just the blood of all my previous victims

Also, Miikka this was a joke. In the same vein as earlier comments on this thread.

Damn... I pictured a spray bottle filled with the blood of the training partners you slayed

Not washing the belt is like not washing you teeth. Prove me wrong. :D

Wash your belt. Give me a break. It's like not washing the gi.

Do you at least spray it with something antibacterial?

There are plenty of them to ruin your training for weeks or months. Staph can do it for years or it can kill you. Please wash your belt. If not for you, do it for everybody else.

I have had a staph infection. Got it in a no-gi class from a guy who had a staph infection and didn't know it. I had just shaved my head before coming to class and got the infection on my ear. Staphylococcus aureus, to be precise, which is a common one for infections. Super common bacteria for people to have on their skin and someone else's bacteria may not be what your body is used to seeing. Any cuts or abrasions on the skin can be infected if in direct skin contact with another person. In other words, you are way more likely to get a staph infection in a no-gi class than a gi class. Quite familiar with staph and MRSA. Most mats are either porous (Restlite) or have an etched surface (tatami style) giving places for bacteria to hide and cultivate. My mats are covered in a non-porous canvas that gets cleaned sometimes 3 times a day. I use cleaners that are hospital grade. I pay close attention to these things and have really stepped things up since we re-opened with regards to COVID-19. Our hand sanitizers aren't just antibacterial (which is what most people are doing), they are at least 65% alcohol based because that will kill pretty much everything. In 10 years of operation my gym has not had 1 staph infection. Nor has there been a fungal infection outbreak. We have not had a COVID-19 transmission. I must just be lucky.

Keeping your own gym clean is huge, but what if you visit another gym? Or a camp somewhere? Staph was just the worst case scenario. There are other germs that are more likely to jump on you.

Here's a microbiologist's view: https://bjiujitsu.blogspo[...]n-bjj.html TLDR: wash your belt.

Here's a microbiologist's view: https://bjiujitsu.blogspo[...]n-bjj.html TLDR: wash your belt.

It really amuses me how steadfast Joe is in his refusal to wash his belt.

Stand strong Joe, you are entitled to you own way.

Thanks Vovis!

Did Mark adopt an alias to hide from all the people he downvoted?

Again, I didn't say I never wash my belt. I said I don't wash it with the same frequency as my gi top. I wash it when it is pretty obvious it needs it. I have 4 belts that I wear and leave hanging when they aren't being used. And so far, in 23 years of doing that with 10 years of that being at my own business....no bacterial infections. Washing your belt every time you roll is just a way to try to make your belt look used. It's not necessary to do it.