Why Does My Hockey Equipment Stink?!
The short answer? Bacteria. Your skin is covered in them, and they absolutely love the oils that secrete from your skin. Unfortunately, most people don’t love the scents that secrete from the bacteria, in fact far from it. That combination of oils and bacteria also rub off onto your clothes whatever else is touching your skin, and it’s in copious amounts when you’re working out. So now your sports equipment wreaks of bacteria waste product, and you’re wondering how to eliminate that odor so everyone in a 50 foot radius of you doesn’t pass out. The solution? Matguard. You can’t throw that equipment into a laundry machine, Febreze is just going to mask the smell with perfumes that irritate your skin, and Chlorox or Lysol has bleach, which may kill the bacteria, but it’ll also kill having it on your skin, way worse than Febreze. Matguard just deals with the source of the smell, no problems, no drama. It doesn’t have any strong scent, so you won’t be feeling sick from smelling sweet fruits or rich pine needles while your taking deep breaths in the midst of practice. It’ll kill that bacteria and evaporate before you put the equipment back on, leaving no residue to drip down your face or your body while you sweat it up again. Even if it was still on some parts, it’s safe for the skin, and is even designed for use on skin. It’s a win-win-win. Curious on just what’s going on with your sweat and that bacteria covering your whole body making that stench? Check out the read below.
Via CurioCity (http://explorecuriocity.org/)
Have you ever wanted to hold your nose in the change room? Does the aroma of your hockey bag drive your Mom to distraction? Have you ever wondered what on earth makes your sports equipment smell that bad? The short answer: bacteria are feeding on your sweat and body secretions to produce bromidrosis, otherwise known as B.O.
Setting the Stage: The Bacteria
To get the whole story one must enter the world of skin, where tiny creatures do battle on a dry field, surrounded by the towering trunks of hair follicles. It is a world where food, moisture and warmth are valuable commodities, and wherever bacteria can find these commodities, they can multiply in the millions! In this world, skin microbes find their food in the form of a liquid called sweat, which is secreted by glands in the skin.
Although sweat is ninety-nine percent water, it also contains small amounts of inorganic and organic compounds including salts, ammonia, and urea. Bacteria, like Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermis, and Propionibacteria acnes, feed on these compounds, break them down into smaller compounds, and release byproducts into the air in the process. These byproducts, or “microbe manure”, produce the ‘smell’ of sweat…
