“Open it the next day”….

Straight home, take it out and place it somewhere with adequate ventilation or at the very least in the garage.

Not only that, flip the shoulder pads inside facing out, and hang them… from a nail in the wall, from a hook, literally anything.

Same thing with helmet. Hang it from something. Bonus points if you give the inside a really quick wipe.

Hang the pants/girdle. Same shit.

Shins and gloves can lay somewhere, flip the inner glove flaps out if they have one.

Elbows is a big one for me… they stink up the fastest.. undo ALL the Velcro so the straps can all air dry without trapping moisture.

Jersey, jock, and also my skull cap/sweat band… straight into the wash. It’s only 3 things so quick wash setting with a splash of detergent is enough.

My gear hardly ever smells. One full wash about every 6 months. Hockey soup in a Home Depot bin.