It used to be your favorite shirt, but now it has embarrassing stains under the arms. It happens to the best of us, but it doesn’t have to spell the end of your favorite shirt or blouse. Here are ten simple ways to remove antiperspirant stains from your clothes.
Simple ways to remove antiperspirant stains:
The active ingredients in antiperspirants will build up over time, getting harder and harder to remove, but it can be done in any one of these ten simple ways. To remove antiperspirant stains, always start with your clothing turned inside out so the solutions can get right to the stains.
1. Ammonia rinses
For fresh antiperspirant stains, soak the clothing in cold water and ammonia. The ammonia will actively neutralize the acids found in the antiperspirant and will the remove antiperspirant stains from the cloth.
2. Vinegar scrubs
White vinegar is an effective way to remove antiperspirant stains from the cloth. Pour it full strength directly on to the stain, allowing it to soak in fully. You can use as much white vinegar as you need. After the stain has soaked, scrub it until the stain has lightened. Reapply the vinegar, leave the shirt out overnight, and the next day throw it in the laundry as usual. The stain should be gone, but if not, repeat these steps.
3. Baking soda
Mix one-quarter cup of warm water with four tablespoons of baking soda, creating a paste. Rub the paste into the stains and let them sit for two hours or more. Just before washing, rub a drop or two of your detergent into the stain, then wash normally. The baking soda fix works for all types of stains, including ring around the collar.
4. Vinegar machine washes
Washing cloth with the vinegar can remove antiperspirant stains. You can add vinegar directly to your load of clothes, from one to four cups, if you are washing several stained pieces at once.
5. Oxygen-based stain removers
Make a paste of an oxygenized detergent, bleach or cleaner such as Oxiclean. Rub it in, let it sit for a few hours, then wash as normal. Now, enjoy your cloth without any antiperspirant stains on it.
6. Meat Tenderizer
Because meat tenderizer contains naturally occurring fruit enzymes, it is a powerful stain remover for any protein-based stain from sweat to blood. Just add the tenderizer to the water moistened stain, work in, let it sit for an hour, then wash the shirt as normal.
7. Lemons
Create a 50/50 mixture of lemon juice and water and pour it over the stain. Let the clothing sit for about fifteen minutes, then sprinkle salt onto the stain and scrub it in. After that, just toss it in the wash.
8. Aspirin
Aspirin is a mild acid chemical substance. Adding a mild acid to water helps remove antiperspirant stains because it fosters an electrochemical process that attacks one of the sides. Crush two aspirins and dissolve them into one half of a cup of extremely hot water. Let the shirt sit for up to four hours, add a drop or two of laundry detergent to the stains, then throw it in the laundry. These must be genuine Aspirin (Acetylsalicylic Acid) and not Tylenol, Ibuprofen or naproxen sodium.
9. Make your own presoak
Using liquid laundry detergent and water can help you to remove antiperspirant stains. For that, you need to make a presoak mixture with detergent powder and water. Pour it over the stain and rub it in, letting it soak for at least a half hour before washing it as you normally would.
10. Hydrogen peroxide and dish soap
Mix two parts of hydrogen peroxide with one-part dish soap. Soak the stain in the mixture for at least a half an hour, then rinse and wash. If the garment is colored, be sure to spot test this first to ensure the peroxide won’t fade your shirt.
Marks and stains from sweat and underarm products are inevitable, but these ten simple ways to remove antiperspirant stains can save your favorite shirt. Just remember, it’s important to treat the stains as soon as you notice them for your best shot at removing them completely.
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