what a smelly shirt

[Neil9327]

I had a discussion with my boss today regarding my gym tee-shirt. He claimed that it was unhygenic to hang it up on a rail under my desk, but I thought it was not. My view is that it is actually less unhygenic to hang a gym shirt up than it is to wear a shirt for a whole day, for the following reasons. I'd be interested in any comments (apart from "get a fresh shirt you lazy so and so")

 

When you wear a shirt in the office, although you don't sweat much, the small amount of sweat you build up is sufficient to allow anaerobic bacteria to build up under your armpits and create smell-producing chemicals. And it does this for 16 hours during the whole day.

 

When you go to the Gym however, although you produce much more sweat, it is only for 45 minutes, and there is therefore much less time to grow smell producing (unhygenic) bacteria. Then when you hang it up under the desk it has continued access to oxygen (so the anaerobic bacteria can't survive) and it dries out quickly, so no further bad smells can be produced.

[MattC]

Why would you bring your smelly cloths to work? If you can avoid it, put them somewhere else. By unhygenic, maybe he meant that he didn't like the smell.

 

Just because the anaerobes aren't in control doesn't mean it smells good, though it'll probably smell better.

[Neil9327]

Why would you bring your smelly cloths to work? If you can avoid it' date=' put them somewhere else. By unhygenic, maybe he meant that he didn't like the smell.

 

Just because the anaerobes aren't in control doesn't mean it smells good, though it'll probably smell better.[/quote']

 

I bring my "smelly clothes" to work because there is a Gym at work. The only alternative to keeping the clothes at work is taking them home every day. But if I do this there is a risk that I will forget to take them in one day and horror of horrors I might be forced to miss a gym session. My view is that one has to be 100 percent disciplined to keep up an effective exercise regime.

 

Although i could put "them somewhere else" that would have to be a cupboard. And this would cause exactly the loss of exposure to oxygen that I think would cause an exponential increase in smell-creating bacteria that my manager appears to be concerned about.

 

 

I asked him whether he could actually smell anything, and he said he couldn't

 

Good question: Can you get "bad smells" from purely aerobic bacterial action?

[YT2095]

couldn`t you leave a clean Spare shirt there in a bag in a drawer somewhere in case you DID forget to bring it back with you next day?

[Neil9327]

couldn`t you leave a clean Spare shirt there in a bag in a drawer somewhere in case you DID forget to bring it back with you next day?

 

Well of course you're right. But of course any self respecting scientist will then forget to replenish the spare shirt, so when he/she subsequently forgets his main shirt he is stuffed.

 

 

But this is scienceforums.net, so I'm interested in the answer from a scientific rather than practical perspective.

[YT2095]

well I see Science as BEING "Practical", however not withstanding that, then Yes your shirt Will still get smelly even with O2 involved.

[Callipygous]

it will also turn yellow and get all stiff and crinkly...

 

gross.

 

wash your clothes you lazy so and so!

[Neil9327]

it will also turn yellow and get all stiff and crinkly...

 

gross.

 

wash your clothes you lazy so and so!

 

OK mum will do.

 

I do wash the shirts, but I recon they are good for three sessions of 45 minutes each across one week.

I haven't noticed any yellowing or stiffness or crinklyness.

Gross - well that's such a subjective term - a matter of opinion

[Neil9327]

well I see Science as BEING "Practical", however not withstanding that, then Yes your shirt Will still get smelly even with O2 involved.

 

Well OK sorry I agree YT. I was actually trying to be diplomatic with that statement. I know that the inevitable reponse of a non-scientist is a "wash the shirt you smelly da da da". The purpose of this post was to get specific answers from those who know about these things (or claim to) to CONFRONT those who come out with those general comments.

 

So in other words if it turns out that from a scientific point of view a Gym shirt hung up will get as smelly/unhygenic as a non-Gym shirtworn during the whole

[Dr. Dalek]

So in other words if it turns out that from a scientific point of view a Gym shirt hung up will get as smelly/unhygenic as a non-Gym shirtworn during the whole

 

Ask the Mythbusters!

 

http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/mythbusters.html

[YT2095]

So in other words if it turns out that from a scientific point of view a Gym shirt hung up will get as smelly/unhygenic as a non-Gym shirtworn during the whole

 

not AS smelly no, and it`ll be a different sort of smell also, one that will "activate" as soon as it gets warm and hydrated again.

Unhygenic YES for sure (don`t forget there will still be Breakdown products of even the Dead bacterium).

don`t get me wrong, it`s infinately preferable than taking it off and letting it "ferment" in a plastic bag until next day, but it`s far from Ideal also.

[Neil9327]

not AS smelly no' date=' QUOTE']

 

YES!

 

Thank you YT

 

I'll report this fact back to my manager.

 

 

But at the same time I feel it necessary to reassure those visitors to this forum that I have taken steps to ensure that I won't have a smelly shirt hanging under my desk any more. I might meet them in real life (stranger things have happened): I've bought 20 white t-shirts of them for 20 UK pounds off Ebay.

 

I've turned into a Meson. How did that happen?

[Genecks]

I don't understand why this was moved the General Discussion.

It had scientific concept in biology.

[Mokele]

Something that seems to have been neglected: the odor of a smelly shirt isn't just bacteria, it's body chemicals and a good dose of pheremones. For those, airing out will simply mean they evaporate into the air sooner.

 

Whether this is good or bad depends on if you have any cute co-workers you plan on hooking up with. Nothing like a phermone dispenser in your office to help things along.

 

Mokele

[pHoToN_gUrL]

why don't u just put the shirt in a plastic bag n tie it up or some thing? i don't know about the biological prespective, but i do know that it's pretty selfish to make others in the office suffer just becuz u worry that u'll miss a gym session. Btw, do u take a shower after the gym? if not, then all those bacteria r sitting on u while u work, EWWWW

[GutZ]

Whether this is good or bad depends on if you have any cute co-workers you plan on hooking up with. Nothing like a phermone dispenser in your office to help things along.

 

Yeah nothing says sexy like a dirty gym shirt.

[olifhar]

Uhm, if you can't wash it, do you at least use Febreeze?