Kit Care – Washing and Rejuvenating Cycling Base Layers

A base layer is the foundation of any layering system—it keeps you cool and dry in the summer, and warm and dry in the winter. Over time though, the fabrics become saturated by sweat and can breed bacteria; there is a simple solution—washing them with a tailor-made fabric detergent and conditioner, such as those from Nikwax.

Base layers are designed to wick perspiration away from your skin; this means absorbing the moisture and transferring it to the outer air for evaporation. Unfortunately, over time the absorbing nature of base layer fabrics means they also collect bacteria, which can breed and smell.

To rejuvenate a cycling base layer, or a technical running tee, you simply need a fabric detergent that is stronger than most. Be careful though, as technical fabrics and wool fabrics are delicate in their nature; Nikwax produce a dedicated 'Sweatproofing' range, including BaseWash and WoolWash to clean the fabrics.

After you have cleaned the fabric, it is a smart move to use Nikwax BaseFresh to act as a conditioner. This wash-in conditioner leaves an antibacterial finish on the technical garment, to reduce future smells.

Both Base Wash and Wool Wash are super easy to use—you just use them instead of your normal detergent. Nikwax BaseFresh can then be added to the wash to provide the conditioning benefits.

Whether you are caring for technical synthetic fabrics like Coolmax®, Under Armour® or Lifa®, or you are caring for natural fabrics like Merino wool; these wash and conditioning solutions will add new life to your kit, reducing the need for replacement.

A simple solution to smelly base layers.

>> View the Nikwax range on Amazon here <<

How to wash cycling base layers



This post was produced in collaboration with Nikwax


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