How to Care for Cycling and Running Clothes and Make Them Last Longer

The Problem With Treating Technical Gear Like Regular Laundry

Cycling and Running clothing is not regular clothing. Jerseys, bibs, base layers, and softshells are engineered fabrics with specific properties: moisture wicking, UV protection, stretch retention, DWR water repellency, and odor resistance. Those properties are built into the fibers and finishes at the manufacturing level.

Standard laundry detergents are formulated for cotton and synthetic blends. They are not formulated to protect technical fabrics. Used repeatedly, they strip DWR coatings, break down elastic fibers, fade colors, and leave residue that clogs the micro-structure of wicking fabrics. The garment still "looks" clean . But it no longer performs the way it did.

The result: a jersey that stops wicking after a season, bibs that lose their compression, a softshell that soaks through in light rain. Not because the gear was low quality, but because it was washed with the wrong product.

The MINT'N DRY Gear Care System

Three products, each with a specific role, designed to work together.

Footwear + Gear Cleaner — Pre-treatment and surface cleaning

A spray-and-wipe formula that works on virtually any piece of gear: helmets, shoes, hydration vests, bags, gloves. Apply, let it dwell briefly, wipe clean.

It also serves as a pre-treatment before washing. Applied directly to a stubborn stain before the garment goes into the wash with Tech Wash, it loosens and lifts the stain without the aggressive chemistry that damages technical fabrics. The duo handles what a single heavy-duty detergent would ruin.

Tech Wash — Specialized laundry for technical fabrics

Formulated specifically for performance textiles. It cleans thoroughly without stripping DWR coatings, degrading elastic fibers, or leaving residue in the fabric structure. Jerseys come out wicking properly. Bibs retain their compression. Colors stay true wash after wash.

It also neutralizes odors at the source rather than masking them, which matters for fabrics that trap sweat in ways cotton never does. It's not a side effect of the ingredients we use, we purposely developed a formula which contains a formula dedicated to breaking the molecules responsible of this forever smell.   

Odor Neutralizer — For everything that can't go in the wash

Shoes are the obvious use case. But the same logic applies to helmets, the underarm zones of jerseys and hydration vests, and any area that accumulates odor between washes. Spray directly, let it work, done. No rinsing, no residue, no masking agents. It's the same neutralizing agent that in our Tech Wash, just more concentred. 

The Spot Treatment Trap

One of the most common mistakes most active people make is reaching for a strong stain remover or household degreaser to treat a single stubborn spot on a technical garment.

The logic seems reasonable: the stain is small, the product is effective, problem solved. But most heavy-duty stain removers contain bleaching agents, solvents, or enzymes that are far too aggressive for technical fabrics. They remove the stain and, in the process, damage the fiber structure, alter the color, or degrade the finish around the treated area.

You don't need a powerful product to treat a stain on a technical garment. You need the right product.

Why This Matters More Than You Think

High-quality cycling gear is expensive. A good bib short, a technical jersey, a well-fitted helmet — these are items you invest in because they make a real difference in comfort and performance.

Standard laundry products degrade that investment wash by wash, quietly and invisibly, until the garment no longer performs the way it should. By the time you notice, the damage is done.

The MINT'N DRY gear care system is built around one idea: preserve the original quality of what you already own, so it keeps performing and keeps accompanying you, ride after ride.

Quick Reference: What to Use and When