Yellow Underarm stains on white shirt? Yuck! How can I remove them?

Question

Now before you criticize me, I want you to know that my hygiene is excellent, and I most definitely wear deoderant. So why are there yellow underarm stains on my good white t-shirts? How can I remove them in the laundry? Your help is appreciated.

Answer 1

The stains are a reaction between your perspiration and your underarm deodorant. By the time the stains have turned yellow, there's not really any way to get them out. The best remedy is prevention. Wash your white shirts each time you wear them to prevent the stains from turning yellow while the shirt sits in your closet.

Answer 2

the stains are usually caused by a combination of deodorant and sweat/body oils. simply bleaching usually won't do the trick -- try Oxy Clean ... 1. turn shirts inside out and wet in the sink 2. leaving damp, sprinkle dry Oxy Clean onto stains 3. let sit for at least 2 hours 4. rinse, repeat if necessary (still visible stains) 5. wash in regular cycle to remove excess cleaner this works for white shirts and all other *natural* stains. good luck!

Answer 3

A good old fashioned way to remove the yellow stains is to squeeze a lemon on them, and then lay them on the lawn. Honestly. Between the lemon, the sun, and the chlorophil from the grass, the stains will come out.

Answer 4

This started happening to me after I had my kids...It might have something to do with hormones (even if you don't have children a number of things makes your hormones wacko). After I had my kids I had to start using a different deodorant because the old one wasn't working anymore. Also I would use oxi-clean in your wash and before you wash in the washer soak your whites that have the stains in oxi-clean and use bleach in the wash.I have also heard that lemon juice works really well on these types of stains and I heard that if you take a regular white bar of soap and rub your soaked white stained clothes this also helps.

Answer 5

I had that problem for a while, and I found that it was the gel deodorant I was using that gave me the "mustard pits" as I like to call them. So naturally I just stopped using the gel based deodorants.

As for getting rid of the stains, try bleaching the crap outta those white T-shirts.

-Hope this helps-

Answer 6

It's the deoderant that's causing them! Most likely you're actually using an antipersperant, not a deoderant. A regular deoderant typically does not cause such staining. I believe it's the aluminum oxide content in the antipersperant (which, by the way has theoretically been linked to alzheimers! ...uh, may not have spelled that correctly!)
Switch to regulat deoderant. Depending upon the material (like silk ) you may not be able to get it out without bleach.

Answer 7

I had the same problems and my aunt told me that it is the deodorant that I been using. So trying changing the type/brand that you use. I have also found these websites and their suggestions do work.

http://www.wikihow.com/Remove-Yellow-Stains-and-Underarm-Stains-from-White-T-Shirts

http://www.momsbudget.com/cleaning/sweatstains.html

Answer 8

shampoo works the best for removing those stains

Answer 9

spray area with "spray and wash" 15 to 30 minutes prior to washing.

you could also do this with bleach in a spray bottle, either works well.

good luck

Answer 10

I use oxi clean as a pretreater and then I always use bleach with my whites. RIT makes a product you can use to get your whites brighter. I think I'd try that.