How to wash a white shirt from yellow stains

A white shirt is a wardrobe item that will look appropriate and advantageous in almost any situation. Therefore, such a thing is in the closet not only for men who adhere to a business style, but also for many fashionistas. But white shirts have one obvious drawback — any speck, any pollution that could be invisible on colored things, is clearly visible on white, which makes the thing unsuitable for wearing. Very often on white shirts, especially those bought a long time ago, yellow spots appear in the armpits. The occurrence of such pollution is difficult to avoid in the hot season, when even antiperspirants do not save. Ammonia, acids, urea, micro and macro components of sweat settle on the fabric, penetrate deep into the structure of the material, enter into chemical reactions with air and, in fact, with the fibers of the material. As a result, moisture evaporates, and yellow marks that are difficult to remove appear on clothes.

To get rid of yellow stains on white shirt fabric, you can use:

1. Laundry detergents with enzymes and/or oxygen bleaches.

2. Stain removers, including those with active oxygen.

3. Ordinary chlorine bleaches by type of Whiteness.

4. Folk remedies — salt, vinegar, baking soda or soda ash, hydrogen peroxide 3%, laundry soap and even aspirin, ammonia, etc.

Before using a particular product, you need to determine whether it is suitable for the type of fabric from which the white shirt is sewn. If the fabric is delicate — silk or wool, it must be washed using special detergents, it is not recommended to use folk recipes for cleaning it (except for salt, soda, soap), and chlorine stain removers and bleaches are generally prohibited. If the fabric is cotton, linen, it will withstand washing with ordinary detergent, and the use of Whiteness, and exposure to vinegar or soda. We give general tips on how to remove yellow stains from a white shirt, and you have to decide which ones are suitable for your application. If you are not sure about your choice, it is better not to risk it, but take the item to dry cleaning.

How to wash a white shirt from yellow stains in a washing machine

First, let’s focus on the choice of detergent. It should be powerful enough, it is recommended that it contains enzymes — substances that bind and remove particles of dirt. At the same time, it is better that it is not a dry powder, but a gel, including capsules. Such a product is safer in terms of composition, it is less harmful to the environment, it is less likely that it will cause allergies in someone who wears washed clothes. Also, liquid washing powder is perfectly soluble even in cool water, it is well rinsed out of fabric fibers. And remember that for delicate fabrics you need to buy special detergents, otherwise the thing may sit down, stretch or be otherwise damaged.

Next, we determine the washing temperature and mode, it is desirable that the white shirt be washed at a temperature of 40-60 degrees, if the fabric is delicate, then at a temperature of 30 degrees. For silk and wool, viscose, you can choose a special or gentle mode, “hand wash”, for cotton and linen — the usual mode. The spin speed does not matter, set the one that is allowed for the fabric.

If the stains are fresh, for example, they put on a white shirt in the morning and took it off in the evening, finding yellow circles under the armpits, you can wash the item without any prior preparation. Just load it into the machine, including other white things, and start the process. If the stains are old, the thing was worn several times and soaked with a lot of sweat, it will need to be treated with a stain remover before washing or soaked in a solution prepared according to one of the popular recipes. You will read more about this in the post.

How to wash a shirt by hand

If you are washing the item by hand, have a container, liquid detergent and a soft brush ready. The water should be tolerably hot or warm if a delicate item is being processed. Dilute the gel product in water, additionally apply it to the armpit area on the shirt, while the fabric should be damp. Rub the stains with a brush, leave for 10 minutes, then immerse the item in soapy water. Massage if it is cotton / linen, rub it well, leave it to soak for half an hour. Then rub again, working especially well under the armpits. Leave the shirt in the water for another 30 minutes, then wash it again by hand. Now the shirt can be wrung out without twisting, collect clean warm water into the container, rinse the product. It is necessary to rinse in several changes of water so that at the end of the procedure the water remains clear and there is no foam in it. After hand and machine washing, you can dry a white shirt in the fresh air, under the sun’s rays, it will not fade, and ultraviolet will additionally disinfect the fabric.

We use stain removers and bleaches

There are stain removers that are used before washing, and there are also household chemicals that need to be added to the washing powder. The latter include, for example, Vanish’s Oxi Action Gold or Ace Oxy Magic White. They will not only remove stains and dirt, but also make white things even whiter. The products that are used before washing are Sano Oxygen Stain Remover or Korean preparation with enzymes and natural soda NATURE LOVE MERE. In general, the range of such drugs is huge, you can easily choose the option for yourself, depending on the more comfortable method of application and price. Those stain removers that are added to the powder during washing are the most convenient to use, they enhance the action of the detergent and have an additional cleaning effect. Preparations that are used before washing are also very easy to use, as a rule, they are sold in spray bottles, they are used very economically — sprayed on places with yellow spots, waited a certain time, and that’s it, you can start washing (manually or in a typewriter) .

How to wash a white shirt from sweat using folk remedies

Before using any of the folk remedies, apply it to an inconspicuous area of ​​​​the test shirt — will it damage the fabric, for example, you can anoint the bottom of the product, which is usually tucked into trousers. If no suspicious reaction occurs within 5-10 minutes, great, the product is safe for the tissue.

So what folk recipes can be appliedto wash a white shirt from yellow stains of various origins, including traces of sweat:

1. 
   Soap solution from laundry soap. This tool does an excellent job with various contaminants, but it costs literally a penny. Take a quarter of a standard bar, chop in any convenient way, for example, grate for vegetables or cut with a knife. Add a little ordinary soda, or better — soda ash (treated at high temperatures), dilute with water to the consistency of thick sour cream. Moisten a cloth in the armpit area or where you have a yellow stain, apply a soap mass to the stained area with a sponge, rub with your hands so that the soap penetrates deep into the fibers of the fabric, leave for 30 minutes. After that, the item can be washed both by hand and in the washing machine.

2. 
   Hydrogen peroxide at a concentration of 3%. Treat stains on a wet white shirt with laundry soap, then soak them with peroxide. Leave to soak for 30 minutes, then wash and rinse well, as the peroxide must be completely removed from the fibers of the material.

3. 
   Regular edible salt. We dilute it with water (30 grams of salt per glass of water), rub the solution into yellow marks from sweat or other substances. Leave for 30 minutes, after which the shirt can be washed in any convenient way.

4. 
   Soda, both food and calcined. Dilute 4 teaspoons of the substance in a glass, add 2 teaspoons of dishwashing liquid, treat stains, leave the item to soak for 30-60 minutes, then wash.

5. 
   Aspirin. The thing is treated with soapy water, washing yellow spots. While it is soaking, a few aspirin tablets are crushed, diluted with water to a slurry state, applied to contaminated areas, left for 1-2 hours. After that, the shirt can be rinsed and washed in the usual way.

6. 
   Egg yolk and technical alcohol (denatured alcohol). Mix the components in approximately equal proportions, apply to yellow spots, leave for 30-60 minutes, then wash the item.

7. 
   Vinegar or ammonia. Both the first and second substances are used only for processing cotton or linen fabrics. Dilute four tablespoons of vinegar or two tablespoons of ammonia in a glass of water. Treat yellow spots with a solution, leave for 20-30 minutes, then wash the item.

8. 
   Refined gasoline, for example, a product called «Kalosha». Treat stains with liquid, leave for 10 minutes to soak, then wash as usual.

If neither professional remedies nor traditional medicine recipes help get rid of yellow spots, you will have to take the thing to dry cleaning, and in the future take preventive measures to prevent the occurrence of such contamination.

How to prevent yellow stains and make washing easier

Here are some tips from the experts to help you prevent yellow spots from appearing on white shirts, and if they do, it’s easier to get rid of them:

1. Wear shirts made from natural materials such as linen, cotton, and wool. In such clothes, the skin will sweat less, and the moisture from it will evaporate faster, getting less on the fabric.

2. Do not put on a shirt immediately after applying deodorant or antiperspirant, even if it takes a few minutes to dry. Or use an aerosol product, it dries in a couple of seconds.

3. Do not apply more antiperspirant/deodorant to your skin than recommended in the product instructions. Otherwise, in the armpit area, a lot of substances from the composition of the cosmetic product will accumulate on the tissue, which can contribute to the yellowing of the white tissue.

4. You should not iron a shirt with yellow stains from sweat or other substances, under the influence of high temperature from the soleplate of the iron, the contaminants will only become stronger in the fibers of the material, after which it will be more difficult to remove them.

It can be difficult to remove yellow sweat stains from a white shirt fabric, especially if the material is delicate. Sometimes even the highest quality products do not help to cope with the problem, so it is better to prevent the occurrence of persistent pollution than to deal with the consequences.