving in your storage at home with a fan is key, but if you can get a lot of the moisture off your gear at the rink before you get home then you are just that much closer to success.  My gear spends zero time in my bag other than in my car (or drinking beer in the locker room) and that goes a long way, too.

[coopaloop1234]

6 minutes ago, seagoal said:

One simple thing @Zip is just keep a designated gear towel in your bag and wipe down all your gear after you play and try to really dry each piece, soaking up as much water/sweat as you can.  This is a constant challenge for me (and @coopaloop1234) living in the Pacific Northwest.  Keeping gear dry is challenging in the winter when it's cold and wet and I play a lot. 

But yeah, good open shelving in your storage at home with a fan is key, but if you can get a lot of the moisture off your gear at the rink before you get home then you are just that much closer to success.  My gear spends zero time in my bag other than in my car (or drinking beer in the locker room) and that goes a long way, too.

I was watching a Dembones video and dude stores his gear in a shed outside. 

There's not a chance in hell we'd ever get away with that here lol. 

[seagoal]

26 minutes ago, coopaloop1234 said:

I was watching a Dembones video and dude stores his gear in a shed outside. 

There's not a chance in hell we'd ever get away with that here lol. 

I saw that too, and nope......our gear would be covered in green moss and black mold in about a month.

[keeperton]

4 hours ago, seagoal said:

One simple thing @Zip is just keep a designated gear towel in your bag and wipe down all your gear after you play and try to really dry each piece, soaking up as much water/sweat as you can.  This is a constant challenge for me (and @coopaloop1234) living in the Pacific Northwest.  Keeping gear dry is challenging in the winter when it's cold and wet and I play a lot. 

But yeah, good open shelving in your storage at home with a fan is key, but if you can get a lot of the moisture off your gear at the rink before you get home then you are just that much closer to success.  My gear spends zero time in my bag other than in my car (or drinking beer in the locker room) and that goes a long way, too.

Likewise. I have a dehumidifier in the space where I dry my gear out too (sealed off coat closet).

[TDS-MN]

I spray stuff down with Sweat-X odor remover, and set gear on floor in front of a fan on low.  Let it sit overnight, or for a couple hours if I don't happen to unpack my bag later on game night.  Glove and blocker get a few shots of the spray and onto the Peet boot dryer.  Sweat band from helmet goes in laundry with my base layer.

I have tried other brand of so-called odor eliminator that was available at Pure Hockey locally, but found that was notably less effective, to the point I could tell my chest protector was smelling pretty funky.  Once I switched back to Sweat-X I noticed a huge improvement.

But really, if you can get gear dry after use, it helps a ton to keep things smelling decent.

[creasecollector]

I air out my gear after every skate and spray it down with Captodor. It's been years and the gear still smells great!

 

[TDS-MN]

22 hours ago, creasecollector said:

I air out my gear after every skate and spray it down with Captodor. It's been years and the gear still smells great!

 

I have heard good things about that product also.