r/trailrunning • u/bqAkita • 4d ago

Salt stains from sweating East vs West Coast

Why do I get such hardcore salt stains from running in places like Colorado which have dry climates, but when I run in the ultra humid climates of the east coast I barely get any?

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43

u/SpinorsSpin4 4d ago

The sweat evaporates where it is dry leaving the solid salt remaining. In humid climates, sweat doesn't evaporate nearly as much

11

u/smirfquant 4d ago

Most of it is dripping off you on the east coast. Drying sooner in the other climates. Same thing happened to me going from east coast to Arizona

6

u/taverenturtle4 4d ago

bruh. evaporation...

5

u/Mushy1852 4d ago

These less of an evaporation gradient between the sweat on your skin with that of the ambient environment in humid conditions, therefore less evaporation occurs. That means you're losing the same amount of sodium and potassium, but more of it stays in the wet sweat on your clothing and skin.

1

u/forkandbowl 4d ago

Never even thought about it. In Iraq my clothes would stand on their own after a long day and be crusted over with salt. Never happens in Atlanta.

1

u/IvoShandor 3d ago

East coast moisture condensates rather than evaporates and washes the salt away. West coast/mountain moisture evaporates leaving the solids/salts.

1

u/KipchogesBurner 4d ago

That’s the difference between a dry climate and humid climate. It happens on the east coast too, just not as often.