Deodorize Your Smelly Garden Gloves And Hands With A Kitchen Staple

During spring and summer, you can easily go through a couple of pairs of gardening gloves in a month. As they become dirty, smelly, and bulky from dried-up soil, it might seem obvious to throw them out, but consider giving them a good wash first. Routine care can help gardening gloves last longer and get rid of nasty unwanted smells, but garden gloves require more effort to clean than normal gloves. When you tend to your crops, your gloves can come in contact with herbicides, pesticides, and even manure from fertilizer spreads. With layers upon layers of filth, gloves can begin to smell downright foul. Cleaning your gardening gloves to get rid of funky odors from sweat and dirt buildup is essential, and there's a solution you can reach for out of your kitchen cabinet: baking soda.

Unlike many other cleaning solutions, baking soda is non-toxic and a great natural deodorizer. The abrasive texture and chemical properties bring acidic odors into a more neutral state, which is what makes stinky smells go away. Here's what to keep in mind when making a solution of your own. 

Creating a deodorizing paste for your gloves is rather simple to do at home, and only involves a few simple steps. To get started, blend baking soda and water so the powder dissolves, and apply the paste to your gloves. Go ahead and give them a good scrub to let the solution set in — this will lift smelly dirt or sweat from the material. Afterward, rinse off the baking soda and let your gloves air dry. Following this approach not only gets rid of nasty smells but also reduces the odds of bacteria spreading that you may have come in contact with in your garden. 

Beyond your smelly gloves, you may notice the stench from working in the garden is on your hands, too. Luckily, baking soda can be equally effective for relieving odors on your hands. It has antibacterial properties, so it will kill any germs left behind and neutralize odors. But don't use too much – baking soda is high in alkaline properties, so it may cause your skin to feel itchy and dry.

To protect your hands from nasty odors before they occur, consider the material of your garden gloves. Garden gloves can be made with cloth, leather, neoprene, or rubber. Rubber gloves tend to not breathe as well, so naturally your hands will become sweaty and smelly more often. In this case, try neoprene gloves, which tend to allow more air in and provide the same amount of protection while out in the garden. And be mindful about where you're storing your gloves — moisture can make them smell bad, so opt to keep them someplace indoors with good air circulation like an uncluttered drawer and avoid the mistake of placing them in a plastic bag of any kind.

But even with added measures, you should still be washing your gloves after every single use. Baking soda can be used on all material types, so you shouldn't have to worry about damage. If you're still debating whether to give it a try, consider the other baking soda cleaning hacks you can use around your home.