The 5 very best tips! for removing sweat stains
How do you remove sweat stains (yellow spots) from a shirt? Everyone knows these kinds of stubborn sweat stains. But what to do if your favourite shirt is contaminated by such stains? Tough luck, off to the rubbish? Or are there ways to wash out these sweat stains too? We have put together the best tips for you, so read on quickly!
To remove stains on a shirt, you have two broad options. Either you reach for one of the many sweat stain removers available at the supermarket or drugstore, or you reach for one of the many "housewife" tips you can find on the internet these days.
In the following, we present the tried and tested and frequently used stain remover, Biotex. We also give you an overview of the best housewives' tips, methods that many confirm often work better than an expensive stain repellent.
However, if cleaning doesn't help either, you'll find a new, clean shirt here.
Sweat stains: Tips for cleaning sweat stains on shirts
1. The science behind the white/yellow stains on your shirt
First, let's look at why yellow sweat stains appear on shirts and shirts and what these stains have to do with sweat. Little, as it turns out, because although they are often popularly referred to as sweat stains, most of these stains are the result of deodorant use.
That deodorant causes stains is because most deodorants contain aluminium. Aluminium reacts with sweat (sweat is actually a protein) and causes the yellow or white-yellow stains. By the way, the same thing happens if you try to wash white shirts or shirts with bleach, because that also causes sweat and other protein stains to turn yellow.
Finally, it should be noted that cotton, the fabric from which most shirts are made, is itself a protein. So the aluminium in the deodorant reacts not only with your sweat, but also with the cotton itself.
So much for the boring science, now back to the practical tips for removing white and yellow stains.
2. Remove sweat stains on your shirt with vinegar
For this method of removing white or yellow sweat stains on your shirts and shirts, you only need one product that you probably have in your kitchen anyway: Vinegar. Mix one tablespoon of white vinegar with half a coffee bag of water. Soak the stains on your shirt in this solution for half an hour before continuing to wash it as usual.
For very stubborn sweat stains, it may help to scrub the shirt or blouse with the solution. To do this, spread the solution of water and vinegar on the stain and then rub two parts of the soiled area together. By the way, you can try this with any of the methods mentioned below, especially for difficult stains.
3. Sweat stains and the Biotex method
Stain removers come in all shapes and sizes, but Biotex is a very special category. One of the most widely used stain removers, its unique composition makes it one of the most suitable products for washing white or yellow sweat and axle stains from shirts and waistcoats.
However, people who use Biotex for the first time often complain that the product does not deliver what the advertising promises. One possible explanation could be that they do not use it properly. Although the package says that for light stains you should simply add a little Biotex to the detergent and then wash the clothes as usual, this usually does not help against axle stains.
To combat this type of stain with Biotex, you can either make an anti-stain paste or make a concentrated Biotex bath. By mixing the powder with some warm or hot water and then kneading it for a while, you can make it into a kind of paste. If you then spread this paste on the stain and leave it for a while, you have a good chance that the stain will be gone after one wash.
Another option is to make a small bath in which you dissolve a quantity of Biotex powder and then soak the whole garment. Here, too, it helps to stir a little in the bath while soaking and perhaps rub the soiled textile pieces together for a while so that the stain remover can be absorbed well everywhere and fight the sweat stain.
By the way, Biotex is called "bio"-tex because it contains a number of enzymes. These enzymes attack the proteins that form the basis of many grease and sweat stains.
4. Sweat stains and hydrogen peroxide or baking salt bicarbonate
You may already have baking salt (sodium bicarbonate) in your kitchen. It's often used to soak caked-on pan scraps, and some people even put a little of it on their toothpaste to whiten their teeth. You may have hydrogen peroxide in your first aid kit or you can buy it at any drugstore. The combination of these two substances is great for removing white or yellow stains from your shirts and shirts.
The method goes as follows. For each part of water, mix an equal amount of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. Keep stirring until you get a paste and spread it on the sweat stains (deodorant stains) with a spoon. Massage the paste into the stain with your fingers as deeply as possible. Now leave the paste to work for at least 15 minutes. Then you can put your shirt in the washing machine. It is best to wash it on the cold cycle (30°). If it is a T-shirt, you can put it in the tumble dryer afterwards, a shirt is of course best hung on a hanger to dry. Nine times out of ten, the stain can be completely removed with this method!
However, as soon as a shirt or T-shirt has yellow sweat stains, these stains will come back more quickly. So don't be surprised if the sweat stain reappears after a few weeks. Then you simply have to repeat the stain treatment.
5. Tips to avoid sweat stains
Some tips to avoid sweat stains in the future.
- Treat sweat stains immediately. The longer sweat stains remain in clothing, the harder they are to remove.
- Buy an aluminium-free deodorant to prevent sweat stains and axle stains.
- Wear a T-shirt under your clothes to protect the clothes above from stains.
Do you have any other housewives tips for removing sweat stains? Let us know, we'd love to add them to this list!
And if all these tips don't help then you can find our new shirts here.
