Are you washing your sportswear wrong? An expert guide to making it last longer

From sweaty kit to grubby trainers, here’s how to wash, repair and care for activewear more sustainably • The best moisture-wicking underwear, socks and base layers As a running and cycling journalist, I spend a lot of time in sportswear.

Lycra is my leg coverage of choice, polyester or merino wool my base layer, and I reach for technical materials like Gore-Tex if the weather isn’t playing ball.

A near-daily workout schedule means my washing machine’s sportswear setting takes a hammering to avoid having a laundry basket overflowing with sweaty, salty, sour-scented clothes.

But even then, tops can develop hard-to-shift smells in sweat-prone areas, synthetic materials can start to bobble and lose shape, and my sportswear occasionally gets a foamy detergent residue that hasn’t been properly rinsed out, particularly during wet or intensive training sessions.

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