MP3 Arm Band odor

[JC86]

I'm currently using the Belkin Sport Arm Band for iPhone 3G at the gym. I always religiously use deodorant and have never had any noticeable body odor even if I had forgotten to use deodorant but my arm band just plain reaks. I've tried washing it but the smell comes right back after my first workout post wash. It'd be impractical to wash the damn thing every day I work out. My current remedy is to wipe the arm band down with my deodorant which alleviates the smell somewhat but its not completely gone. Does anyone have any good tips on how to get rid of the smell? I love my music while working out but i'm getting self-conscious with this stinking arm band.

 

[Fayd]

Originally posted by: JC86
I'm currently using the Belkin Sport Arm Band for iPhone 3G at the gym. I always religiously use deodorant and have never had any noticeable body odor even if I had forgotten to use deodorant but my arm band just plain reaks. I've tried washing it but the smell comes right back after my first workout post wash. It'd be impractical to wash the damn thing every day I work out. My current remedy is to wipe the arm band down with my deodorant which alleviates the smell somewhat but its not completely gone. Does anyone have any good tips on how to get rid of the smell? I love my music while working out but i'm getting self-conscious with this stinking arm band.

the chemicals secreted when you sweat have a bacterial breakdown that causes it to stink sometime after having been sweated out.

thus, fresh sweat never smells.

sorry, that wasnt particularly helpful. maybe febreze?

 

[Bateluer]

I had a Belkin arm band for my 3G Nano for a while. It was a neo prelene type material that just soaked up sweat and stank perpetually. I replaced it with a much simpler rubber covering for the iPod and a cloth band. The cloth band still needs to be washed regularly, but it doesn't stink after wards.

 

[katank]

It maybe too late for this band. However, for a new band, you can also try adding a cloth sweat band above it on your arm which may be able to catch the majority of the sweat.

 

[presidentender]

If you can wash it, wash it with some bleach. That's what I do with my wrestling knee pads. You can also try alcohol. Both will kill bacteria detergent might miss, which are likely the source of your problem. Heck, use both.

 

[Snapster]

You should really wash regularly as most good brand armbands are washable. Sadly probably too late for this one unless you want to soak it in alot of rubbing alcohol first to kill off the nasties.

 

[DomS]

I clip my mp3 player to my shorts, right on my hip

 

[JC86]

thanx for the advice, i'm going to try to alcohol and see how it goes.

 

[JC86]

Well, I picked up a bottle of wintergreen rubbing alcohol at albertsons and gave the armband a good soak, i spritzed in some febreze as well, I didn't use bleach since the band would come in contact with my skin and didn't want to risk it. After a couple of hours, i rinsed it out and patted it dry with some paper towels. it smells minty and couldn't smell the odor anymore. the alcohol seems to work pretty well. I also picked up some bicep arms bands to use under the arm band and after my workout today, the arm band itself was pretty dry while the sweat bands were soaked so ocne again, thanks for the tips, I guess we'll see soon enough how well this works long term.

 

[conorvansmack]

sweat + crud = stink. Actually, it's the bacteria which you likely killed, or at least freshened the hell out of. It's the same with hockey gloves. Worse effing smell ever.

 

[RagingBITCH]

I've never smelled my armband...I don't know how it smells that bad (This coming from someone who is running or at the gym 6 days a week, with 2-4 hour runs on Saturdays)

I have a Nike nano armband, just throw it in the wash. I can't say I've ever smelled a horrible odor being emitted from it though.

 

[Unmoosical]

Try some baking soda in the washer next time you wash it. Works well for towels at least.

 

[Muse]

Armband? I don't need no stinking armband. I put my MP3 player in the pocket of my shorts. I hate the armband that came with my Sansa m250.

Seriously, it's the bacteria as noted and discussed. Alcohol may do the trick, and if so great. The bleach idea I'll address here. Bleach is terrific at killing organisms. In fact, you should be careful with it because of toxicity. It's already diluted, but as a solution to kill germs I'd dilute it more, say at least 1 part bleach to 3 parts water. Soak briefly (a minute or two would be plenty), and then rinse out the bleach thoroughly. Bleach is tough on fabrics, so you don't want to soak longer than necessary. Of course, bleach is a great stain remover, but you want to minimize fabric's exposure to it because of the aforementioned toughness on the fabric.

 

[coldmeat]

I had a watch that I used to wear while I ran, and it's band really smelt bad after a while.

 

[ahurtt]

I have the same exact MP3 player armband funk problem. . .here's what I do. Nothing much. Don't care. I go to the gym to work and sweat. I don't expect to smell like roses. I rinse it out in some hot soapy water once in a while when it gets to be just too much to bear (like I can smell it from 5 feet away) but that's about it. Yeah it starts to get funky again after a couple workouts but meh. . .so what? I wear my smelly armband proudly like a badge of honor that signifies I'm doing it right.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: coldmeat
I had a watch that I used to wear while I ran, and it's band really smelt bad after a while.

When I did that I used plastic bands - no odor.