Nikwax BaseWash

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. AMAZING. I seriously love this detergent. My husband and I both work out a good bit (and he hikes/camps), and I have not been able to find anything that truly cleans our dry-fit gear, rather than just covering up odors with loads of perfumes. I have tried just about every mainstream detergent (average grocery aisle purchase), wash boosters, and multiple smaller-label brands that are designed specifically for outdoor gear. NOTHING works like this stuff, and with a houseful of boys, I hope to never be without it. I know some reviews have commented on the price, saying it's just too pricey. In my personal opinion, this stuff does its job SO well that I find I haven't needed it to use it again since the first bulk washing (maybe 5-6 wks ago?). I'm hoping this holds up, and I don't need to use it every single time I wash these items, once every so often might be just fine. That helps offset the cost for me. Some people commented on a chemical-type smell, which I didn't notice terribly; but again, many of the detergents I've tried that are unique to outdoor gear smell like that, so maybe I'm just accustomed to it? Either way, the benefits still outweigh all the costs in our house. I do use it alongside the Nikwax "conditioner", so I'm not sure how much of a difference it made to use them together/if the wash would be as effective alone for us. I may try and update this review sometime, but for now, I'm beyond happy with the results and plan to just continue using both together.

I bought this product to remove an odor from my Keen Newport sandals (waterproof leather ~$100 per pair for those not familiar, so don't just want to throw them out). The sandals became so foul smelling this year that I couldn't stand to wear them - especially if in a closed area like a car or indoors. I had already tried washing them with regular detergent multiple times, putting them outside (100 degree + weather) to try and "air them out", and waiting a week or two for the smell to subside....the smell got a little better, but there was still a lingering odor, and as soon as I wore them once, they were as offensive as before they had been washed. After searching all over the web for ideas, talking to others who had Keen sandals and finally contacting Keen (manufacturer of the sandals), I learned about this product. It was actually recommended by Keen as one of the ways to remove the odor. The product was hard to find locally (actually impossible and I live in a VERY large metro area w/ several million people within 30 minutes in every direction), so I checked Amazon and they had it. I ordered it and used it on both pair of sandals and it worked as advertised. The odor was completely gone and has stayed away for about a month now. I wear one of the two pair almost daily, so it definitely helped. My son plays football and had some receiver gloves that had an equally offensive odor to foot odor (actually worse), so I tried it on them....worked again, although the stink only stayed gone a week or so....they need to be washed again. Since it worked on that, I tried it on his neoprene sleeve that covers his helmet chinstrap...worked again. I would say it should work on anything that comes in contact with your skin and absorbs sweat / bacteria, resulting in an offensive odor. It's worked on everything I've tried it on so far anyway. Overall, great product. Only complaints are the price for such a small amount of it - wish it were available in a larger container and not as expensive (it takes 1/2 bottle to wash the sandals once) and the difficulty finding it (not available locally so you almost have to buy online and pay shipping).

I buy expensive cycling apparel (Assos, Pearl Izumi, Gore mostly) that says not to use regular laundry detergent on the specialty fabrics. I am trying Nikwax BaseWash to handwashing my items immediately after riding. I generally ride for only one to two hours in the dry, dusty desert, so my clothes do not get real dirty. However, they are very, very, very sweaty. Nikwax BaseWash seems to do a nice job of cleaning my summer bibs, pants, base layers, gloves, helmet, wind jacket, and medium-weight, cold-weather bibs. I wash my wool socks in the regular laundry. I wash in about 1.5 gallons of water with 1oz of wash. I follow the instructions to rinse well, then I soak it in fresh water for a few minutes to finish. Then I dry it on a drying rack. All my gear seems to come out clean and fresh, with a very slight kind of lemony, kind of professional cleaner smell. I cannot detect any order unless I hold my nose close to fabric. I am happy with the results so far. My apparel comes out looking great. The clothes are clean, and Nikwax BaseWash does not seem to affect the specialty fabrics adversely, which is my primary goal.

Recommended by a friend, and happy to finally find a way to clean workout clothes that actually cleans them and remove the funky smell. Add a little for pre-wash before the regular detergent and finally your synthetics come out smelling clean.

This product is a Godsend! I run several days a week and my base layer pants and tops always have a funk in certain areas that just wouldn’t go away. I would pre-treat and scrub the problem areas before normal washes but the stench was still there just masked with the scent of detergent. I ran across this product on a YouTube channel for trail running and figured I would given it a try. I read the good and bad reviews and decided to take a chance. It WORKED! I followed the instructions and washed my clothes in WARM water (even if the tag said cold) and they came out like new! No more funky scents! Completely gone! As for the product scent itself, it smells like a cleaning product with a small hint of lemon IMO. It’s completely tolerable and it beats the funk ANY day. If you want to continue to wear your gear, this is a great investment. I was considering throwing some of my base layers away, but now they are saved!

Works well and really deep cleans sports clothing.

Smells more like a disinfectant than laundry detergent, and not sure how much cleaner it gets my cycling clothing than regular detergent. I prefer Assos cleaner,

Works great with underarmour