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Comment by ahjushi | Hacker News Reader

Some readers are asking what's the point since germs are everywhere? I was actually quite interested in this. As a practitioner of BJJ, a common rule among schools/dojos is to not allow you to train with dirty gis, and a lot recommend washing it as soon as possible after sessions. Staph is an ever-present (though not incredibly common) concern with all the sweat, rolling around, and close contact. A bit grossed out to read that washing doesn't do all too much to reduce germs and therefore chances of staph.

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> sweat, rolling around, and close contact

Though germs are a concern, body odor is a very practical reason to always train with clean clothes, and for some people it requires enforcement through peer pressure.

washing it as soon as possible after sessions

That's just good practice in general, the salt & sweat come out easier when they haven't fully dried yet, and the bacteria won't have as much time to grow their numbers and make the garment permanently smelly.

I am anosmic who does laundry every 3 weeks. How much time does it normally take to become permanently smelly? Do you have to be drenched in sweat? Will the smell transfer to other clothes in the basket?

Nobody knows the answer to these questions, and I'd question anyone who represents that they do. "Some time." "Maybe." "Somewhat, perhaps."

It would probably be wise for you to increase your washing frequency, nevertheless.

1) depends massively on the fabric

2) also depends on the fabric, but usually you have to be pretty sweaty, at least to the wet-armpits level. Just think of the level where you will be depositing salt on the clothes.

3) Not often.

If you don't want to do laundry right away, you can soak the salty clothes, squeeze them dry, and hang them.

Staph isn't fun, but you should also be worried about HIV, hepatitis B, and other bloodborne pathogens.

Not all blood pathogens can be killed by traditional disinfectants, even bleach. You need to soak the affected article for 10 minutes with a caustic sterilizer such as Sporicidin or CaviCide (which unlike disinfectants will kill bacterial spores)

No training center I have ever seen cleans their mats this way. Roll at your own risk...

I'd be surprised if there are any documented transmissions of those pathogens, especially given they need more complicated uptake.

The issue with Staph is that skin-to-skin contact, or the indirect version mediated by a mat, is more than enough for it go to "Yeah, I live here now..."

According to doctors/nurses I've talked to, smooshing a mucous membrane or open sore onto material which came into contact with infected blood can be enough for transmission. Which is why competent BDSM dungeons clean their apparatus with cavicide before/after use, and why they recommend a barrier between a person and the apparatus.

I'd absolutely suggest it for those environments, but that's because, to be blunt, there's a lot more exposure of mucous membranes in those environments than your average dojo.

The open sore is honestly a risk for both - S. aureus loves it some open wounds.

There is absolutely 0% chance of contracting HIV through a mat at a martial arts studio, unless you eviscerate someone with a knife, stab yourself, and roll around in their blood thirty seconds after the evisceration.

Alright, so HIV is a minor risk, but other blood pathogens are easier to transmit.

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