One possible alternative to washing your belt is long exposure to a high quality UV lamp.

Just microwave it. 😆

Microwave sterilization - PubMed

This study has shown that representative fungi, viruses, and aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, including spore formers, can easily be killed in a conventional microwave oven with proper modifications. Metal instruments, including air turbine handpieces and burs, and acrylic dentures can be sterilized …

LOL im old school and dont wash my belt. and in my close to 10 years teaching fulltime i never had a student with a skin infection.. i think if 2 inches around your waist worries you about germs theres some bigger issue at play.. if a stripe falls off i tape that stripe back on i dont just replace it. promos are important too me and mean more than just something that holds my gi together. i dont wash it cause i think it gives people a false sense of seniority. more times than not people are judged based on how worn out their belt is and washing it is just cheating that process. every fray and tear etc on my belt is earned on the mats not the spin cycle. that being said i got 0 issues with people who choose to wash their belt i will just never partake cause it just means more too me personally. for the freezer my guess is they do that cause the cold kills germs just the same as a wash cycle without the physical abuse. putting it in a bag and freezing it would accomplish this aswell and be sterile just saying.

In the freezer with your food??? That's gross 🤢

I guess many don't wash in the necessary 60 degrees C (140 F) anyways because of shrinking issues etc, so UV, steaming, alcohol, dry cleaning, freezer and so on would be interesting to test scientifically, doing a bacterial culture analysis.

In the freezer with your food??? That's gross 🤢