You try and do a good thing.
We make sure to wash our gym gear straight away after a sweaty workout, but apparently we've been doing more harm than good by throwing them in with the next load.
As it turns out, we REALLY need to be washing them separately, for one very good reason.
If you love fabric softener or are a fan of 2-in-1 detergents, you may have noticed your gear isn't managing your sweat as effectively as it used to.
In fact, fabric softener is a complete no-go when it comes to washing your sports gear because of the technical fabric in them.
Sally Dixon from
Every Second Counts told
Cosmopolitan:
"This is like kryptonite for sports kit!"Fabric softener can damage the technical properties of a sports fabric and remove it's abilities to be sweat-wicking, anti-bacterial, etc."
Whoops.
