How to remove sweat stains from your clothes

Sweat stains

Yellow Stains on your clothes might be a dealbreaker for you- a sign to discard your favourite white t-shirt and buy a new one. Well, you might just save your money there as we have some great tips and tricks on how to remove yellow sweat stains from your clothes. 

Everyone sweats and it’s your body’s natural reaction to leaving an odour or a yellow stain on the fabric. Especially around your armpits. Pit stains are completely normal and they can be easily removed- depending on how fast you work on them.

Not-so-fun fact 

Sweat stains occur when the salts in your sweat react with the compounds (primarily aluminum) in your deodorant or antiperspirant. This chemical reaction gives sweat stains their characteristic yellowish color. If you don’t wash your clothes after each wear, this buildup causes the not-so-attractive yellow tinge, and over time, as these soils break down, you get a stinky smell. 

How to prevent the Sweat Stains

• Sweat is normal, but stains are not. If you want to limit your sweat stains, maybe invest in a good antiperspirant. Wearing strong antiperspirants can significantly reduce the amount of sweat your armpits produce. Make sure to check the label once- it should not have deodorant listed in the ingredients list. Apply a thin layer of antiperspirant to clean dry skin before bed.
• Trim your armpit hair and make sure to wear an undershirt/slip, especially during summers
• If deodorant is something you cannot skip- make sure to not use it excessively. Soak your clothes immediately in a soapy mixture as soon as you reach home. 

How to remove Sweat Stains

Sweat stains are not very tough to deal with, they can be removed very easily. So don’t sweat it! (Apologies for the bad pun!) Sweat stains are either transparent in color or yellow- but the way you can get rid of them is the same. Here are some ways to remove sweat stains from your clothes:

Prepare a soak

This is one of the easiest ways to remove those pit stains. Take a bucket full of warm water and add a scoop of mild laundry detergent- preferably baby laundry detergent and add your stained clothing. You can use Koparo’s Laundry Liquid as well since it is completely safe for babies’ laundry too! Place a white towel on top of it, if it tries to float. Soak it for 30 minutes and then proceed to wash it normally as you do. If the odour still remains, you can use an odour remover for laundry. 

Baking Soda to the rescue

Baking soda has so many uses in our homes, it is not exclusive to cooking! Add 4 tablespoons of baking soda to ¼ cup of warm water. This will become a thick mixture that you can use on the yellow stains of sweat. Rub the mixture properly and then simply leave it out in the sun. Do not wash it off. After a few hours, rinse off the lumpy mixture and wash the cloth normally. The stain would have gone- naturally!

Hydrogen peroxide

Definitely, a chemical that we endorse! It is completely naturally occurring and safe to be used on your clothes. However, do check the back label. If your cloth is dry cleaner-friendly, maybe skip this one. Add Hydrogen peroxide, Baking Soda, and Water in a 1:1:1 ratio. Apply the mixture to the stain. Let it absorb and soak for an hour. After an hour, take it out and add it to your normal washing machine cycle. 

Lemon-y Indulgence!

Juice out a lemon and add it to water. Keep a 1:1 ratio and just pour it on the stain. Now, let the sun do its magic for 10 minutes to an hour. Make sure to wash it soon afterward in your washing machine with a laundry detergent liquid so the lemon smell does not stick. 

Aspirin (yes, you read it right!)

Aspirin tablets have healing properties and are known to be effective stain removers. However, I highly recommend you to use this method only for white clothes. Crush two uncoated aspirin into a powder and mix with ½ cup of warm water. Apply this paste directly onto the stain with a toothbrush and scrub gently. Make sure to not cause a tear. Then, wash your clothes normally. 

Last but not least, White Vinegar

Vinegar has mild bleaching properties, and therefore, you can use it to eliminate stains from your clothes. Fill your washing machine with water, then add in ⅓ cup of white vinegar. Turn your washer off and let the mixture soak for at least 20 minutes. Vinegar will also help in neutralizing odour from your sweat stains. After 20 minutes, run the washing machine cycle normally and leave your clothing out to dry in the sun. 

Also Read - How to Remove Coffee Stains from Clothes and How to Clean Your Mattress?

Hope this article helped you and gave you some sparkling clean clothes. Not a big fan of the DIY thing? Try our Laundry Detergent! Check out the entire range below: