Thanks for the tip! Some of my bibs are starting to show their age.
Never skimp on interfaces. Anything that goes between your skin and something else, anywhere energy is changing medium, this is where money is well-spent. Tires, handlebar tape, speakers/headphones, bicycle saddle, hand tools, work gloves, climbing shoes, keyboard, mouse, monitors, seat cushions, you get the idea… finding what works well for you regardless of cost reaps serious benefits. More money does not necessarily mean better performance for you, but time invested in the trial and error process does mean better results.
In the case of bicycling shorts: these are the sacrificial layer. Your skin is pretty valuable, but at least it can heal. Your comfort on a bike ride is invaluable.
Regarding the stink factor, you mentioned elsewhere in this thread about getting the stink out of technical fabrics. And some people talked stupid shit in response. Anyone who claims “I just wash my stuff and it don’t stink no more.” Uh, yeah, their noses don’t work so well. Getting the tenacious stink out of polyester is a special set of skills. Polyester has a unique affinity for molecules that contribute to stink. Cotton-poly blend exhibits a similar tenacious stink. Very briefly: the polar nature of polyester makes it good for wicking sweat, but also makes it good for hanging onto stinky molecules; standard washing and laundry detergents won’t cut it. You need to overcome that molecular-level affinity; vinegar in your first rinse cycle is strong enough. Washing soda (sodium carbonate, not to be confused with sodium bicarbonate AKA baking soda) is a strong alkaline that can strip a bunch of shit out of all your fabrics; it’s also pretty harsh. The other alternative is to use sunlight, e.g. line drying, to denature the stinky molecules. But the UV light is hard on fabrics.
On something like a long bike tour, this is not an option. As it is, good shorts are too expensive and too delicate to be washing every single time you wear them. Start with a clean crack and taint, let the shorts dry between wearing. No problems.
Bag Balm is petrolatum, lanolin, and hydroxyquinoline sulfate, an antiseptic. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bag_Balm It’s great for an anti-chafe and on skin wounds, especially abrasions. I mostly use pure lanolin (usually marketed as an ointment for nursing mothers) on wounds now, but also keep a small tin of Bag Balm in my bike kit for all kinds of things.
I’ve met some hippy types that use soap sparingly for this reason
TL;DR: This is exactly what I’m talking about.
I am one of those dirtbag hippie types.
Some background: My skin is so oily, I could singlehandedly solve the Suez Canal blockade. I struggled my whole life with blackheads and boils, especially crotch boils from cycling and blackheads just about everywhere else. No exaggeration, when I was commuting 52 miles every day, I always had at least two crotch boils going, despite showering before and after my ride at both ends of my commute. I also always had at least one boil on my head, face, or back.
About 20 years ago, I met a dermatological researcher at a party, and he was talking about his latest clinical work. He mentioned a bunch of testing with disrupting vs maintaining skin flora and microbiota. Stuff like S. aureus and Prevotella being held in check by [other micro-organisms, can’t remember the names], but that the skin also produces antimicrobial substances (catechins? or is that the stuff in green tea?). The pH of skin also tends acidic, but soap is alkaline. His tentative hypothesis at the time was that most people shower too much and too vigorously, and that creates a whole host of downstream issues. He mentioned that based on his early findings, he stopped showering every day, instead opting to sponge-bathe with showers being a rarer occurrence. And then only to rinse off sweat from a serious workout.
With nothing to lose, I gave it a try. Sponge-bathe the foldy bits every day, and before and after rides. No more chlorhexidine soap, no more Bag Balm on my crotch before rides, only Dr Bronner’s soap. I only take quick, cold showers to rinse off from heavy sweating. Every couple days, I’ll exfoliate the long bits with just a damp cloth. My skin cleared up almost in the same week, the blackheads all went away, and no more visible puddles of skin oil. I haven’t had a crotch boil since, despite plenty of crotch abrasion and more than a few skin tears from crashing my mountain bike. I also haven’t had skin infection since changing up my wash routine.
Extra bonus points: lower water and electricity bills. Or when I lived on my sailboat, less power required for water generator and hot water heater.
I sponge-bathe or use a French showerhead, washing all of the bits that are going to be in the shorts. I’m not so worried about fecal matter, even though I don’t want to skid-mark an expensive pair of shorts. But I am concerned with the skin flora balance.
That’s basically a Corsi-Rosenthal box, but smaller. I’ve been playing around with a bowl of activated charcoal in the box, which helps a bit. I also have a bag of zeolite coming, which I’ve read is even more effective and has the added bonus of being renewable just by placing it out in bright sunlight.
The seals are all super solid. This is pretty recent construction and a custom build (not a spec house). When running exhaust fans, there is enough negative pressure to pull in a little bit of stinky outside air, and enough resistance to reduce the effectiveness to exhausting cooking and bathroom air (humidity is my foremost concern there).
Lots of great suggestions in the thread that launched me down a few different rabbit holes. Ideally, I’d like to exchange some fresh air at will, but right now that is limited to when the wind is blowing the right way. It’s starting to look something like a heat exchanger outside air intake with a zeolite cartridge and/or photocatalytic mitigation.
That’s just a cover-up, and I would prefer to avoid additional PM2.5 in the inside air. We’re already prone to forest fire smoke here.
She’s entitled to her opinion, even if it is stupid and wrong.
Happy to help!
Right?! Start adding in energy and water consumption concerns, and the variables quickly spiral out of control. I started using a manual washer (imagine a giant salad spinner) for some of my gear. Manually washed bibs and jerseys have now lasted about 12 years. It’s a pain and takes a bunch of time, but saves a bunch of electricity, a genuine concern on a sailboat with only solar to recharge. So that’s a heavily qualified bonus. :D
I always wash my technical gear in cold water, delicate cycle. Line dry. Actually, I wash everything except my rags in cold water. I’ve had the same shirts and pants for 25 years. My clothes should be coming back in style any day now. :D