Get Sweat Stains out of Clothing

Sweat spots are just one of life's many problems. Ironically, almost all sweat stains are caused by deodorant and laundry detergent, products you'd expect to keep your clothes sweat-free and clean! Learn how to fight these stains, then consider switching to a deodorant with less obnoxious stains.

Steps

  1. Understand the cause. White or yellow sweat stains are caused when two products react: underarm deodorant with aluminum-based ingredients; and alkali laundry detergent with carbon compounds. You can't do much about the detergent, but switching to a deodorant without antiperspirant can solve your problem. If the switch isn't worth the sweat, you'll need an acidic treatment to dissolve the aluminum bond. Read on for more guidance.
    • Not all antiperspirants are created equal. Neutral, unscented antiperspirant tends to leave white stains, which are harder to notice and easier to clean. However, all-natural, plant-based deodorants may leave a very yellow stain, even if unscented.
  2. Examine the stain. No single treatment is best at cleaning sweat stains, because of the vast differences between deodorant brands. Check out the stain to get a good idea of what might work:
    • If the stain is white, hard, and brittle, any acid will usually remove the stain. Use the most convenient option from the lists below.
    • If the stain is bright white and bends easily, it will require stronger acids. Try one of the strong treatments below, such as lemon juice or vinegar.
    • If the stain is yellow, it's hard to evaluate. Try any convenient option first. If that doesn't work, you may need to make several attempts with strong treatments.
  3. Choose a light treatment. If you happen to have these already, you can give them a go. These tend to be weaker acids than the strong treatments below:
    • Clear soda or soft drinks (carbolic and phosphoric acids); avoid colored sodas
    • A paste of baking soda and a little water (although alkaline, this contains carbonic acid)
    • Crushed aspirin (acetylsalicylic)
    • Meat tenderizer powder (not a great option, due to variation between brands)
  4. Choose a strong treatment. If the stain is tough to remove, try these stronger treatments:
    • Strong white vinegar (acetic acid)
      • Do not use balsamic vinegar as that will further ruin the clothes
    • Lemon juice, or any raw citrus fruit (citric acid)
    • Professional cleaners may use stronger acid treatments. Request this as a last resort, due to the risk of burning holes in your clothing.
  5. Let the acid soak in. Saturate the stain with your chosen acid. Let sit for 20 minutes to 2 hours, depending on how old and heavy the stain is. Squeeze out the wet area of the shirt before you continue.
  6. Treat white shirts with hydrogen peroxide (optional). This is a whitening agent, which may bleach colored clothing. If used on a white shirt, this can help make the stain less noticeable. Saturate the stain and let sit another 20 minutes.
    • Optionally, add baking powder and salt as well to abrade the stain.
  7. Run through the washing machine. You can add this to the rest of your clothes. If you are concerned about setting the stain further, you may want to run it through without laundry detergent — but most people do not find this necessary.
    • If the stain is less visible but not completely gone, run it through a second time.
  8. Wash with stain remover and bleach. This may do the job, but it will bleach colored clothing. If nothing else works, apply stain remover over the stain and wash again with a scoop or two of bleach directly on the clothing.
    • Set your washer on the highest spin speed so the bleach is evenly distributed throughout your clothing.



Tips

  • If you're using unscented, non-plant-based deodorant and you still get yellow stains, it is probably reacting with organic molecules on your skin. You may not be able to avoid this, but fortunately this is an easy type of stain to remove.
  • Wear an undershirt to catch sweat stains.
  • The fragrance in deodorant is usually based in aldehyde or ketone. This can react with other components to create some of the toughest, yellowest stains.
  • Clean as quickly as possible for best results. While the stain is still damp, try scrubbing it off with baby wipes.
  • Hard, brittle, white stains are caused by deodorants that contain bulking agents. This is usually calcium carbonate or magnesium hydroxide. These stains are easier to clean.

Warnings

  • Check the label. Some articles of clothing contain warning labels against vinegar or hydrogen peroxide as this will splotch the colors. About 99% of clothes are already naturally resistant, but a small minority will get ruined. If there is doubt, to try the vinegar or peroxide in a small part of the cloth first before committing it to the stain.

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