Stinking harness

[JMB6]

As a newbie I sweat a lot. My harness and especially petzl croll chest harness smell terribly (from sweat).
I know I can wash it, but I cannot wash it too often.
Should I just ignore it or there are some solutions? I was thinking about anti-bacterial spray.
Thanks

 

[islandarb]

Warm water and dawn dish soap. Spray out with hose nozzle. Hang to air dry. Damn I live in the tropics. Have never once washed a harness. And I am on my fifth treemotion plus many other harnesses.

 

[ghostice]

Teufelberger rope wash in a bathtub with warm water and a scrub brush - for harnesses and chainsaw pants that stand up by themselves too. Rinse/ squeeze at least a couple of times. I do not know what is in this rope wash but it seems to float out a lot more dirt for me than other rope cleaners or mild soaps I've tried over the years. There's also Nikwash or some such for Goretex gear but it's $$ to go out and buy it specially.

 

[SeanRuel]

Embrace the stank

 

[Jehinten]

I've not washed a harness, but I let them dry out good before storage. Either lay it out in the sun while doing cleanup or leave it on the flatbed for the ride home before storing it. I've not noticed any stink in mine.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

Sunlight is a great sanitizer

 

[Dan Cobb]

Many years ago, had a cat pee on my nice, nearly new confined space rescue full body harness. A laborious and thorough washing got rid of the odor (so I thought) until I got hot and sweaty while wearing the harness. It went in the trash after that awful experience.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

Cat urine is one of the few chemicals that weakens the fibers we use in ropes and gear.