How to Eliminate Gym Bag Odors Naturally

I’ve been on a quest to find the best way to eliminate gym bag odors naturally. I found one and I want to share it with you. Why? Well, you could be like me! Do you have one, or two, or a few of those stinky gym bags lying around? I hate bad smells and I hate bad smells that can permeate other things to give them bad smells…like gym shoes, sports gear and that smelly bag they all get stored in. Once you try to use it for something else…FORGET IT! It will ALL stink. 

So I want to show you how to eliminate gym bag odors naturally! 

That is until you figure out a way to keep them smelling great and the odors at bay. There are a few ways to eliminate odors from a gym bag, but I want to show you how to basically have a DEEP smell remover solution, along with those tricks to keep them smelling better in between the intense odor removal.

However, what I am about to show you is not only effective for a deep odor removal solution for gym bags, but also for duffle bags, backpacks and other bags. And I mention that it is a deep odor removal, but it is actually so super simple that it may become your normal method each time anyway. 

It is also natural – perhaps even therapeutic on many levels:

1. Because you are using an essential oil 

2. Because it feels really stinkin’ good to get rid of a good ol’ stink

3. Because it’s effective fast, which is a mentally therapeutic treatment for any household problem 

We have our fair share of stinky gym bags. I have a nearly teen boy that is a crossfitter, a teen that is training for Spartan, a teen that is a half-marathoner and a husband who is a marathoner. 

That is A LOT of training in one week. That means A LOT of stinky bags. 

I already do a lot of laundry (6 kids, including two teen girls!), and so the thought of having to wash the gym bags regularly just adds to the laundry demise! However, these bags are not regular washer friendly. You can’t just pop them in the washer and dryer like a t-shirt. I wash them on occasion if they have a bunch of gunk and dirt. But most of the time, the problem is the stink. They just need to be freshened up. This also saves me money. 

Enough about the stink… let’s talk about how to eliminate gym bag odors naturally. 

How to Eliminate Gym Bag Odors Naturally

Here’s the simple items you need to turn your gym bag, duffle bag, backpack, etc. into a nice smelling store-all:

• Essential oil of choice. I personally like lavender oil for this purpose. The others seem to make your bag smell like it hung out in the kitchen too long. You know what I am talking about…lemons, basil, oregano, peppermint…I love these scents for many natural homemade solutions, but this is NOT the right fit. At least for my nose. 🙂 Lavender also has some great bacteria control benefits. 
• Carrier object of choice: you need something absorbent to put the drops of oil onto. For example, a rag, a microfiber cloth, a wool dryer ball, etc. 
• *If you don’t have a steam setting on your dryer, you will also need a wet cloth. 

Here’s the instructions on how to get those stinky smells out of your bag:

• Simply drop about 6-7 drops of your favorite essential oil onto the wool dryer ball or rag. I actually will do 2-3 different dryer balls/rags to stick in each of the pockets of the bag. 

• Place the rags or wool dryer balls inside of the gym bag, duffle bag or backpack.

• If you don’t have a steam setting, you can also toss in a wet washcloth or wet rag into the main body of the bag. 
• Toss the gym bag into the dryer.

• Set your dryer on the steam setting (mine is about a 10 minute cycle), or on a regular heat cycle and let it run for about 10 minutes. 

• Pull it out of the dryer and VIOLA! A nice smelling gym bag once again! 
• This is the simplest, easiest way on how to eliminate gym bag odors naturally!

I hope this little, fast, natural, simple trick will help make your life a little easier too! 

A little note on essential oils:

I have been using essential oils in my home for over 14 years. I have tried pretty much every brand out there. Most are going to be more than fine for this purpose! Don’t get too caught up in the brand.

After 12 years of essential oil usage of all brands, we personally finally settled on using Young Living. I love the quality and process used to distill the oils that Young Living uses for a high quality essential oil. However, it took me 12 years to get to this point, including using the main competitors of Young Living for a few years. Because I use them anyway, I do sell Young Living. So if you are interested in these oils, I would LOVE to help you (email me at thriftyus@thethriftycouple.com with the subject Young Living). However, please note that I am not saying these are the ONLY ones you should use for this purpose. 🙂 Amazon has some great prices and deals on household usage oils. 

Feel free to read my essential oil usage journey HERE. 

We share lots of these easy, natural, frugal, DIY hacks around the home and you can find them in our Frugal Living page and our Homemade Products page

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