How to Clean Boxing Gloves

While training or even during a boxing game have you ever had an experience of catching a smell that just got you mad? Or have clumped around the room to find out who the culprit is.

However, things go adverse when you accuse someone of this wrongdoing, you eventually realize the culprit happens to be covering your forearms only! Let's make an effort to find out how to clean boxing gloves!

Why Gloves Worsen in Smell

A filthy boxing hand glove is even worse than handling the smell of any other filthy article. The reason behind this notorious smell is using the gloves and instantly using them with force at a place where the rising smell doesn’t annoy anyone.

No matter how much a boxing hand glove will protect you in the ring, if it is dirty you wouldn’t want them near you even if you have to compete with a famous wrestler. We are sure you will be the next person standing in the line to complain about asthma problems if you continue to deal with such smelly boxing gloves.

Why to Clean Boxing Gloves

Boxers tend to wear boxing gloves for hours. And no matter how cool the temperature of the room in which you’re practicing, during training, your body and fists will gain sweat. As a result of the sweat, bacteria will find favorable conditions and will continue to breed, until your hand gloves start to stench.

In order to avoid nasty smells; many boxers do, they throw the used boxers immediately in their bags, where these germs will thrive even more leaving the smell penetrating into the gloves. This is because bacteria and germs breed rapidly in dark warm environments.

Machine wash is Okay?

Boxing gloves are not like any other piece of cloth that can be dumped in the machine, turn on its spinning and tub dry option and you’re done. Cleaning a dirty hand glove is an entirely different act to do.

Cleaning other articles in a washing machine, most of the time is beneficial, which has been explained in our another article How Long Does Dry Cleaning Take

In fact, regular washing won’t properly remove the grit from your hand gloves. You will have to pay attention to the core to get rid of the nasty smell of your boxing gloves and for that, you will have to proceed for new.

Though washing gloves in a machine may help a bit in the whole washing effort at the end of the day you will get them damaged and will hurry to grab a new pair, which must not be the first option in your mind.

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Methods to clean boxing gloves

We are humans and tend to make mistakes, so there is no shame in accepting mistakes. If you have forgotten to follow the given precautionary measures, to dry your boxing gloves and they have started stinking with the worst smell, then try to apply the tips and techniques given below:

Do Anti-bacterial spray

It is one of the effective means to quickly get rid of the notorious smell arising out of your stinky gloves. Spray on your stinky boxing gloves and the bacteria in them will start to vanish. Once the bacteria is eliminated, the stink will go away too. To spray the boxing gloves you can follow the given brief sequence of acts: -

• Unlace your boxing gloves.
• Spray carefully on the outside, also inside of your boxing gloves.
• Once sprayed, let them dry in an open area.

Tea bags dry the moisture

The leading cause of bacterial growth in stinky boxing gloves is moisture and stale sweat. Tea bags happen to be excellent dryers when it comes to drying sweat. You can always place a tea bag or two inside our boxing gloves to unsent gloves.

Uses of Lemon peels

In order to fight the gruesome smell, it is practically best to peel lemons carefully and place the lemon peels inside the boxing gloves for some considerable time. The fragrance of the lemon peel along with the oils produced during an overnight stay, will dry up the log prevailing moisture and ultimately wipe up the bacterial generations.

Saline solution usage

In order to ensure that your boxing gloves are free of any unwanted odor, it’s time to start the process of cleaning them. For cleaning your boxing gloves at home, we’re sure you must find plenty of salt at home. By using the salt make a concentrated saline solution and soak your boxing gloves there for the entire night.

Use of Apple cider

If you are interested in cleaning your boxing gloves at home, try applying apple cider vinegar on the inside part of the gloves. You must have come across several YouTube videos illustrating cleaning done right via apple cider vinegar.

Not only does this effectively remove odorous smell but is easily available at homes and grocery stores and is affordable to frequently make use of it without causing any damage to the articles. However, the following is the step-wise process to clean boxing gloves with the use of apple cider vinegar: -

• Apply a small amount of apple cider vinegar on a dry towel or squeeze some of it on your hands.
• Apply the solution on the inside with your hands or through the towel.
• Let the articles i.e. boxing gloves dry overnight in a much ventilated space.
• The next morning, you will be find your boxing gloves no longer stinky.

Remove dirt with baking soda

You must have heard about the effective part of baking soda when it comes to tough and resistant stains. Of course, baking soda has a long history of wiping out resistant stains.

Likewise, baking soda is considered a powerful tool to use for cleaning boxing gloves. In order to remove the stinky smell from your boxing gloves, follow the process: -

• Shake a small amount of baking soda in the hub of bacteria i.e. inside part of your boxing gloves.
• Let it sit for some time, maybe a couple of hours to leave effects.
• After considerable time, shake off the soda from the boxing gloves.
• Leave the gloves for a while, and then you will find them out of smell.

Freez the gloves

Freezing is one of the best choices to kill germs leaving behind smelling boxing gloves. For freezing your boxing gloves, do the gloves zip-locked in a plastic storage bag. Drop them in the freezer and let them freeze for an entire night.

If the gloves are stinky, you can keep them freezing for two consecutive nights. Then, take them out from the freezer, unzip them from the plastic bag and place them in a dry open area and you will find them like a new pair of gloves.

Stuffing, a quality tip

It is another method to keep stink and bacteria at a distance. It is practiced by many boxers who make use of newspapers, soaps, or towel papers to carry out this process of keeping the boxing gloves stink and bacteria-free for future uses.

Besides, the use of dog gloves and dryer sheets is also in trend to stuff the stinky boxing gloves. At the same time, it is important to mention that these do not play a vital role in keeping bacteria away however they mitigate filthy odor away.

Preventive measures

As a matter of fact, after every use, you cannot manage to wash your gloves instead you can follow a routine to not let filth and dirt stink your gloves and you can continue using them for a while. The habit of keeping them in closed bags where the air cannot pass is not the right way to go.

Air dry to boxing gloves

To keep the bacteria and germs at arm’s length, you must let your boxing gloves dry out completely before throwing them away in your backpack. Since moisture is a vital element in the growth of bacteria, a lack of moisture will keep bacteria out of the room.

You can either opt to hang them in a well-ventilated area or you can let them air dry under the sun, but make sure the weather is not too rainy to disturb your air-drying plans and the next coming wrestling.

Wipe the gloves

Wiping your boxing gloves after every use is another reliable practice to keep the gloves away from smelling like rotten eggs. Always keep a clean dry towel in your backpack. Ensure to wipe your gloves every time you use them with this dry towel: both from inside and outside to clean boxing gloves temporarily.

Keep boxing gloves in a plastic bag

You don’t necessarily have to enclose your gloves in a tight pack, rather you can store them in a plastic bag (where air is not blocked), take them home, and let them dry in the open air. Once you feel they are completely dried from all the sweat, you can then place them inside a backpack.

Use of hand wraps to avoid dirt

Hand wraps are also effective when it comes to keeping your hand gloves dry from the inside. Once they’re dried from the inside the chances of getting affected by the swarm of bacteria are barely declined.

Hand wraps are meant to absorb moisture or sweat from the inside of the boxing gloves by working and behaving like a sponge. But one thing you will definitely take care of when handling hand wraps, cleaning them often will prevent them from stinking.

Wash your gloves frequently

When you wash your hands and dry them completely before slipping into your boxing gloves, you’re reducing the likelihood of stinking your boxing gloves like the vomiting-invoking garbage of yesterday.

The best tip to maintain the cleanliness of your boxing gloves is to carry a hand sanitizer with you every time wherever you go, since most of the time you won’t do the pain of going and washing your hands. Remember, prevention is better than cure and cleanliness is next to godliness.

Conclusion

Don’t over think when it comes to how to clean your boxing gloves. Even if you are short on time and don’t have ample of time to try any of the cleaning hacks above, just remember to let them sit in open air for some time after every time you use them.

This will reduce the need of washing since they will be dried completely and lack of moisture will subsequently not provide favorable conditions for their growth. Remember! gym bag or bag gloves in use must be kept clean, no matter how excess moisture gets attached to that.

To dry completely after spray bottle or application of cedar chips or baking soda inside care must be taken to merely give blow dryer or easy process to keep the changes strengthened. 

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the best way to clean boxing gloves?

The best way to clean boxing gloves is either placing inside them backing soda or apple cider vinegar. These cleaning agents will not only prevent your boxing from stinking like rotten eggs but will prevent the bacteria attack. Thereafter help preventing the urgent need of washing and enabling you to use them for a greater period of time.

How do you clean boxing gloves naturally?

When running grocery errands, many of us buy apple cider vinegar as a general cooking ingredient. But this vinegar can do wonders if you’re looking to get answers to how to clean boxing gloves at home.

Can you put boxing gloves in the wash?

Make use of as little as one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, either put this on a clean towel or on your hand. Thoroughly rub this pea-sized amount of vinegar on the inside of your gloves. Lastly, place your boxing gloves in a well-ventilated area to let them dry overnight.

How to wash leather boxing gloves?

Leather boxing gloves can never be cleaned via simply putting them in the washing machine. Don’t try this stupidity. To remove stains and gross smell from them, dampen a piece of cloth with pea sized amount of mild detergent.

Gently scrub the areas where you find the stains and primarily on the inside of the gloves, where most bacteria grow. Rinse thoroughly ensuring the traces have been completely washed off. Never use fabric cleaner of bleach when you’re cleaning LEATHER boxing gloves.

How do you clean boxing gloves so they don't smell?

For the purpose of eradicating smell, you can always make use of a universal deodorizer. These are capable of eradicating smell by neutralizing the bacterial-generated smell. Sprinkle a small amount of baking soda inside each of the gloves, and let the soda sit for a couple of hours. You will see the smell going away in a matter of no time.

What is the simplest trick to clean leather boxing gloves?

Leather boxing gloves cannot be washed normally like any other pair of gloves. To clean them, you will be needing a mixture of white vinegar and water. You can also try using rubbing alcohol if the stains are too hard.

What you shouldn’t do with leather gloves?

Never deal with hand sanitizers even when your boxing gloves are lying around. The increasing concentration of alcohol will damage the smooth leather finish and even the grain of leather.