When your favorite white shirt starts getting yellow marks around the collar and underarms, don’t stress. The yellow stains are caused by a reaction between our sweat and the aluminium found in most deodorants and antiperspirants. You can save your shirt by following the guide below.
What You Will Need To Remove Yellow Shirt Stains
- 1 cup vinegar
- 1/2 cup baking soda
- 1/2tsp bleach or 1tbsp hydrogen peroxide
- 1tbsp salt
How To Get Rid Of The Stains
To begin with, soak the shirt for about half an hour in the vinegar diluted with 2 cups of warm water. Remove the shirt from the water and squeeze the water out so that it is just a little bit damp. Now mix the baking soda, salt and bleach together, if you are using bleach then add 2tsp of warm water to the paste. Using a toothbrush or fine bristled brush, gently brush the stained area of the shirt with the paste and allow it to stand for 15mins. If the stain is particularly bad then allow the stain to soak for half an hour. Lastly machine wash the shirt in a normal cycle with the hottest possible water which is safe for the fabric with the remainder of your whites. The shirt will come out of the machine stain free and looking new!
In future, try to buy a non-marking deodorant, one free of aluminium. Use it sparingly as excess deodorant is absorbed by your clothing and may also cause staining. If you continue staining your shirts, consider wearing a cheap undershirt underneath your expensive shirt. This undershirt will absorb the sweat and deodorant and prevent your expensive shirt from staining.
If you found baking soda useful to remove underarm stains from your shirts, have a look at these 20 more uses for baking soda. You’ll be amazed at how versatile it is, it can even be used as a jewelry cleaner.
I thought youre not supposed to mix bleach and vinegar or you will create a toxic gas – is this not enough bleach to do that?
The shirt is soaked first in vinegar diluted with water, then rung out. So there would be very little vinegar residue left in the shirt when the paste is applied as a 2nd step.
Considering that mixing bleach & vinegar creates chlorine gas (which can be lethal!)…not very wise to use this mixture. Would try with the peroxide though.