I’m in a bunch of hockey mom groups on Facebook and one of the posts that comes up almost weekly is a complaint about kids’ stinky hockey gear followed by a question on how to keep hockey gear from smelling. I’m here to tell you there ARE ways to help prevent stinky hockey gear.
Both of my boys play hockey and my husband plays in two different adult leagues, so we are well-versed in how to prevent hockey gear from smelling. The key to non-smelly hockey gear is PREVENTION. There are products you can buy to wash gear to get rid of that awful smell, but honestly, with our hockey schedule, it is better to prevent the smell than to have to keep up with washing.
Here are Five Ways to Keep Hockey Gear From Smelling
This post includes affiliate links to products. I may receive a commission if products are purchased through the provided links. My full disclosure statement can be found here.
1- Air Out Hockey Gear After Every Use
I know this seems like a hassle if you are used to just keeping gear in a bag all the time, but pulling gear out and letting it air dry is the BEST way to prevent hockey gear from stinking. This is an easy fix, and once you get into the habit of emptying your bag after every game or practice, it will become easier.
Now I’m sure you are probably thinking- where would I put all that gear to air dry? The great news is, there are a bunch of tools to help you with space-saving solutions for airing out your gear.
Rail System in the Garage
This is our garage. We installed a Rail System (like this one) along the wall of our garage. This is a great use of space as the gear is up off the ground and we are utilizing the vertical space on the wall. The hooks come in various shapes and sizes and can be bought separately to accommodate your gear needs. One of my friends came over the other day and was blown away by how we hang our sticks. She mentioned they have a similar system for hanging gear, but never thought to hang the sticks on the double pronged hooks.
By hanging these on the garage wall, they dry quickly and get enough airflow to prevent bacteria from growing and causing a nasty smell.
Door Hanger
This door hanger gear holder is also a GREAT space-saving option. All you need is a door. There are hooks to hang all your hockey gear to allow the gear to dry out. These are also great for travel! We have two of these and use them in hotel rooms when we are traveling for tournaments.
DIY PVC Tree
I’ve seen these for years all over the internet and I think they are brilliant. There’s a place for all the gear to dry out, and this is also a low-cost option. With a PVC tree, you need floor space to set this up. If you have a corner in your basement or garage, this might be a good option for you. Here’s a great post showing how to make one. If you are not into the DIY aspect, you can buy something similar here.
I also really like the idea of this one that is on wheels to easily move it from one place to another.
2- Wash Your Clothes
This one might sound obvious, but I see so many kids throw their used jerseys and socks into their bag and pull them out at the next practice. To prevent gear stench, wash those jerseys, socks and base layers after EVERY use. This is also all about getting into that habit. By washing all the clothing items after every use, you are preventing smell from setting into the clothing fibers. We wash all of our kids’ base layers on a quick wash setting which only takes 15 minutes. I throw them in the washer with a few Downy Unstopables (which is on our Amazon Subscribe and Save List) and detergent. By the time the boys are out of the shower, the wash is done. I line dry all of their base layers by using this clothes drying rack in my laundry room. This will help increase the life of the base layer and prevent the velcro from warring down.
I’d also recommend a good moisture-wicking base layer to help prevent sweat from soaking into the gear in the first place. Click HERE for a list of our favorite base layers.
3- Get Some UV Rays
The Empire harnessed the power of the sun to eliminate the Republic (sorry not sorry for the Star Wars reference). You should use the sun to destroy bacteria. By laying your gear out in the sun, UV rays kill odor-producing bacteria. This costs nothing and is very beneficial to eliminating (or preventing) hockey gear stink. Simply lay your gear outside in sunlight for a couple of hours. We do this about four or five times a year, but we have friends who sun their gear more often. This is also a great way to dry your gear in between games at tournaments if you are tailgating. Lay the gear on a blanket, on the bed of a truck or even on top of your hockey bag and let it dry out and get some sun.
4-Get a Deodorizer
There are lots of cool sprays, pods or sticks that help fight odor. Here’s a list of some of the best. One of my son’s teammates has this Glovestix deodorizer and swears by it for preventing stinky gloves!
5- Wash Your Gear
There are ways to wash your gear which we do about once a year. The bathtub soak method is great. Fill your bathtub with hot water and add a mild detergent or Oxiclean. Let the gear soak for about 45 minutes, rinse and repeat if needed. Once the gear is clean, lay it out in the sun to dry. Like I mentioned, we do this about once a year (usually over the summer). Once the season starts, this method doesn’t work for us because it is time-consuming and you have to allow time for the gear to completely dry. If your kids are playing travel hockey, you probably don’t have many free weekends that you can dedicate to washing/drying gear.
That being said, we do wash our kids’ helmets a few times a year with baby shampoo. I’ve read other ways to clean helmets that use peroxide or alcohol. My concern with those is two-fold. First- I’m worried those might breakdown the padding inside the helmet and two, I have a fear of those leaking into my kids eyes when they sweat. Baby shampoo seems to be the best option since it smells lovely and is gentle on skin/eyes and the padding inside the helmet.
I hope this helps you to keep hockey gear from smelling! Whether you use one or a combination of all the above methods, I hope your gear is smelling fresh and clean in the future!
PIN IT
