After years of, shall we call it, “traveling” to nasty and smelly foreign lands, We've come to appreciate clean odorless gear, especially when it's on your buddy next to you. And we can appreciate the sinking feeling of finding that great set of pouches at the bottom of that bin in the army navy surplus store that wreaks of mildew and rot.

So how do we clean and deodorize our gear? You can't just throw it into the washing machine can you? Although we are sure many have done this it isn't the recommended route and in most cases just covers the actual odor. Most commercial detergents contain uv brighteners and harsh cleaners that can destroy gear; besides that the mechanical monstrosity may tear apart tactical vests, pulverize belts and fray pouches.

Odor Control is a big business. There are many different compounds and formulas for sale that will control foul odors, through many different physical and chemical mechanisms. 

About 95 percent of the odor-elimination products on the market primarily contain baking soda and water. Baking soda (i.e. arm and hammer), also known as Sodium Bicarbonate, neutralizes odors chemically.  Most unpleasant odors come from compounds that are either strong acids or strong bases, both of which are affected by baking soda. Baking soda simply deodorizes by bringing both acidic and alkaline odor molecules into a neutral pH, odor-free state.

Oxygen cleaning products contain hydrogen peroxide. Much odor is caused by bacteria. It turns out a mild diluted solution of hydrogen peroxide is great for killing this odor causing bacteria. Hydrogen peroxide is a wonderful antibacterial and odor-eliminating compound, but it is rather unstable and easily converts to water.

And then there is soap. Removing the dirt that bacteria grows from helps to eliminate the odor as well. So a mild surfactant (i.e. dawn dish soap) when you wash your hands, effectively kills bacteria. Surfactants help to control odors by destroying bacteria.

Finally Borax. Borax acts as a water conditioner, boosting the cleaning power by controlling alkalinity like baking soda, deodorizing and aiding the removal of stains and soil.

Each of these components come in a host of different and some what pricey forms. Not only do they have flowery or “fresh” fragrances, they are not the right ratios to be effective at eliminating the odor and keeping your gear safe. So...for about $5 for about 4 plus uses we combine, hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, borax, dish soap and hot water. You can purchase this stuff anywhere and make you own odor eliminating solution. Yep, it's that easy.

Our solution mixed in a large bucket:

2 gallons Hot water

½ cup baking soda

¼ cup hydrogen peroxide

½ cup borax

1 Tbsp dish soap or Sport Wash laundry detergent

Soak the gear in this for about 20 minutes.

Scrub with a soft brush any dirt areas

followed up with rinsing 3 or 4 times in clean water.

Remove any excess water and hang the gear up to dry.

We place it in front of a fan on a hanger and turn it every now and then until dry.

Be careful not to place In the sunlight as this can fade and weaken the gear.

If you are in a combat zone, we suggest you follow all this up with IR/UV blocker spray.

NOTES:

Though all of the ingredients listed are considered basically harmless and can be purchased anywhere, the author of this article makes no guarantee that the end result of the mixture to be safe. If you want to make your own “home odor elimination solution,” do so at your own risk.

Hydrogen peroxide can burn or irritate the skin, so be careful. 

This solution contains Hydrogen peroxide which slowly breaks down to water when exposed to light. So you should mix it up fresh for each cleaning-deodorizing use.

Everything is In Our Opinion Only - We lay no claim to any of these ideas, suggestions, tunes, etc. We learned, in person and online, from people who are a lot smarter than us and we merely use and try to improve upon what we consider to be useful.

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