Guide: How to Care for your Boxing Gloves

Being a fundamental part of your kit, boxing gloves need a lot of maintenance and care to keep them in good condition. This is because they can produce lots of bacteria, germs and smells due to the sweat generated when boxing.

To avoid this there are a few useful tips and tricks, as well as cleaning methods and hacks that will ensure you get to most out of your boxing gloves.

Shop our boxing gloves range and bookmark this guide to increase their longevity:

Let them dry

Firstly, you will want to make sure that your gloves are completely dry after every use. This will stop the germs and bacteria from multiplying and will also stop them from smelling. You can leave them to dry in the sun, or hang them in a well-ventilated area to dry.

Wiping your gloves after every use with a paper towel is a simple, quick way to remove extra moisture and stop bacteria growth.

Don’t put them straight into the kit bag

Don’t put your gloves straight into your kit bag after using. This will help to stop the bacteria growing as they will be able to dry out, rather than stay moist with sweat in an enclosed space.

Instead, wipe the gloves after every use to tackle some of the moisture and then take them home in a plastic bag after using them. Once home, just let them dry and then put them back into your kit bag for your next training session.

Hand wraps

A way to prevent your gloves from getting sweaty and moist when using them is to wear hand wraps underneath. The hand wraps will absorb most of the moisture and stop it from getting into the padding of the gloves.

However, make sure to wash your hand wraps otherwise they will start to smell too! They are a lot easier to wash as you can put them in the washing machine and they don’t take long to dry. Overall, they are a very good solution to soak up most of the sweat!

To find the right hand wraps for you, see our guide on how to choose boxing hand wraps.

How to clean your gloves:

Anti bacterial spray

Invest in a good quality antibacterial spray. This is a quick fix to cleaning your gloves if you do not have time to give them a deep clean but they are starting to smell. However, you do not want to make a routine because it will not kill all of the bacteria and can also wear out the material of the gloves, which may develop cracks if spray is overused.

This goes for any type of chemical that touches your gloves. You will need to spray the gloves in the antibacterial spray and then leave them open to air dry for some time.

Freeze your gloves

If you have time to, freezing your gloves is a really good way to kill the bacteria and get your gloves fresh. It may sound odd, but it is one of the most effective ways to care for them.

Place your gloves in a plastic bag and put them into the freezer overnight, or for up to 2 days, then simply take them out and leave to air dry for 1-2 days. This is a good method because it can be done with any type of boxing glove.

Salt water soak

Another effective way to clean your gloves is a salt water soak, however, you want to make sure that your gloves are made of a material which will not react with the salt water otherwise this will ruin your gloves.

For this method you will need to leave your gloves to soak in a saline solution overnight, then take them out and leave to fully dry in sunlight or to air dry. This solution will break down the bacteria and dissolve them in your gloves.

The stuffing method

The stuffing method airs your gloves to prevent more bacteria. Glove Dogs are a really useful accessory to have and are possibly the most effective way to clean them as they have been specifically made for boxing gloves. Equally, you could put some cedar chips into some socks and stuff into the gloves, or even just some scrunched up newspaper in the glove to absorb the moisture.

Shoe odour products

Once your gloves are dry after any type of cleaning or use, why not put a shoe odour product in the glove to keep it smelling fresh? The inside of boxing gloves and shoes are surprisingly similar. They both create the same bacteria meaning using odour eaters are ideal to keep that smell away in between uses.

Need more help?

If you’re looking for easy to clean gloves or want to check how to clean a pair of gloves you’ve bought from us, just let us know and we’ll be happy to help.