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Comment by version_five | Hacker News Reader

Sounds like a moot point because cotton chafes and synthetic doesnt. I hang up my clothes outside after I exercise (and before I have a chance to wash them) and it makes all the difference. In general, odor is not about the acute sweat - at least anecdotally, exercise sweat doesn't really smell, it's about what happens when you bunch up your clothes and let bacteria grow in them. So getting them dry and out in the sun matters more than the fabric.

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If I wear a shirt with any polyester my pits will stink shortly after I start sweating.

100% cotton doesn't do this.

It's quite annoying how cheap 100% cotton shirt packs often have a gray one thrown in there with some %age of polyester. Those always become garage shirts.

Never had a chafing issue.

> cotton chafes and synthetic doesnt

I hate cotton and generally go for at least a poly blend for this reason... also because cotton inevitably ends up with a weird texture and pilling. Unless it's high-end weave in a dress shirt or something I'll take a synthetic every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Though there’s definitely differences in how cotton wears, I’m not sure there’s a strong correlation with what grade it is.

I have a few pure cotton undershirts and tshirts I picked up at the equivalent of a dollar store for ¥100 a piece as a broke college student in Japan around a decade ago, and while they’re showing plenty of wear from having seen hundreds of workout hours and laundry cycles, they’re not exhibiting pilling or texture change at all.

The only time I've seen pilling on cotton is when it's a cotton/poly blend. 100% cotton doesn't, or at least not in my experience of wearing cotton Ts (mostly 100, occasionally cotton/poly) for the past 10 years.

Anecdotally, sweat starts to smell after it has soaked for a bit in bodily hair. The sweat on my forehead, back and chest never smells of anything, but the sweat on my scalp and in my armpits does. My theory is that the smell develops from sweat reacting with (or releasing something from) perhaps the sebum.

that's still bacteria that causes that

It's remarkable how I manage to get none of that on my body besides on the head and under my arms, and practically none on my clothes. My sweaty t-shirts build up smell only under the arms.

There's also different types of sweat glands. The product of apocrine glands has more odor when broken down by bacteria than eccrine gland sweat.

It’s also a lack of bacteria. Nitrifying bacteria will generally eat up the nasty smelling compounds. But most of us basically exterminate all of them whenever we wash ourselves.

They might be essential to good skin health. We’d be covered with them in the environment that evolved in. But there’s not much research being done yet in that field.

I experimented with it a bit myself a while ago, both «mother dirts» commercial product and making a growth medium for them myself and adding some soil. Did a blind test with my wife to see if they affected smell, and there was a very clear difference. But where I live mother dirt is not available and it’s rather expensive anyway. The experiment encouraged me to use only the mildest body soaps and a gentler washing process which anecdotally has been good for my skin. Maybe I have a healthier skin microbiome now

With your anecdote you've mostly described the difference between apocrine and eccrine sweat glands, their locations, and their effect, with the former generally causing the noticeable odour from bacterial enzymes breaking their secretion. Body hair does have a significant effect in those areas, too. Some people also don't experience this, or in a very limited manner.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022202X1...

I find that trimming armpit hair helps a lot. Wearing sleeveless shirts (when feasible, obviously) of course helps even more.

I did the same for a while when I was young, and it definitely reduced the build-up of odour after exercise and sports. The flip side was that I lost a lot of "wicking" ability and consequently had ridiculously large wet spots under my arms and a feeling of being "slippery" or lubricated under my arms already from just light exercise.

There seems to be a big debate in popular culture re: whether or not armpit hair keeps you cooler.

I certainly don't think it does. Evaporative cooling works via evaporation and armpit hair seems to do the exact opposite, at least if it's trapped under clothing and not exposed to a breeze.

But... you have had the opposite experience and I am sure you are not hallucinating or lying!

On the other hand cotton fabric tends to absorb sweat better and is more airy thus allowing the human body to cool down much better than synthetic fabrics.

Not in my experience. Cotton takes your sweat, and makes you feel like you are soaking in it (and that's why it chafes more - skin loses elasticity in prolonged contact with water). Nothing is airy about it.

Does not sound like pure cotton at all - Since the earliest days of cotton cultivation, this fabric has been prized for its exceptional breathability and lightness. Cotton fabric is also incredibly soft ... Cotton is very water absorbent, but it also dries quickly, which makes it highly moisture wicking. - https://sewport.com/fabrics-directory/cotton-fabric

You literally quoting a piece of commercial copyrighting (=ad) to contradict knowledge by experience. It's not like one data point, cotton is highly unpopular in hiking, and athlete communities. 1. Because it's strongly hydrophilic it absorbs water, and keeps it. 2. It's sorta breatheable while it's dry, but not so much when wet, and see p.1. 3. I guess you can find a type of cloth which dries worse than cotton, but plenty of synthetics do it better anyway

Your experience doesn't trump scientific facts about cotton's properties. But on re-reading your comment it sounds like your experience may be based on using cotton in cold climates - obviously in a cold climate, the sweat absorbed by the cotton won't dry fast enough making you feel like you are wearing a wet clothe around you (and hence the chafing experience). In hot weather, when you sweat, the cotton absorbs it and when it evaporates it helps in cooling down your body. That is why cotton is the most preferred, and recommended fabric, in any hot climate.

In fact, it is so good at cooling down your body that some exaggerate that cotton kills hikers in cold weather - https://www.heddels.com/2020/01/does-cotton-kill-the-moistur... ...

This is backwards.

Dunk a cotton shirt and a moisture wicking shirt into a bucket of water. Pull them out and tell me which one weighs more. Now hang them up and tell me which one drys first.

There's a reason why cotton clothes are preferred in hot climates - Cotton is very water absorbent, but it also dries quickly, which makes it highly moisture wicking.

The reason cotton is perferred is because it's way cheaper than all viable alternatives.

Btw while cotton dries slower than PE, or wool in any case, it also worth to note that moisture wicking doesn't mean just drying quickly. It means water absorption happen in such a way that it makes skin drier. Cotton regretfully absolutely doesn't do it. Its microthreads literally keep water around themselves (that's why it's called hydrophylic). While drying, water constantly redistributes itself around threads. So even slightly wet cotton textile touches your skin with water.

Yes, I understand that synthetics are hydrophobic and thus don't absorb water. I guess our personal preferences are biasing us - I live in a country that is hot, and so I prefer cotton as it absorbs sweat and cools down my body faster, where as synthetics just makes me feel like I am bathing in sweat and makes me feel hotter because it traps heat better (which is why it makes me really uncomfortable when exercising).

For me, its always wool socks, but for shorts and shirt, polyester wicks the sweat away much better for me than cotton.

Use of sunlight noted. Any other ideas for disinfecting without bleach (just due to effect on color)?

I've soaked them in vinegar periodically if I find they get really gross.

I think there's also accepting that after a bit exercise clothes don't smell great close up. If circumstances require really odor free ones (a workout date?) I'd probably buy new clothes.

You could use ozone, but that is probably more trouble/danger than it is worth.

You could use an autoclave.

For clothing, baking soda is remarkably effective at eliminating odors, which I assume means it has some antibiotic properties.

Buy a steam cleaner, they're quite inexpensive now if you buy a "steam mop". Just make sure to get one that has attachments for cleaning clothing. They're great for cleaning everything else as well.

putting the clothes in the freezer seems to work (once)

There are enzyme based washes that work well. They are sometimes marketed for sporting equipment (hockey pads and the like) but I’ve used them for other types of garments that have persistent odors after stabsard washing. Mirazyme Odor Eliminator being one.

Along these lines, pet stain and odor removers also can work extremely well on human smells. Not all do, but then again, not all of them work well on pet odors either. I've had the best luck with enzyme-based treatments.

When you hang clothes out to dry, spritz them with vodka - the cheaper the better.

- Vinegar destroys odors the best in my experience. Pour some in with your usual laundry routine. Can get jugs of concentrated vinegar from the hardware store or cleaning aisle in the supermarket, cheaper than food grade. I have rescued disgusting moldy clothing from a flooded basement this way (don't mix with bleach, you'll get tear gas)

- Presoaking your clothes in hot water and small amount of detergent (and/or borax) prior to washing once in a while for a deep clean. Also gets rid of deodorant/antiperspirant buildup in the armpit areas of your shirts. Google "laundry presoaking" or "laundry stripping"

Vinegar works so astoundingly well for laundry odors that I've never felt the need to try enzyme or oxy cleaners.

(However, I've used enzyme cleaners for pet accidents on carpets to great success)

Use a fan on your drying rack if you aren't hanging outdoors. This has had a major impact on the musty smellingness of my synthetic shirts.

I don't have to use bleach/vinegar anymore as a result to keep the shirts from stinking.

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