Author Topic: Deoderant stains  (Read 2770 times)

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Offline Teri

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Deoderant stains
« on: January 14, 2013, 11:53:27 AM »
Does anyone have any idea how to get these deodorant stain out of shirts.  I have tried everything.  Shout, vinegar, baking soda, I even ran them through the sanitary cycle in my dishwasher...everything short of using a blow torch and chisel....*sigh*...

This does remind me of a song me and my sister made up about my brothers undies when we were growing up together...  We called it "Washboard Undies Junior"...

Here's the chorus line..."Washboard undies Junior, washboard undies Junior...you can never get his undies clean... You can hammer and chisel and scrape all day, but you can never wash away.............washboard undies Junior all day long..."  Crazy eh?   :whistling:

Offline longview

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Re: Deoderant stains
« Reply #1 on: January 14, 2013, 10:15:02 PM »
It takes some effort, but have you tried Fels Naptha soap?

On tough stains of an organic variety, I can put a clean rag/towel under the stained area.  Dampen the stained area.  Work some of the soap (it comes in bar form) onto it.  Depending on the type of cloth, I will use a clean, dampened wash cloth or a brush (jeans, canvas coats) and rub.  I rinse and daub often and reapply soap as needed to keep a lather going. 

Sometimes it helps if I let the first application soak a while before rubbing/scrubbing.

I check the clean rag under the area being cleaned to make sure it isn't dirty and just putting the dirt back onto the garment.

I have friends who will use Fels Naptha rubbed on a dampened area as a prewash for stains.  I've done this, too.  The method I described above is for the toughest ones.

Offline thundley4

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Re: Deoderant stains
« Reply #2 on: January 14, 2013, 10:26:33 PM »
I switched antiperspirant brands, and threw away the stained shirts. 

Offline Dori

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Re: Deoderant stains
« Reply #3 on: January 14, 2013, 10:44:07 PM »
Under arm stains are tough.  I would try some bleach in the washer.  I doubt anything else you haven't tried would work. 




“How fortunate for governments that the people     they administer don't think”  Adolph Hitler

Offline debk

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Re: Deoderant stains
« Reply #4 on: January 15, 2013, 04:07:14 AM »
Bleach in the wash with the whites.

Don't use heavily scented deoderant. Supposedly it's the scents that cause the stains.
Just hand over the chocolate...back away slowly...far away....and you won't get hurt....

Save the Earth... it's the only planet with chocolate.

"My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far I've finished two bags of M&M's and a chocolate cake. I feel better already." – Dave Barry

A balanced diet is chocolate in both hands.

Offline Teri

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Re: Deoderant stains
« Reply #5 on: January 15, 2013, 07:27:20 AM »
Thanks for the tips.  The hubby sweats a lot and uses a ton of anti perspirant all of the time.  I had him switch brands which has helped some, but I'd spend a fortune buying shirts if I tossed them out all of the time.  These are not cheap shirts either. 

I have had a little success with vinegar though, but it doesn't take it all out at once.  I run them through a wash cycle with only vinegar on the hottest setting and that takes a lot of it out, but not all.  Then I pull them out and hit them with the Shout, toss them back in and run through another wash cycle.  It's the only thing I've found that helps, but still doesn't get rid of it all.  I live in the laundry room practically.

Offline debk

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Re: Deoderant stains
« Reply #6 on: January 15, 2013, 11:55:39 AM »
Thanks for the tips.  The hubby sweats a lot and uses a ton of anti perspirant all of the time.  I had him switch brands which has helped some, but I'd spend a fortune buying shirts if I tossed them out all of the time.  These are not cheap shirts either. 

 

If he will wear a tshirt or undershirt underneath a white or light colored shirt, it will prevent the stains on the outer shirt. M wears vneck undershirts which get a little stained, but his other shirts aren't.

Have talked son into wearing a tshirt under his cotton dress shirts and the newer ones aren't staining. He sweats alot and prefers Axe, which to me is heavily scented, but I gave up trying to talk him out of using it.
Just hand over the chocolate...back away slowly...far away....and you won't get hurt....

Save the Earth... it's the only planet with chocolate.

"My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far I've finished two bags of M&M's and a chocolate cake. I feel better already." – Dave Barry

A balanced diet is chocolate in both hands.

Offline Dori

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Re: Deoderant stains
« Reply #7 on: January 15, 2013, 01:29:35 PM »
“How fortunate for governments that the people     they administer don't think”  Adolph Hitler

Offline Teri

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Re: Deoderant stains
« Reply #8 on: January 15, 2013, 01:33:39 PM »
If he will wear a tshirt or undershirt underneath a white or light colored shirt, it will prevent the stains on the outer shirt. M wears vneck undershirts which get a little stained, but his other shirts aren't.

Have talked son into wearing a tshirt under his cotton dress shirts and the newer ones aren't staining. He sweats alot and prefers Axe, which to me is heavily scented, but I gave up trying to talk him out of using it.

You are so right!  I have tried to get him to wear undershirts and he won't do it because he said it makes him hot...  :rotf:  He has an entire drawer full of brand new undershirts that he won't wear.  I bitch at him all the time because he has no idea how hard it is to get those stains out...sigh......

He wears casual shirts to work, but they're nice expensive ones...I can't/won't toss them out if I don't have to.  I have no idea what is in anti-perspirant that does this to the material.  I guess it's like a wax or something nasty.  I've even tried boiling them on the stove...  :rotf:
« Last Edit: January 15, 2013, 01:36:49 PM by Teri »

Offline Teri

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Re: Deoderant stains
« Reply #9 on: January 15, 2013, 01:41:08 PM »
There are some good suggestions here;

http://laundry.about.com/od/stainremoval/a/underarmstains.htm

Well now there's something I've never tried yet is the baking soda with peroxide.  I've used just the baking soda with vinegar.  Even this site says to wear an undershirt, which I know he won't do. 

Offline Dori

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Re: Deoderant stains
« Reply #10 on: January 15, 2013, 01:52:36 PM »
Well now there's something I've never tried yet is the baking soda with peroxide.  I've used just the baking soda with vinegar.  Even this site says to wear an undershirt, which I know he won't do. 

You can remove scorch stains using peroxide.  You wet he scorch with the peroxide and then use a cloth to iron it.

One thing the site said was not to let the stains sit and that using heat sets the stains.   Maybe just rinsing the underarms in cold water when he takes them off will help. The article also mentioned that part of the stain problem comes from the amount of aluminum in the deodorant.

Do they make aluminum free deodorant?
“How fortunate for governments that the people     they administer don't think”  Adolph Hitler

Offline Teri

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Re: Deoderant stains
« Reply #11 on: January 15, 2013, 02:00:07 PM »
You can remove scorch stains using peroxide.  You wet he scorch with the peroxide and then use a cloth to iron it.

One thing the site said was not to let the stains sit and that using heat sets the stains.   Maybe just rinsing the underarms in cold water when he takes them off will help. The article also mentioned that part of the stain problem comes from the amount of aluminum in the deodorant.

Do they make aluminum free deodorant?

No wonder I can't get the stains out.  I've been setting them with heat and hot water...ah jeez... :thatsright:

They put aluminum in deodorant?  It's a wonder any of us are still alive and that the hubby doesn't crinkle when he walks as much as he uses...  I'll try anything at this point.  I spend way too much time scrubbing the arm pits of shirts.  Thanks for the tips.
« Last Edit: January 15, 2013, 02:03:19 PM by Teri »

Offline thundley4

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Re: Deoderant stains
« Reply #12 on: January 15, 2013, 04:26:01 PM »
If he will wear a tshirt or undershirt underneath a white or light colored shirt, it will prevent the stains on the outer shirt. M wears vneck undershirts which get a little stained, but his other shirts aren't.

Have talked son into wearing a tshirt under his cotton dress shirts and the newer ones aren't staining. He sweats alot and prefers Axe, which to me is heavily scented, but I gave up trying to talk him out of using it.

I'm not a heavy sweater, but I use to use Speedstick antiperspirant and with that I had problems with the stains.  I started using Axe and haven't  seen any stains.

Offline debk

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Re: Deoderant stains
« Reply #13 on: January 15, 2013, 05:09:52 PM »
I'm not a heavy sweater, but I use to use Speedstick antiperspirant and with that I had problems with the stains.  I started using Axe and haven't  seen any stains.

Maybe the stains are all old ones then. He always seems to wear 2 shirts anymore, with one always a tshirt - which is usually a color. I started throwing his laundry in with ours for the sake of my washing machine's survival. Cramming all his laundry into one load was going to kill my washer.

Hmmm....I have been wanting a new front loader.... :whistling:
Just hand over the chocolate...back away slowly...far away....and you won't get hurt....

Save the Earth... it's the only planet with chocolate.

"My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far I've finished two bags of M&M's and a chocolate cake. I feel better already." – Dave Barry

A balanced diet is chocolate in both hands.