GROSSE POINTE WOODS, Mich. (WJBK) -
Any hockey dad or soccer mom can tell you sports gear gets stinky and is tough to get clean, but an expert in the field said ozone gas can get the job done.
"The gloves and blockers and helmets always get the stinkiest because your hands are sweating," said youth hockey player Jack Jordan. "This is always a problem."
It is apparently a problem for the whole family. Jack's sister Mary told us the hockey equipment smells "terrible".
Paul Boyer, the owner of Precision Blades in Grosse Pointe Woods, is the head equipment manager for the Detroit Red Wings. He knows the problem with stinky gear goes well beyond the smell.
"The bacteria that's growing, as it grows, that odor comes out, and it's eating away at the foam that's inside," he said. "So your equipment is less effective to protect you, but you're also putting your own skin at risk to pick up... a staph infection or a MRSA."
MRSA is a type of staph infection that is tough to kill with antibiotics. It sneaks into your body through a cut or scratch causing a minor problem or a potentially deadly infection.
MRSA is mainly spread by person to person contact, but can be spread through contaminated objects like shared sports equipment.
Sanitizing sports gear is tough. That's where Fresh Gear comes into play. What looks like a metal cabinet is actually an ozone gas generator used to naturally kill bacteria.
"The ozone gas comes through the ports and it goes directly into the piece of equipment," Boyer explained.
Ozone gas consists of three oxygen atoms, which helps to blast away bacteria and viruses. Hockey mom Kaite Jordan said that is a big improvement over her usual method.
"Before this I would just take a Lysol wet wipe and wipe out the inside, which really is just taking care of the surface. All that hockey equipment has the foam in it and the leather and it absorbs the smell and the bacteria, and I want to make sure that it's gone," she said.
Fresh Gear is not just for sports equipment.
"It's very effective for smoke damaged items. Firemen use to for their coats. Police use it for their Kevlar vests," Boyer said.
It takes 20 minutes for most things to get the full ozone treatment. As for the smell test, Deena Centofanti sniffed one piece of equipment before and after and said, "Oh yeah, that's better."
The cost is about $35 to run equipment through one cycle. Sometimes it takes two cycles.
For more information about Fresh Gear, visit www.FreshGear.com.
Equipment in the Fresh Gear machine at Precision Blades in Grosse Pointe Woods (Credit: WJBK)
