Anchorage Daily News

FAIRBANKS -- Bring on the stinkies, the nasties, the most foul-smelling gear you've got.

Cary and Ruth Meier are game.

They've tackled the worst over several years with their cleaning business, No Sweat Gear -- smoky, fire-resistant Nomex shirts that have traveled miles on a wildland firefighter's back, dirt and blood from a motocross suit, stout football shoulder pads soaked in sweat.

But nothing compares to the rank odors revealed when hockey gear bags are unzipped.

A duffel stuffed with a full ensemble sat on the floor before an Esporta washer in the Meiers' garage, where No Sweat Gear accepted the challenge. A collection of pocketed pucks formed a small pyramid atop the machine.

Cary Meier grabbed the duffel and prepared to unzip.

"This is where you get into the Mike Rowe 'Dirty Jobs,' " he said, referencing the Discovery Channel series that explores the world's nastiest occupations.

The stench hit hard. It's no wonder moms want that gear cleaned at least once a year.

They'd probably push harder for mid-season, even quarterly cleanings, but there's a certain reluctance to washing uniforms.

"Some players are superstitious," Meier said. "They don't want clean gear. They want it stained; they want it as nasty as can be."

And nasty it is.

Meier pulled out each piece, shaking his head at times, holding up protectors that were once white, presumably. And not smelly or rife with bacteria, strep and staph and all the other most-wanteds. They were stained an uncomfortable yellow-brown.

Meier braced as he pulled out gloves and shin guards, which tend to stink the most.

"Bacteria comes from you, and it gets into your pads," he said. "It will actually feed off your sweat. That nasty smell? Bacteria poop.

"I'm usually wearing gloves when I do this," he said.

As well he should, if the conclusions of his son's science experiment a few years ago are any indication.

Curiosity built as Colton, now 13, watched his parents' business take shape. A collection of petri dishes offered a home for bacteria to thrive, swabbed from gear brought in for cleaning and, as a comparison, from the home toilet bowl.

The results? They'll make you think twice.

There was no demonstrable difference between the results from the gear and those from the toilet. Bacteria collected from both sources flourished in the petri dishes, answering his son's question of whether sports gear was really all that dirty.

But it doesn't have to be. No Sweat Gear offers prompt service with several drop-off locations in Fairbanks. Equipment gets cleaned thoroughly -- in time for the next game, the rest of the season or off-season storage.

Leaving bacteria to fester in dirty gear can be downright dangerous, Meier said, citing a lengthy list of news headlines from around the country. Headline examples include "Staph infection killed Osceola County student-athlete," and "M.L. King football player dies of MRSA (a type of staph infection)."

"They're cleaning the schools; they're mopping down the locker rooms, but nobody's checking the gear," Meier said.

It's just not a risk he, and many other parents and players, are willing to take.

KEEPING KIDS, ENVIRONMENT SAFE

About three years ago, the Meiers' son, Colton, developed a rash during hockey tryouts. While investigating online, Meier read about the myriad bacteria that can take up residence in athletic gear -- but also came across the Esporta company, and, better yet, a used machine for sale in Anchorage.

Ozone methods used at dry cleaners kill superficial bacteria. But hockey gear has multiple layers of thick padding, and germs can burrow deep into shin guards and helmets, feasting on soaked-in layers of sweat. The Esporta machine the Meiers have uses patented technology and detergents to saturate deep into pads, killing bacteria anchored well beneath the surface. The detergents are environmentally friendly and biodegradable, which the Meiers appreciate.

"Being a green company is something that is very important to us," Meier said. "It doesn't make any sense to help keep athletes healthy and not keep the environment healthy."

The Meiers bought the machine and started their business about three years ago to help kids stay safe. Their two daughters, Jade, 11, and Sienna, 7, also play hockey. And now, No Sweat Gear has what they believe to be the only Esporta machine in Alaska and the Yukon.

The Meiers transformed the garage of their house high in the hills into a workshop, installing a special Esporta water heater and creating workstations and drying racks around the perimeter. Meier hauls water for his home and for the business.

"I've got a few customers, where the rash starts picking up again, I clean their gear; the rash goes away," Meier said. The results are serious job satisfaction. His business can help athletes stay in the game, doing what they love.

One client, a goalie in a men's hockey league, repeatedly fought staph infections. His doctor finally gave the only advice he could -- give up the game.

Meier, however, had another solution -- regular cleaning of the goalie's gear. And the goalie is still in the game.

"It's instant gratification, especially with the moms," Meier said. "They can actually ride in their vehicles without having the windows down."

No Sweat Gear handles about anything and cleans regularly for local teams, including the Ice Dogs.

"They break out in rashes pretty regularly," Meier said. "I can do, usually, the entire team in about 36 hours."

That's eight sets of hockey gear per wash.

BRING ON THE GRIME

The Esporta Sports and Protective Equipment Wash System is a beast and offers confidence that the Meiers can rid gear of the rankest odors. Its design resembles a Ferris wheel with a circle divided into eight triangular cages. When the Esporta is fired up, the wheel hub rotates, eliminating the need for agitators that damage fabric and can wreck Velcro.

That's important when cleaning firefighter gear, including tents and backpacks that have a dizzying number of buckles and fasteners.

One hundred yellow shirts bulge from clear plastic bags set on wire racks, partners to 50 pair of dark-green pants. The specially made, flame-retardant wildland firefighting gear requires precise cleaning, which is made possible by the 99 programmable pre-sets Meier wired into the Esporta.

Contracts with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources and federal Bureau of Land Management, which supply many firefighters, mean steady business in an active fire season. At the height of the 2007 Kenai fires, the Meiers were washing 80 sleeping bags in four loads each night, using about 300 gallons of water per load.

Along with hockey gear and skates, football gear and firefighting accouterments, No Sweat Gear washes motocross and snocross equipment, motorcycle gear, tents and backpacks.

Meier said he'd like to process more hunting attire eventually. The special detergents used with the Esporta eliminate ultra-violet light found in clothing, aiding sportsmen in their quest for camouflage.

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