Hi, I have been riding with my 661 4X4 shin gaurds for a while now and they have become rather smelly, does anyone know if you can be put in the washing machine?? If so what setting would you use. 
Ollie
Yes you can, jsut not in the dryer, cause the heat will melt the plastic inserts.
I usually do a medium setting, and it works.
I also wash mine with bleach. Color safe bleach, because that will kill the bacteria a lot better than the other laundry soaps.
So if you do a wash with bleach, then do a wash with regular soap, that should get rid of all the bacteria and leave them smelling amazing. =p
Just washing with regular laundry soap will get rid of the smell for a little, but once you strap them one and go on one ride, they will smell once you get home.
Yeah man, My 661 stank for about a year til finally my mum grabbed them and stuck them in the machine. They were fine.
So my only answer to that would be, yes you can wash them but what setting, who knows?
Jas
I have washed my shin guards a couple of times (just hand washed), but I find that as long as you leave them out to air after big rides and even little ones it helps heaps!
Ed
661 washing guide and smell removal:
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find a bathtub or a large sink to use, and fill with warm water
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pour some liquid laundry detergent in the water
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let the armor soak for minimum of 5 hours
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remove armor from tub and let AIR DRY
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spray with bacteria killing lysol or anything like it that says batceria killing
Thats how i do mine, but it only lasts 2 rides tops. O yeah, one more thing to do after EVRY ride. Get some superstrong air freshener, and i mean SUPER strong, (the kind that says “1 spray does it”) and get the orange smell and spray 2 times in diferent places on the armor. They smell like roses after every ride!
6 hours plus drying and it only lasts two rides? What’s wrong with the washing machine?
thats what the spray is for. It only lasts 2 rides without using the spray.
just take them in the shower with you after your ride. i do that about every 10 rides or so, when they get gross. if you leave them out to air dry everytime it doesn’t hurt. but i just shower with them, and use regular soap to scrub them and make sure they rinse clean. put them in front of a fan to amek sure they dry all the way through. simple.
I put mine in the dishwasher and they tend to last a couple months before they go smelly again.
I just toss them in by themselves with some dish soap and let it do its thing. Then I have carpet running up my bar in my room so I just stick the velcro to that so that they dry nice and evenly.
Drying is just as important as cleaning. If you clean them then just let them sit around they will develop other bacteria that may be harder to get rid of.
The thing is, when your washing, the main bacteria is from sweat that has soaked into the foam padding, this is where the stink really comes from. Sprays arent going to get down into the foam.
Thats why I use bleach.
Before I did I tested a small patch of the fabrics and foam to see if the bleach would deteriorate the fabric/foam, once I found out it didn’t, it went in the bleach wash.
i don’t wash them.
I wash mine in the washing machine and then throw them in the dryer when clean. No problems yet putting them in the dryer either, I just do a load with all my riding gear.
ditto.
These things are made to take abuse; thats their function. If they cant take a little romp in the washer/dryer, that’s lame. 
it’s not the abuse of the dryer, it’s the heat. at low/medium heat they’re probably okay.
High heat in my dryer. They’re defiantly ok. Tho I don’t wash them nearly as often as I should.
Dishwashing powders are highly alkaline and probably not the best way to wash your leg armour. Such a high pH might damage the fabric. I find a wash in the washing machine does the trick. A splash of Detol or anti-bacterial laundry rinse (look for one which contains benzalkonium chloride) will help to kill the bugs which cause the bad smells.
My rockgardn padding got so bad that it would foul up the entire basement. 
After pondering several options I decided to just wear it all into the shower. I closed the drain and took off the armor, put it on the shower floor and proceeded to take a shower as usual. But then I put extra soap into the growing pool of water and then sloshed things around a bunch. Then I drained it and rinsed off everything.
It worked pretty well; I think the soaking part really helped. The smell is still there but greatly reduced. I imagine the same routine but getting out of the shower and putting in some bleach or something to the pooling water might be more effective, but I was too lazy.
Just make sure you clean out the shower after to avoid 
feelings around the house…
I don’t clean them too often, but when I do, I simply stand them up against the house and have at 'em with the garden hose. Then I hang them up in the garage, and they dry in no time (avg temp in summer where I live is probably 100 deg f). Smell and sweat are gone! They’ve lasted me about 6 years so far, and I think if I actually put them in the washing machine they’d disintegrate!
it says to,
Seperate pads and make sure all velcro straps are done up
DO NOT OVERLOAD THE WASHER
Place the armour on top of the load
Wash in COLD water
Hang to dry, Dryer willmelt foam
if smell persists, place in bag in a freezer overnight
The smell comes from bacteria. Freezing does not kill bacteria, it only makes them hibernate. When they hibernate they stop eating and multiplying and doing the things that make them stink. But as soon as the conditions are good again they’ll pop out of hibernation and be all stinky again.
Hand washing in the bathtub or utility sink is the best way. Use liquid dish dish soap (for hand washing) or liquid laundry soap. Wash by hand. Rinse by hand. Then hang up to dry.
Washing won’t kill all the bacteria either. It will wash many of them away so the stink will be less. But the bacteria that have made themselves comfortable deep in the foam will survive and begin to multiply again when the conditions are right.
Other options are to spray the pads with antimicrobial products like Febreeze Antimicrobial. But that’s only going to kill the surface bacteria and won’t get the bacteria deep in the foam. But it’s better than nothing.
Best thing to do is just hand wash regularly. And do it before they get powerful stinky. Once they get powerful stinky the bacteria are deep in the foam and it will be a losing battle form there on out to keep them under control.