ProWash Activewear Detergent Review

I received a pouch of ProWash last week and I have to say, I was pretty skeptical about claims that it could remove sweaty odors that regualr detergents tend to cover up with fragrance. ProWash's website says "ProWash is designed to target perspiration and odor molecules in the wicking of the garment which ordinary detergents cover with perfume. This innovation actually removes odor molecules and detergent residues left by ordinary detergents."

I know A LOT about sweaty odors. I live with boys. Who play really hard. In the desert heat. They dig holes and play with the neighbor's smelly dogs and catch lizards. My husband is a Pool Man who works outside all day. And I won't even go into my whole peri-menopause thing, but my hot flashes are leaving me with "pit" odors and stains on some of my cotton/poly blend t-shirts. The smells that come from my hamper would bring the inventor of Limberger Cheese to his knees. So I was eager to see if the stuff really works.

Using the stuff was a little difficult at first, just because I had to get used to not squeezing the pouch too hard when I poured the liquid in the little measuring cup, thereby shooting the liquid out of the top and all over the floor. I used a little bit more that the recommended amount on my first load of stuff, which consisted of more than just "activewear." Anything my kids wear should be considered activewear! So the load included cotton t-shirts and shorts, some spandex stuff and my cotton/poly t-shirts. (Directions say use 1.5 units for front-loaders, with each unit equaling 1 Tablespoon.)

I treated stains and ran the load as I normally do, but without my usual extra rinse cycle. I have to say, when I opened the washer door, there was a pleasant, clean smell. As I transferred the washed clothing to the dryer, I smelled each item and found no icky, sweaty body odors left in most of the clothing. The only articles that did not respond to the detergent were my t-shirts, which made me a little sad. They still had a BO smell and yellow staining. Stinking hormones are wreaking havoc on my t-shirts! I'm gonna run them through again, this time I will pre-treat them with ProWash before I wash them again and see how they do.

The rest of the clothes came out of the dryer smelling fresh, not perfumey. And they felt clean and soft. So...I am giving ProWash a pretty good grade. It did a good job on stinky boy clothes that were covered with dirt and stiff with sweat. I think it will do great on everyday sweaty odors, but it may not be able to deal with really old or set-in underarm stains and odors. If I see a change in my t-shirts after a few more washes I will revisit this review.

The website says that you can add ProWash to your regular laundry, along with detergent, to boost cleaning power and reduce detergent build up. I tried that and did notice my clothes didn't smell like soapy fragrance, but at $10 a pouch, while I will continue to use ProWash for my worst smelly clothing, I'm not sure I will mix it with my regular loads.