First off, not everyone who rides calls their cycling clothing kit. But it is a term of choice that crosses a few language barriers. The origin of the term is likely from British military slang for standard attire and equipment.
This can be a sweaty, grimy sport. You (and your clothing) will be happier and healthier if you keep things clean and fresh.
Modern cycling fabrics are pretty amazing. There are a host of wicking and warming and cooling properties all sewn into form fitting jerseys and jackets and shorts and warmers. Some waterproof, some windproof. It all gets dirty. The same with your more traditional wool gear.
Your best bet for best hygiene is to wash everything after every use. Yes, everything.
It’s obvious that the chamois in your bibs or shorts has pretty intimate contact with your body. We really shouldn’t have to explain in detail why that should be clean at every wearing. Same with socks, base layers, and jerseys. But what about outerwear? Gloves? Hats?
Depending on the effort, you MIGHT get by with multiple wearings of some outer garments….but every time you wipe your nose on your glove or your sleeve you’re creating a new petri dish. Plus, body oils that are transferred to any piece can affect the breathability in a negative way. Wet weather riding means that whatever was on the road, is now on you.
Summer or winter, a soaked hat or headband, will retain bacteria. Your helmet as well.
So, now we get into the logistics. Having multiples of key items is important here. If you don’t start the load(s) immediately after you finish riding and you’ve only got one, your option for the next outing may be ‘riding dirty.’ A helmet can be rinsed in the shower. Use your spare for the next ride. We rinse helmets each time, paying attention to the straps as well as the pads.
We’ve been washing kit since the 80’s. Hand washing and line dry was the best practice for many years. We strongly believe that is no longer necessary for most of your cycling clothing today.
Our method. If it’s not wool, or some exotic superlight piece, we wash jerseys, bibs, jackets, gloves, socks, hats, warmers, all in the same load. Modern machines have a variety of gentle cycles (that truly are gentle). We rarely use delicate. Separate out anything that has a closure that might grab fabric. Shoe covers, some gloves, rain capes with velcro are culprits.
Cold water with a ‘pod’ type of detergent. The measurement works for med to full loads and you’re not buying a container of mostly water. Basic cold water soap formula. You don’t need ‘sports’ wash and for sure avoid the fabric softener blends. Those additives can mess with wicking fabrics and membranes. IF you’ve got some chain grease or road grit that needs a little bit of treatment, use Dawn dish soap lightly, it’s the ultimate safe degreaser.
Do turn zippered items inside out. Less chances of the pull tab getting yanked off.
Add an extra rinse cycle. Why? The foam layers of a chamois tend to not rinse out well in a single cycle. If you’ve ridden a rain ride and you notice soap bubbles coming from the saddle of the bike in front of you….you’ll understand.
Here comes the controversial part. All those items you’ve washed together…put ’em in the dryer. Yes, you will find many manufacturers recommending ‘line dry’ still. We don’t (unless it’s wool or neoprene).
Why? Line drying is slow. Wet chamois? No thanks. We’d rather ride than monitor kit for full dryness. We have a fair amount of direct experience in the clothing industry as well as our own testing. We believe this summary from LIV is accurate for most modern cycling clothing:
“Washing and Drying Kit/ from LIV: At prescribed low-heat settings, the dryer can actually help the fit and technical components to better do their job for you. Liv tests all fabrics and garments as part of our commercialization process and a big part of that testing is machine washing and drying.”
It is however, critical to check the dryer settings. Low heat means low heat. For most dryers that’s one setting warmer than ‘air’ dry. How much time? Less than you think, but you’ll need to run a test batch to determine how long.
We’ve had excellent experience using these methods on clothing from a host of manufacturers: Pearl Izumi, Vie13, Champ-Sys, Verge, Bontrager, Giro, Gore, etc.
The main risk to multiple launderings is zipper damage. We lose a pull or two yearly. We’ve found local tailors to replace if the item is still in good shape otherwise.
As noted above, if you’re using wool, the care likely involves a hand wash and line dry.
Lastly, it’s not kit per se, but it’s another part of the bike that should be cleaned every ride. Your handlebar tape. Another magnet for snot. A cleaning wipe (which we all have now, right?) to the bars as you hang the bike up for the day is perfect.