Boxing gloves can hold foul odours that are become very unpleasant for all. A dirty glove can quickly spread bacteria and it is very harmful to health. Besides, it reduces the durability of the gloves. So we recommend cleaning the gloves properly after every use to keep them odour-free.
Clean the boxing gloves is one of the significant points of all parts of boxing. Because it helps to reduce the risk of skin infection and end up the worse smelling. Besides, a fresh glove can help to get confident for training. The cleaning process is really simple, shortly-
- Wipe them down
- Use water-vinegar solution
- Polish them up
- Air-dry the gloves
how to clean boxing gloves Properly
There are a lot of methods to clean boxing gloves. Google suggests 20 million results for clean boxing gloves, making it quite tricky to clean them properly. Therefore, our experts are studied enough to understand the best cleaning process.
Wipe them out
Firstly, as soon as possible, get the gloves out of the gym bags. Otherwise, there is possible the bacteria create the foul odours associated with unclean gym equipment. Then, to absorb the access moisture, with a clean towel or cloth, wipe them out.
Clean inside the gloves with water vinegar
After the end of the wipeout, clean inside the gloves with water vinegar. In this case, you can use white vinegar or apple cider vinegar and add 5 to 10 drops of tree oil with vinegar and water solution. However, it’s essential to have a product that isn’t filled with harmful chemicals that can harm your skin.
Always avoid harsh cleaning sprays and similar products like Febreze. They can damage your gloves and might be worse for your skin. They don’t help to kill bacteria and make your gloves uncomfortable.
Clean outside of the boxing gloves
To remove outside dirt and sweat, wipe them out with clean paper towels. And remove the bad smell of the glove and spray your vinegar and water solution outside the gloves. However, when cleaning the outside, always make that it is out of the sun. Therefore, always avoid direct sunlight.
Let's dry the gloves.
After sanitizing your boxing gloves inside with vinegar and cleaning the outside, it is time to dry out completely. Drying is the most critical part of the cleaning process. Even if you don’t clean inside and outside of boxing gloves, you should always let them dry after each uses.
For gloves air dry, open the gloves wide as possible so that properly the wind blows. And let them dry outside, near the window, or in front of a fan.
If you find a simple way to dry the gloves, stuff the gloves with newspaper. It’s an effortless and faster way to dry them. The newspaper will help to inside absorb the excess moisture and also help proper open the gloves to allow air in.
Another faster way to dry the gloves is using a blow dryer. A lot of people use a blow dryer while they have multiple fights or practices scheduled. Because it is one of the faster ways to gloves dry completely, however, make sure you use the blow dryer with a cool setting, otherwise, heat can damage your gloves and harden the leather.
How to remove the bad smell of boxing gloves
To remove the bad smell of gloves, you can use baking soda that also known as sodium bicarbonate. In the united states baking soda is commonly used. This one can help your boxing gloves be odour-free. Baking soda is also used in many making of foods After your boxing gloves are clean and dry, you can put a little bit of baking soda inside the gloves. This may take a while to set up. The baking soda is also provided with a nice smell.
Another great way to make boxing gloves nice smell is using essential oil. They can help to make boxing gloves a nice smell because these essential oils have antibacterial and anti-fungal.
How to use essential oils on boxing gloves
Add 8-10 drops of essential oil to the spray bottle with one cup of water. And spray this anti-bacterial spray once or twice on each glove. The best essential oils are:
- Peppermint
- Orange
- Lemongrass
- Eucalyptus
Things not to do when clean the boxing gloves
When cleaning the boxing gloves, some things to keep in mind. Otherwise, some mistakes can fully damage your gloves. The things are given below:
- Do not use the washing machines. Although, washing machines save your time and completely clean your gloves. But, believe me! the washing machine can destroy your gloves.
- Don't put your gloves in the dryer, like a washing machine. Because your gloves will be ripped by a tumble dryer.
- Don't allow your gloves in the sun. If you let your gloves dry in the sun for a long time that can ruin the materials of the gloves and also fade the colour.
- Don't freezer overnight your gloves. It might help to get rid of bad smells from inside the gloves, however, it will cause an increase in bacteria. This is a full waste of time. However, some boxers think that this stuffing method is really helpful to prevent bacterial growth.
- Avoid strong chemicals. To clean your gloves, always stay away from strong chemicals. A lot of people think that strong chemicals can deeply clean boxing gloves. But the true fact is they will reduce the gloves health for the long run.
Important care tips when boxing gloves clean
- Using hand wraps. It will help to absorb moisture and sweat. After using hand wraps, you should wash them. Without washing you cant use them next time, they will start to stink.
- Use hand sanitizer before putting your hand on the gloves. Before putting your hand on the gloves, you can use a sensitizer to kill bacteria. It is really important to preventive measures. Otherwise, potential bacteria could be transferred from your hands to your gloves. So always wash your hand completely before putting a hand on the boxing gloves.
- Don't put your gloves in your bag. Do not put the boxing gloves in your bag immediately after the end of training. The dark and cramped space help to grow bad smells and these bad smells increase the bacteria. So after ending the training session put the gloves into the plastic bag.
- Don't leave the boxing gloves in the sun. After cleaning boxing gloves, don't air gloves out of the sun for longer than 30 minutes. If the gloves are made from leather material, the sun can ruin the material. So we recommend drying them near the window or in front of the fan.
- Always be careful about boxing gloves material. when cleaning the gloves, we recommend following the product manufacturer’s cleaning instructions. It will help to properly clean them. It will be easy to clean for you. Besides, it will help the gloves last longer.
- Always have an alternate glove. An aware boxer has always an alternate glove so that if one is torn or not dry the other can be used. You should also need an alternate glove. An extra option always gives courage.
Why do your boxing gloves smell
After the end of the training session, you will be sweating a lot. And the sweat makes bacteria. The smelly boxing gloves come from bacteria breeding. Even if you don’t wash your boxing gloves after the end of the practice, the moisture promotes bacterial growth.
Therefore, always you can use hand wraps. It will help to get rid of the gloves smell. And keep with gym bag an anti-bacterial spray. It will also help kill germs and be odour-free. In this case, saline solution is also helpful. Otherwise you cant get rid of the gloves smell. Also, there is the possibility of a skin infection.
Should you wash boxing gloves in the washing machine
You shouldn’t wash your gloves in the washing machine. Though machine wash helps you to gloves clean quickly. However, there is a possibility of tearing the gloves material, even machine wash gloves will not ensure longevity.
Usually, there is a lot of people, they don’t know how to boxing glove clean. So they clean gloves in the machine. As a result, with a few days, it began in deteriorated. So in the cleaning process, always keep away from the machine. Clean the gloves manually, it will help to ensure gloves durability.
How to check your boxing gloves health
Experts recommend checking the gloves health every few months that will help to keep you proactive with taking care of boxing gloves and minimise the risk of injury.
Firstly, you have to look How are your gloves/gear holding up, if the padding ok or not, the casing is broken or torn in any area. When training, they are deteriorating in any particular area. If any particular area deteriorating, take the next step to solve them. Otherwise, there has a risk of injury.
Injury can be unavailable for humans to join in any sport. However, there has a lot of equipment to reduce the risk of injury. So you should feel comfortable wearing the equipment. Your hands contain small bones, tendons, ligaments and muscles which aren’t made for continued boxing.
So you should wear gloves and check their health every few months to continue boxing. In this case, while training boxing gloves/gear cause discomfort or pain. If not, you can continue your training.
Or if you feel discomfort to wear gloves and feel pain on your hand, knuckles, wrists, forearms, etc. Then it is better to speak to your coach or team members, they can assist you to find which gloves you suit next time.
condition of leather gloves
Usually, leather is the skin of animals, like human skin. However, organic leather gloves have some conditions. When it gets too dry, it cracks. If cracks started from any section of leather, the bacteria can easily enter the crack. And once it happens, it is difficult for you to odor free the gloves.
Although leather gloves are cracking, however monthly or bi-monthly conditioning will help to prevent creaking. Besides, natural oil like coconut oil will help to return the gloves softness and durability.
Why should you clean your boxing gloves
Obviously, the durability.
Boxing gloves should be treated as your investment, like a new phone. If you carefully treat them, they will ensure longevity. Also, there are a couple of reasons to clean the gloves, like-
- to prevent infection
- prevent gloves stink
- reduce the risk of injury
Besides, fresh-smelling gloves make the boxer feel confident. On the other hand, glove odour discourages a boxer, he can’t keep their training session continuously. So experts recommend cleaning the gloves after every training session.
How do you keep your boxing gloves from smelling?
Keep the gloves from smelling is not tough. Just you need some extra care, like-
After the end of every training session, it should be kept in a place where air can circulate. Otherwise, if you kept them in the gym bag. This disrupts air flow grow bacteria. Eventually, the smell spread all around and also reduce the durability of the glove.
Keep gloves on hand when you go home. Believe me! This method is very effective. This method will help you keeps the gloves outside the training bag and start the drying out process. Overall, Gloves should never be kept wet, they should be dried anyway to keeping their material long-lasting. Then your boxing gloves have laces or velcro straps or don’t have to make sure that.
Using a plastic bag or mesh bag. Alternatively, you can use a mesh bag. Because the mesh bag is great to bring all the gym equipment to the air. Also, you can carry them in all the environments.
Always use hand wraps:
There is a lot of positive sides to using them. The hand wraps help to save your hand from infection. Also, it helps to keep your boxing gloves smelling fresh.
Clean your hand wraps:
Clean hand wraps is a good habit. The bacteria and odour can be transferred to the interior of the glove if you don’t clean them properly.
Frequently Asked And Question(FAQ)
It totally depends on how bad the smell is! Though, the experts recommend that once a week or once every two weeks. However, it is good to clean them once a week. Always you should try not to smell bad from the gloves. This works will help you to protects your investment.
Yes, it works. But not too much. Because Silica gel can absorb about 40% out of 100%. The remaining 60% cannot be absorbed. Silica gel cannot be relied upon to get rid of moisture inside the gloves.
Soak the gloves in the water or salt is not good for gloves material. If gloves are made with leather then the water or salt makes them brittle. Also, the foam of the gloves get swell and become misshapen. Overall, soaking can reduce the durability of the gloves.
The fresh boxing equipment makes your boxing training awesome. On the other hand, a dirty or smelly glove may cause your distraction from training. Deodorize gloves are very difficult when you have no knowledge of them. But the true fact is, deodorize glove is really easy to work.
After the end of the training session use some dryer sheets or put some essential spray or oils. Vapour Fresh® Natural Cleaning and Deodorizing Spray will help all types of equipment, like boxing gloves, shin guards and even gym bags. And always try to keep dry completely the gloves. It is really helped to deodorize gloves. The helpful things are-
- Baking soda
- Vapour Fresh® Natural spray
- Tea pack
- Orange oil
- Peppermint oil
These things are used not only to remove the funky smells from the gloves but also to make them fresh with a good smell.
The final words
I hope you have read the entire post. Now clean boxing gloves never be an issue for you, even though we have provided some helpful guides for the cleaning process. It might be helpful for you. Clean the boxing gloves is not scientific work. Easily, you can clean them. Though the clean boxing gloves challenges for a newbie. However, if you properly read our guide then we believe that the cleaning method will be easy for you. If you take care of them then they will take care of you.
while starting cleanout can seem overwhelming. Once you start the cleaning process, the process will seem much simpler. You can now feel more positive ‘how to clean boxing gloves’ in this sentence.
Enjoy the boxing! With fresh gloves.
