My mask stinks...

[veeco]

What can I do? I have one of those masks where you can remove the interior padding to wash it separately, but the bib is still getting more and more dirty. I'll try putting it into a washing machine if I was sure it would not break the mesh or anything.

Has anyone already experienced this? How did you solve the problem?

[rusty epee]

Bibs need soaking. If, however, you've been soaking the poor thing in bleach ad infinitum, it's not that the bib keeps getting dirtier, it's that it's overbleached. I guess you'll figure that out when what's left of the poor thing is just the snaps and the seams.

Whoops. Just so you know, this kind of thing is like a beacon for all of the unattached women fencers in your salle. In front of God and the nation, you have officially declared yourself "bachelor." And a new one, at that.

So soak that poor thing in borax -- you know, 20 Mule Team or some such. Incredibly cheap and it works. Does great work with spot jobs, too.

Oh, and by the way: do not, under any circumstances, put your whole mask into the washer. Chemicals lay waste to your mesh -- aside from the abuse the agitation cycle will give it. Even if you do manage to pound all the dents out of it, it'll never pass a punch test again. If you wouldn't do it to a bowling ball, don't try it on your mask (well, except for the punch test...)
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Youth and enthusiam are no match for age and treachery....

[This message has been edited by rusty epee (edited 01-18-2001).]

[veeco]

Rusty epee,

Not that I want to contradict you, but I have shifted from the 'bachelor' position to the 'my heart was ripped from my thorax by an iron fist' a few months ago :-).

[rusty epee]

Oo. Sorry to hear about your thorax, man. Learn to parry.

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Youth and enthusiam are no match for age and treachery....

[fred]

LOL, r-e. However, I believe that the type of attack veeco refers to is usually executed from the back....

This topic is kind of a FAQ, you should be able to find it by searching the postings here.

Although it comes up so often, maybe there should be a section of fencing.net for laundry - Craig?

[Cutter]

My preference has alwasy been to fill up a large bucket with dish soap, lemon juice and water. Stick the mask in it and let it soak for a while. Then, to give my arm a good work out, I pound that sucker up and down in the water until clean. The lemon juice is acidic enough to remove the sweat without damaging the metal.



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Cutter
Reach out and "touch" someone.

[Mergs]

Put it in the dishwasher and take it out before the drying cycle. Let it air dry.

[rusty epee]

Mergs, not to contradict, but dishwasher detergent is bad news for masks. Weakens the mesh.



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Youth and enthusiam are no match for age and treachery....

[walrus418]

i have found that spraying a little Febreze fabric freshener (by Protor & Gamble) into the mask really does a lot to kill the smell.