As a fitness freak, you owe a lot to your gym bag. After all, it carries the sweat-packed gym clothes, shoes, toiletries, and post-workout shakes along with your wallet, towel, and other gym essentials. It is one of your motivations to hit the gym regularly by making your life simple by carrying and organizing all your fitness items.

But how regularly do you clean your gym bag? Surprisingly, not many of us care about our gym bags and wash them regularly.

On the contrary, caring for them and regular cleaning maintains their shine besides ensuring their hygiene.

Whether you own a small gym bag or a huge one, cleaning them often helps both your bag and yourself. In this post, let us look at how to clean a gym bag.

Pre-cleaning measures:

Before cleaning a gym bag, it is essential to follow tips to make the task easy. Follow these steps below to clean your gym bag easily:

• Remove the shoes, yoga mat, and other gym items. Keep the essentials to a side so that you do not miss any during the cleaning process.

• Inspect the bag for any leakage of shampoo or handwash. Clean the spill with tissue paper or a soft cloth to prevent it from spreading during the cleaning.

• Turn the bag upside down and empty it. It ensures no coins and small items that might get stuck in the washing machine.

• Use a lint roller from all corners to the inward center to remove the fine particles and hair strands that stick to the surface and are not removed when you turn the bag upside down.

Now that you have cleaned the gym bag on a basic level, let us see how to deep clean and dry it.

Machine washing a gym bag

Most individuals wonder: Can I put my gym bag in a washing machine?

Of course, you can wash a gym bag in a washing machine. However, there are certain pointers to keep in mind to ensure the longevity of your bag.

• Always use a gentle cycle for cleaning a gym bag. This hold for both a small gym bag and a bigger one. Running the washing machine on a normal or fast cycle may damage the stitches of the gym bag.

• Put a couple of towels or pillow covers along with your gym bag in the washing machine. Thus, when you run the machine, your bag is safeguarded by these protective clothing, and wear and tear are minimized.

• Add a fabric freshener or two caps of germ-killing liquid when you rinse the gym bag. They give a rejuvenating odor to your bag besides killing all germs.

Handwashing a gym bag

It may sound like a little old-fashioned idea, but here we spill a little secret:

Delicate handwashing protects your gym bag and preserves its color and print for a long.

To handwash your gym bag, follow the mentioned tips below:

• Use normal water for cleaning the gym bag.

• Soak the bag for a couple of minutes in a detergent or shampoo mixed water.

• Clean the inside and outside of the bag with your hands along with all inner and outer compartments.

• Rinse the bag thoroughly and take a fresh bucket of water.

• Add a cap or two of germicide or fabric freshener to the water.

• Dip and rinse delicately a couple of times. Finally, let the water drip fully from the bag.

Note: Always dry your gym bag in shade away from the sun. Exposure to direct sunlight may cause the fading of the bag color.

Here we discuss additional tips to clean your gym bag items:

• Gently rinse your shoes in the detergent water and let them dry in the sun. For odor removal, keep a pair of tea bags in your gym bag. After removing the shoe post-workout, place the tea bags in the shoes to make them odor-free.

• Spray a diluted vinegar solution onto the yoga mat and let it dry before the next use. It kills germs and frees the mat from the stinky odor.

• Use zip-lock bags to pack your toiletries to prevent leakage in the gym bag.

Conclusion

Cleaning the gym bag ensures its hygiene and lifespan. With the tips mentioned above, cleaning your gym bag is no more a hassle.