We have all experienced it; we’re getting ready to go out or rushing for an interview, and we see that stain on the freshly laundered clothes. Underarm stains are stubborn, they don’t go away easily and a machine wash is not sufficient. They appear differently based on material and color; white shirts have more of a yellow stain whereas colored and black shirts have white spots, or just look darker in that area.
Before you proceed with the cleaning methods listed below, read the care label, if it says to be dry cleaned, don’t take your chances.
Before you toss your garments in the machines, you will need to pretreat them to effectively ridden off the marks.
White Clothes
Baking soda is your best bet for whites. For that, you will need to make a liquid solution:
- Mix ¼ cup of baking soda with ¼ cup of hydrogen peroxide.
- Rub the mixture in the stain and let it sit for 30 minutes.
- Use an old soft toothbrush and scrub.
- Once this is done, toss your whites in the washing machine and wash it in a normal cycle with a soft detergent.
Colored and Black Clothes
Colored and black clothes are pretreated the same way, but cannot be mixed together, so you’ll have to separate them.
- Combine your colored clothes.
- Mix half a cup of vinegar with half a cup of water and scrub it on the armpit area.
- Soak all your clothes in a large bucket with cool water and add one cup of white vinegar. Let the clothes soak for 30 minutes.
- You can wash them in the machine with cool water and a soft detergent.
The same process applies for black clothes also.
You can also avoid smearing your clothes with deodorant, since they don’t stain after a single wear.
It’s the lack of properly spot treating and not washing right away that creates those marks on those areas. Stains are not caused only because of the deodorant but also because it’s a reaction of it mixing with the salt from our sweat. Most antiperspirants are made with aluminium so it could reduce wetness, but it is also the ingredient that leaves a residue.
You have a few options if you don’t want to repetitively scrub with the mixtures.
You can change your deodorant for one that’s aluminium free so your chances of having residue decreases greatly. Or, before every wash, rub and rinse that part with your hand so it gets rid of any buildup. Additionally, every time you apply deodorant, give it 5-10 minutes so it sets in and dries, so that it won’t stick to your clothing right away.
Thus, stains appear mostly due to not properly washing after each wearing. You can prevent that by being hands on and taking your measures each time.
