Keeping Yoga clothes and Yoga Towels clean on a two moth retreat. Also taking care of your mat

I've been practicing at Kristina' shala (http://www.yogapractice.gr) for the last two months, down to my last couple of days.

Kristina said the nicest thing this morning, or asked me the nicest question anyway.....

How do you stop your clothes and towels from smelling when you sweat so much?

Especially nice as I've heard her tell people to wash their yoga towel, their mats etc., feared I might be next.

My towel back home, as bad here, two towels like this when I arrived in fact

The secret of my sucesss

Bucket soak, or rather bottom of the shower soak.

I just lay them out in the bottom of the shower with a good shake of Tide (hand wash) then take my shower and tread them for a bit. Eventually the water drains away and I fill it again, couple of times a day then finally a last rinse before hanging them up to dry in the room.

Seems to work.

I should turn comments back on for this post as I'm sure many of you have your own ways and means that work.

I know horrendous bathroom/shower but the cheapest deal in Rethymno

Good tip though, if you're going to go on retreat for a few months get new kit. I remember at Ramaswami month long TT in LA I brought my favourite, most comfortable, shorts and towels, thought they smelled nice and clean and fresh when I left but after a couple of days they started to pong a bit had togo  shop.

And you, what works........?

PS this from  Renaissance Yoga on keeping your yoga mat clean
http://www.renyoga.com/blog/how-to-clean-your-yoga-mat/

Or this from dailycupofyoga for my dear friend Michelle on breaking in a fancy new but slippery Manduka and taking care of it.
http://www.dailycupofyoga.com/2010/08/28/how-to-care-for-manduka-black-mat-pro/

...which includes this from manduka.com

To Break In: The surface texture of the Black Mat PRO improves with use. Our customers have found that the best way to “break in” their mat is to use it on a daily basis. Another trick is to sprinkle coarse sea salt over your mat, scrub it down with a sponge, and air dry in the sunshine [Never thought of this, but sounds good for a brand new mat].