Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Stinky pads


Very, very stinky pads. Like, hobo piss bad.
I'm lazy. I'm not going to deny it! So for the first couple of months, I just threw my bag in my trunk and forgot about it. And then it got to the point that even when I did use soap (dirty hippy, remember?) it was impossible to get the stench off my elbows. So I started dragging everything inside and laying it out in the basement in front of the dehumidifier. I even sprinkled it with my trusty baking soda, to no avail :(

So after some more handy dandy googling, I found many solutions:
Spraying them with 50/50 vodka and water
Aerating system I plan on eventually making
Sweat soaking satchels I also plan on making if I find out what they are filled with (baking soda and kitty litter or some other desiccant)
Get The Funk Out enzyme spray
Febreeze or perfume sprays. For the love of god, don't do this!!!

Laundry is bad. The heat and agitation will decompose the foam in your pads and mess up the elastic in the straps. Yes, it is a quick fix and sanitizing and crap, but you will just end up getting hurt and having to buy new pads very, very soon.

I know many people that claim to use vodka, but I haven't checked how effective it is. The reason it works is that when the vodka evaporates, it boils and kills the bacteria, after already having broken down its cellular wall. No bacteria, no stench. This is also a big part of what happens with the enzyme spray (it has a lot of isopropyl alcohol). I looked into getting the stuff that is specific for sports pads, but I already had a gallon of Nature's Miracle at home, due to the wonderful Herb, so why not? This stuff is wonderful! It really did make a huge difference in my elbows ^_^

Some day, I plan on buying some PVC and making the aerator system so I can just clamp everything on when I take it off, and pull it out of my bag and hang it as soon as I get home. But in the mean time, cat piss spray is awesome!

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