OK, I have read and googled every "laundry help" request out there. So this is a specific, terrorizing, stain problem, I am determined to beat! It all started with a few clothing items, all white, cotton. I sprayed my two girls with a spray-on, oil sun screen. It got onto their white tops and white hats. I swear by Oxi clean, so I soaked them in that overnight. The light stains turned very dark yellow! I washed them, soaked them again and still, not even a bit lighter. I decided since they were white, I'd try Ritz Whitener, which was supposed to strip color and remove tough stains. I simmered them on the stove with this and it seemed to lighten a lot. So I then washed them again with some Oxi Clean and they came out just as dark yellow as before! It must be some reaction to Oxi Clean. Anyhow, I would love any "home" remedies, as I have tried most of the Zout, Shout, and store products. Anyone else had this problem with spray on sunscreens? Thanks!
OK...FINALLY I had enough time to do my laundry experiments that you all suggested and here are the results: I tried apply cooking oil (couldn't get myself to actually put WD40 on my beloved clothes, but have no doubt it works too!) I sprayed one garment with cooking oil, (GULP!) let it sit for 15 minutes and then treated with straight DAWN dish soap. I then let it soak for about 20 minutes in DAWN soapy water. The result was terrific. It actually did release most of the stains. There was the slightest yellow left, but a HUGE amount was gone and it is now completely wearable. I then tried the next garment with straight Hydrogen peroxide. It immediately released the dark yellow stain and turned the rest of the garment even whiter. It was so cool to watch the stain disappear right in front of me! Again, it was not perfectly fixed, but most all the stain was gone and completely wearable. And lastly, I took the next garment and soaked it in straight vinegar. Again the stain just faded away right in front of me. Not as quickly as the peroxide, but end result was just about the same...mostly gone and completely wearable!!! I had one garment left, a pink cotton hat that had the same oil, dark, yellow stains from the sun screen and I soaked it in both vinegar and the peroxide, back and forth and it turned out as good as the white stuff, no fading to the pink either!! Over all I think the peroxide is the best strategy and then the vinegar or the oil on oil. I didn't go out and buy the other suggestions because I didn't have the time or money, but would love to hear if they worked for anyone. I think I would've had a perfect result if I hadn't already treated, washed and dried these garment multiple times after the oil stained them. I am a FOREVER advocate of Oxiclean, however there is a VERY big chemical reaction to it and this oil, so DO NOT soak oil stained clothes in it. I will always have a bottle of peroxide on my laundry shelf from now on. Thank you all for your suggestions and now I must go clean up my kitchen from using it as a science lab!
Sounds like you have a greasy stain which OxiClean doesn't really help with. How about rubbing a concentrated dish soap into the stain like Dawn? I use this to remove greasy stains like mayo and cooking oil. Just wet the stain, dot with Dawn, and rub vigorously. Then rinse well before washing again. Good luck!
I use Simple Green (1/3 that to 2/3 water) on my twins clothes since they were born. The only clothing they have ANY stains on are the ones that my husband or oldest daughter washed and dried without first using the Simple Green solution.
It is VERY strong smelling and can actually be used on many things throughout your house. But do NOT allow it to sit on your clothing for too long prior to washing...just spray it on, work it in a bit, then wash and poof, stain should be gone...
I recently found out that staind can be removed using hydrogen peroxide as well (especially hard to get out stains such as blood or oil) So, you could try that as well..
Good Luck!!! ;-)
I will give you my remedy for grease based stains that has worked for me every time. The only thing that I am worried about is all of the treatments you have already done, but it would be worth a try.
Once grease is set is is extremely difficult to remove (as you have found), but I learned a trick years ago. You have to reactivate the grease in order to remove it. Spray the grease spots with WD-40 (grease-based household/auto lubricant) and have sit for EXACTLY 15 minutes. Treat sprayed area with Dawn dish detergent (the regular kind) and let sit for a bit and then was out.
This method has worked for me for every kind of grease stain imaginable, so I hope that it will work for you!
Lemon juice and sunshine. Works quickly and beautifully on whites! I used it on old spit up stains on some baby clothes that had been in storage for almost four years (after trying bleach and oxyclean) and they look as good as new!
For stains that I can't get out, especially ones that are oily, I use Joy dishwashing soap.
I use Dawn dish soap for my stains. I have also used Soilove at times too, but prefer the Dawn most.
I have had the exact same thing happen to our clothes (kid, husband and mine) and I haven't found a thing to help. I will be interested in what you ideas you get....
I soak them, scrub them and nothing seems to get it out. If you find something, please share with us all.
I take care of ours with "Gain" with baking soda. Good luck!
I usually use a bleach pen to target stains on wite clothes (funny you mention the sun screen turning bright yellow, I have had several stains turn that color when I applied bleach, but I couldn't think of why...I wonder if it is the oil in sun screen or something?)...anyway, I hope you find something...
OH-If you use a bleach pen, DONT leave it on very long (read directions carefully) or your will have yellow bleach stains on your clothes. I found this out the hard way!!
I've never had this particular stain issue, but something that has worked for me on other stains is Lemon Juice...it sounds way to simple but it works. You could either wash them in Lemon Juice and/or Vinegar, or you could apply the juice directly to the stain and lay them out in the sun. The sun is the most natural bleaching agent we have. It should only take an hour in the sun to be effective. Now is the perfect time to try this since it is a very sunny part of summer. Good luck, stains have a way of making us all a little nutty. :)
I swear by Shaklee's Get Clean products. Not only do they remove stain but they are non-toxic and green and have been that way for over 50 years. If it were me I would get the Basic H2, the Fresh Laundry (I prefer liquid but powder would do) and Nature Bright. I use the Basic H2 to put on the stain then soak for at least 5 to 7 days in a bucket a squirt of fresh laundry and maybe a couple of teaspoonful of Nature Bright. The stains come out. They are very highly concentrated so very inexpensive to use. If you are interested go to nontoxiccleaners.myshaklee.com and look at the information on that website. They clean better than anything I have ever tried including the toxic cleaners at the store and the other "green" cleaners.
N.
SAH mom, nana, wife and Wellness Coach and an advocate to saving the environment with nontoxic cleaners that work.
First, never spray it indoors because your carpets/rugs will get the oil all over them, too. With oil stains, try liquid dish soap, it is made to get the grease out. If that doesn't work, use Pam, make another stain, then after a few minutes, rub with dish soap. Sometimes when oil stains set, you have to make a new stain over it and then remove it. Good luck. I gave up on those sprays and went back to lotions, they seemed more convenient, but were way too messy.
baby powder to soak up the oil. i usually leave it on for a few days. unfortunately you don't know if it worked until after you washed and hung the clothes to dry.
dish soap works too tho for some reason i always try the baby powder first.
I agree with dish soap, that will usually help with oily stains, also works great on chocolate/milk.
Now since these are already set (washed and dried) you may be out of luck and the reaction with the oxy clean may jsut have permanently damaged/colored the fibers.
A last resort if you have not tried yet would be good old chlorine bleach - if the clothes are really entirely white.
I had this happen with a t-shirt and lip-balm once and ended up throwing out the shirt, since nothing helped.
Good luck.
