How to Get Sweat Stains Out of Cotton?

From my experience, it has to do with the type of deodorant you are using. Certain deodorants stain the clothing. The one I am using now doesn't stain at all. It is called Naturally Fresh and is completely natural. It works great and has a neutral smell that both men and women can use.

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I just read that if you put 2 asprin in half a cup of warm water and soak your white t-shirts that have sweat stains in them in it, they will remove it completely. Have not tried it yet, but figure it's cheap and worth a shot! :)

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Hi C.,

Karen is right about the aluminum (and it has been linked to Alzheimer's) so you may want to find a natural deodorant as well. I use one without aluminum and it works great. I've tried a lot that don't work at all. A natural enzyme laundry detergent will work best for the aluminum stains. The Prespot that I use has removed these type stains for me in the past and it fades almost in front of my eyes. They laundering is just to clean the shirt :)

M.

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someone once told me to use Clorox for colors, and put it directly on the stain, rub.... let it sit. But not until it dries. Then wash.
I never tried it, but this lady said she does that for any stain, on washable fabrics.

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I've heard that a baking soda paste can help, not sure if it's true, but what have you got to lose, right? Honestly, I always just cut up shirts like this to use as rags! lol! But those were cheap under-shirts that I had to wear under my Navy uniform. I'm going to try the aspirin thing with one of my hubby's under-shirts though, and look for a deodorant without aluminum. It'll be tough since the aluminum is most often the anti-itch agent (deodorant works great on mosquito bites BTW), but if it's really linked to Alzeheimers then it's probably worth finding a more natural one.

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I've had this same problem with some of my linen shirts. Just this past weekend I put a couple of the shirts in a bucket of water and Oxiclean (2 scoops in a 10 gallon bucket) and left them to soak overnight. I washed them the next day as usual in my delicate cycle... and the stains were gone.

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Are you talking about yellow, under arm stains on white t-shirts? I don't think you'll like my answer but here goes... The yellow stains are a result of your deoderant more than simply from sweat. The more aluminum that your deoderant contains, the more likely that your white shirts will develop underarm yellow patches. There unfortunately is not much you can do to reverse the yellowing... Bleach won't work on it, neither will most laundry solvents. Some advice is to try lemon juice and laying the item in direct sunlight.... I don't think it actually works very well.

My advice is to phase out white shirts (replace them with colored cotton/fabric) and/or investigate more natural deoderants that are aluminum free (but they may not work as well or give you a similar dry feeling).

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if on white shirts you're getting yellowing...it's not the sweat staining you're beloved cotton t's :(

it's that insepid deoderant!!!!

find a new brand, different? sheen? texture? scent? maybe you'll get lucky and find something that works or maybe someone on here knows a trick...

sorry, i really have only half an answer :(

you could always follow the "golden boy" rule...wear 'em stain proud until they fall apart from to many sunny days and the washing and drying they well deserve and worked so hard for :)

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Oxi Clean used to work great on my dads. You just pre soak them and then wash as usual. Hope that helps.
C.

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Oxy Clean with SUPER HOT (boiling even) water.

on a side note about deodorant...
I heard the aluminum product that most of them have is bad for your body..
So opt for the brands that do not contain ALUMINUM.

the only ones I've seen so far are ADIDAS for women, and the OLD SPICE for my man :)

The thing that I have found that works really good is to get a bucket, mix about 1 cup of cascade powder dish soap, just the regular NOT the complete with hot water. Soak the clothes in it over night. You will be amazed at how yelow the water get, thus I drain this water and then put my clothes through a regular wash cycle. Depending on how many you are soaking, you may add as much cascade as to get a fairly soapy feeling mix.