How do you clean bacon yellow shirt collars?

Yellow stains on the shirt collar or cuffs are not pretty. They are not only caused by sweat, but also by creams and other liquids. A nice shirt with yellow stains looks very unkempt and unhygienic. However, everyone who wears a shirt is unfortunately confronted with them from time to time. Hence the question: What is the best way to combat yellow discolouration?

How does yellow discolouration get into my collar?

There are a few possible causes of yellow stains on collars. One of the most common causes is perfume. Perfume sometimes has a colour of its own. Combined with the skin rubbing against the collar, this can cause yellow discolouration on the collar. Yellow collars can also be caused by body fluids and sweat. When it gets hot, the armpits, forehead and neck are the first places where sweat forms. These are often the places where the first discoloured stains appear on the shirt.

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I am looking for: Tips for cleaning yellow discolouration on shirts

How can I remove the yellow colour from my shirt collar?

• Shampoo

  Shampoo is an excellent way to remove body grease from your shirt. This is because shampoo has a degreasing effect but does not contain bleach. It's a mild approach to yellow stains, but definitely worth a try before moving on to heavier remedies.

• Soft soap

  Soft soap or "green soap" is a good, tried and tested household remedy from grandmother's time for removing yellow stains from collars. The advantage of this long-used remedy is that it works without using acids or other chemicals.

• Stain remover

  Stain removers also generally do what they are made for. Stain removers are degreasers or acids that penetrate deep into the fabric to fight and remove the stain. Always try this before proceeding with bleach or vinegar.

• Cleaning with vinegar

  Cleaning vinegar is one of the cheapest ways to clean shirt cuffs or collars. Vinegar degreases well and is also a fine agent that does not attack the structure of the fabric too much. However, the longer you soak the shirt in cleaning vinegar, the more the structure of the fabric is attacked.

Alternative methods for removing yellow shirt stains

• Baking soda

  Put a spoonful of baking soda in the washing machine before washing the stained clothes. This is because baking soda contains bleach, which can make the stain disappear. However, do not wash the shirt with soda alone, but half soda, half detergent. Soda is a good choice because it does not attack the fabric and its structure too much yet.

• Toothpaste

  Yellow stains can be treated with white toothpaste. Note: This should really only be done with white toothpaste and not with other colours. It may sound strange, but toothpaste contains abrasives and bleaching agents. These can make the stain (partially) disappear. However, toothpaste often only helps if the yellow stain is not very pronounced. So if the stain is very present or large, you should tackle it in other ways.

• Buttermilk

  Another option is to soak the shirt in buttermilk. The acids in buttermilk have a degreasing effect and are a good remedy for stains. Just make sure that the shirt goes through a long wash afterwards. Otherwise a sour smell will remain in the shirt, and of course you don't want that.

• Lemon

  Finally: lemon. Lemon is naturally acidic and works well as a degreaser. Lemon is also sometimes used to clean teapots, windows, floors and therefore shirt cuffs. The best way is to soak the collar of your shirt in warm water, add some lemon or leave the lemon on the stain. The citric acid degreases, bleaches and then pulls the stain out of the collar.

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