During the winter holidays, I spent a few days training at Ricardo Almeida’s Academy in Robbinsville, New Jersey. In addition to meeting some nice folks and learning self-defense and sports BJJ, I also took home a valuable tip on washing my sweat-soaked gi, shorts, and rash guard. Personal hygiene and cleanliness are priorities in BJJ since there is a high risk of contracting ringworm and staph infection from hours of rolling on sweat-soaked mats in a hot training room.
Ricardo Almeida and his students introduced me to a new recipe for getting the funk out of my gis. When I only used regular laundry detergent, I was able to get the gi to smell fresh on a surface level, but once it started to get warm and sweaty after warm ups, I could smell a foul odor. In addition to using laundry detergent, Professor Almeida’s academy recommends using Odoban, an industrial strength cleaning concentrate that disinfects, deodorizes, and sanitizes textiles and fabrics. Here are the instructions below.
As noted in the instructions, do not put Odoban directly on your gi. Wait until your washer fills with water before adding the concentrate to the laundry.
