Tips For Getting Out Sweat Stains

My mom used to always say you needed a new white t-shirt every summer. That stayed with me and just like the sound of the ice cream truck or the feeling of sliding on flip flops for the first time, ripping the tags off a new white shirt hails summer for me. I’ve thrown away countless tanks and tees because of the nasty yellow sweat stains, but maybe I was too hasty. Want to get the stains out? Here’s how.

Armpit stains (the stain is often a reaction between the deodorant and the sweat.)

soak the shirt in water and vinegar in a 2:1 ratio for at least 1/2 hour
mix 1/2 cup baking soda, 1 tbsp salt and 1 tbsp hydrogen peroxide into a paste
take the shirt out of the water and vinegar, squeeze dry, spread the paste onto the stains and let sit for another 1/2 hour
wash with other whites

Baseball hats

in this case, prevention is better than treatment. Try a stain repellant you can purchase at a sporting goods store or on Amazon.
hat liners can absorb the sweat from your head and save a favorite hat
rubbing shampoo on the inner brim can release body oils
spot clean with non-bleach based cleaners and a white cloth
rinse in cold water and air dry

Sheets

I have never tried this, but research is telling me a little bit of dish soap in the fabric softener dispenser works well. I can see the sense in this as they are designed to break up oils.
OR …
Put 1/4 cup of vinegar into your fabric softener dispenser.
Wash white sheets twice. Once with detergent and then once with a cup of bleach.
For yellowed sheets, purchase a bluing agent, like Mrs. Stewart’s , which will offset the yellow color while you wash.

Spot cleaning a sweat stain with equal parts lemon juice and water has also been shown to work.

Still, there is nothing like a nice, new, white summer shirt!

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