The key to caring for your hockey equipment is not to leave it in your hockey bag when you get home. Your gear will smell, and actually start to rot. Once you play in your equipment, you've got to either hang it up or lay it out to dry. Manufacturers have come up with a lot of different materials to help the quipment breathe and dry, so it doesn't take very long to air out. The body produces an ammonia from sweat; which if it doesn't get out to dry, will rot your equipment and make it mildew. It is not reccomended to put equipment into the sun to dry - when you do that, the plastic parts of the equipment absorb the heat and that reduces their durability. A better idea is to hang your gear up in the basement for an hour or so. To take care of the smell, use an anti-bacterial disinfectant without much scent. You don't want to treat the equipment with anything perfumy, because when you wear it again that can react with your sweat and actually burn your skin or eyes. Skate blades and holders should be completely dried immediately after every game or practice. This will prevent deterioration of the blade. Also, altering any piece of equipment is not recommended. Manufacturers make equipment to protect players for one reason and that's to prevent injury. If you alter your equipment or take any padding out, you will create gaps in the protection.
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