How do I get rid of deodorant stains in my shirts
 

I posted a similiar thread in the health section, although this thread has a different topic. Mods I hope I'm doing this correctly.

Anyways, some of my t-shirts have permanant stains in the armpits from my deodorant. I seem to wear brown & green quite a bit, so these are the colors of the shirts that have the stains.
The stains are a sortof orange color, and are all over when the shirt is inside out, and somewhat noticable when normal. Noticable enough that I am embarassed to wear these shirts incase someone will notice these stains.
Is there anyway of getting rid of these stains?
anything I can do?
I dont really know much about drycleaning, would that work? How much for a shirt?
thanks!

My bf had the same sort of problem. When he and I moved in together, I started using OxyClean on his polo shirts (I've been using it with my clothes for years), and it worked like a charm. Just follow the directions on the tub.

I use this cheap Adidas Active clear gel, and it doesn't leave any marks.

There should be some that say on the packaging that it goes on clear and stays clear.

Really? Do you know any shops that will ship it to Denmark?

Nancy, they do sell it on-line. It was introduced on tv, then was available at the stores. I browsed the site quickly, but didn't see anything about shipping to Denmark, but then again, I'm still half asleep and have had no coffee yet. :p Anyway, here's the site: http://www.greatcleaners.com/oxiclea...ktA6aY.8Af8Iwg

ya my mom talked me into trying that stuff a few years ago and its great.

Nancy I just checked and amazon sells it too. I think they ship international if I remember right.

FYI - turns out, I spelled it wrong... it's OxiClean, if that helps any searches... I originally saw it at Bed Bath and Beyond. =)

http://www.toledoaasr.com/Kitchen/stains.htm

here is a wonderful site with tons of stains and how to remove them.

Ill have to look for new deodorant (that was my other thread) I think this oxyclean seems to be my best bet, Ill have to pick some up and give it a try!

And it's cheap enough that you can use it in every load, every time. Don't just use it to get rid of the stains, use it to keep the stains away as well. =)

haha, some people say that about detergent! I go for every other load! :)
j/k


Im a lil unfimiliar w/ this product, is it detergent? or do I use it with my detergent?

Oh! Pick me! Pick me! I know the answer to this one.

You use it with your detergent, but the method for using it is different depending on what style of washer you have. If the washer is front-loading, it might not have the same soak-cycle as other washers. I put my Oxi-Clean in the bleach dispenser, and it seems to work great. If you have no bleach dispenser, add it to the wash when the clothes are in the soak part of the cycle. The clothes should sit in a mixture of OxiClean and water for about 2-4 minutes.

You can mix a scoop of it (2 tablespoons) in with your cup of laundry detergent, too, but it might not be as effective as adding it to the soak.

Note: my bf has similar issues with chemical reactions between his shirt, armpit sweat, and deodorant. The fabric becomes yucky-icky, sometimes losing color as well. It only happens to undershirts or t-shirts that he wears without undershirts. I have not tried using Oxi-Clean on his yuck. I will try it out tomorrow and let you know the results. No point in purchasing a product when it might not fix your exact problem. I have had mild success with Oxi-Clean with getting stains out of fabrics, but I have had greater success with "Shout" when removing stains. Oxi-Clean is an oxygen-based cleaner (hence the name) that supposedly lifts out stains in a revolutionary method. I don't know if it's really all that much better than Borax or other more traditional ick-removers.

It is a laundry additive, although they do have a detergent as well. However, I add a scoop at the beginning, when I put my soap in. I have a little stackable washer/dryer in my apartment, so no fancy dispensers for fabric softener or bleach. I purchased a Downy ball for my fabric softener, and I can just drop it all in and forget about it all until it's done.

I'm not saying you're going to have instant results. I don't remember if his stains (his were white, btw) went away after the first wash, but within the first month of washing (doing laundry once a week) with the OxiClean, they were gone. I've never tried adding it to the soak, that may help it work faster.

You can try using a stain remover to get rid of the stains. I get mine along with my fabric softener and detergent at Quixtar... it costs a little more, and has to be shipped, but it all works great, and is concentrated, so it lasts longer. I don't know if that will work for you, as it didn't work for my bf (not even the good stuff), but give it a shot... shouldn't hurt to try. =)

We use 1/2 a scoop with each whites, towels and odiferous loads and we found out that we can use about half of the detergent in our front loader as we found that there is some soapiness after it cycles through. For our stained clothes, we make a soggy paste with the OxiClean and rub it into the area and let it set soak in a bucket of hot tapwater for ~30mins before tossing it into the washer.

Being a chemistry geek here 's a tidbit for those interested :):

OxiClean's active ingredient is sodium percarbonate. When dissolved in water it does two things:

1. in the presence of organics, the percarbonate oxidizes the organics and becomes carbonate.

2. the percarbonate and carbonate reacts with dissolved calcium and magnesium to form calcium and magnesium carbonate, softening the water so that the detergent works better/use less. Remember adding Calgon or baking soda in the wash in areas of hard water? LOL...does basically the same thing less the oxidative aspect.

The amount of OxiClean in the wash really depends on how hard your water is. For front loaders, we use 1/2 a scoop as our water has a Total Hardness (Ca+Mg) of 8-12dGH or 143-215mg/L. You can call your municiple water works to find out what the hardness is or have your water tested. The cheapest route to test how hard your water is, take a sample to your local fish store and have them test for Total or General Hardness.

JME/2C

Let me see if I understand this. . . I should put 1/2 a scoop of oxiclean in my machine?

:)
way over my head @ the end there!

I have a top loader machine; I actually just have 3 machines on the main floor of my building since I live in an apartment complex.

I usually put detergent in, let a tiny bit of water flow in, then put my clothes in. the whole cycles thing is a bit over my head too! :) Ive lived on my own for 3 years now, but will never get the title of Mr. Mom.
When should I put in the oxiclean?

If you want to just throw your laundry in and walk away, you can put it in with the soap.

I don't know how well the soaking thing would work, as I've never done it.

As far as how much, you can start with whatever amount you want, and adjust it up or down from there. If I were the one trying it out, I'd put in (what is now, they used to have a smaller scoop) a half scoop, as I have a smaller washer, and hard water. If that ends up being too soapy, put in a quarter scoop. If you don't see results within a couple weeks, put in 3/4 of a scoop.

For top loaders, a full scoop shouldn't make things too sudsy compared to front loaders.

For stubborn stains, make a soft, yet still gritty paste and rub it into the area. Get a bucket and fill with enough hot water to cover however many piece of clothes you have and soak for about 30 mins. After the soak, drain the water and toss into the washer.

For general washing, I find that the whites stay whiter and colors stay brighter. Pit stains, grass, dirt, blood, tomato sauce, etc, I found that the paste, rub and soak works well getting them out. We've been using OxiClean for about a year now and we quite like it.

HTH :)

When to put OxiClean in? When our washing machine broke down a few months ago, we just added it at the same time as the detergent at the laundrymat.

good stuff. I think im definately going to have to try this product out come payday!

sounds like it will come in handy for all laundry, not just my stains.

Awesome, thanks for the info everyone. I too shall try this product.

Good to know oxiclean is so great at getting rid of icky stains and all but i noticed something in this thread.... seems the answer to the problem is to have a girlfriend thats willing to do your laundry. I hope all of you girls have the boyfriends scrubbing your toilets or something to pay you back for the laundry.

i've read about a laundry detergent that is supposed to take out the musky small from blended workout clothes. in reading about this stuff it sounded just like the ingredients in oxyclean. i'm trying it for that reason alone!! hope it works, otherwise i'll have to buy that other detergent.

anyone else know about this?

somehow i must have hit the enter button twice. sorry about that!

Yeah, he cleans the bathroom and dusts everything. Also, he takes the trash to the dumpster, and either cooks dinner or cleans up after it every night (whoever cooks, the other one cleans). So it's all good. This way, I don't have to worry about things shrinking or fading. =)

here is a link for the detergent i was talking about earlier:

http://www.trisports.com/windetergent.html

Here's what they say...

Win Detergent is a specially formulated detergent made specifically for high tech fabrics and clothing, especially clothing used while working out. Most liquid detergents do not target bacteria and when athletic clothes are washed, the bacteria that are attracted to sweat soaked fabric stays embedded in the fibers. After a few workouts, even the best high tech fabrics typically develop a musty odor. Using a scientifically formulated formula, WIN Detergent's super oxygenated system directly targets these bacteria oxidizing the offensive odors and stains. This unique oxy cleaning power eliminates the colored bodies from stains while killing the bacteria that overwhelm the fabric. Simultaneously, these ingredients also react with soil and organic materials in the wash causing them to either decolorize or disintegrate. Once in a soluble form after oxidization, WIN Detergent's surfactant system washes them away.

This provides unmatched performance and efficacy;

Two sets of independent laboratory testing indicate that WIN Detergent outperforms the leading detergents and specialty products on removing sweat and odors from all fabrics. WIN Detergent is formulated to be safe and gentle for all colors and fabrics and works for traditional and high efficiency machine or hand washing.

PRODUCT USAGE:
WIN Detergent is safe for use on all colors and fabrics.
WIN Detergent works equally well in all temperatures.
WIN Detergent can be used in high efficiency machines and for hand washing.
The super oxygenated formula in WIN Detergent is biodegradable based on OCED standards.

Tried OxyClean on some of my BF's older undershirts with armpit stains. Didn't work. It could be a different kind of stain than those you are dealing with.

A response to Plaid13: I don't do his laundry regularly. In fact, I have only done it a few times for him when we were backpacking and he couldn't quite get his shirts to my standards with his hand-washing methods. I must add that he is an excellent cook and often does more than his share of tidying.