Washing problem

tmac7742

Husband has been buying the same type of work shirts (light blue, short sleeve) at our local supermarket. He didn't need to buy many as they lasted quite well, but recently they started to develop some nasty dark stains under the sleeves. Tried some home made stuff first - vinegar, and baking soda, dish soap, peroxide (not all together, of course).Then some washing powders that are "tough on stains",washing liquids, types of deodorant that "do not leave marks" , pre-wash stain remover.. but nothing worked so far. some of the shirts actually look much worse now.


This is starting to get too expensive...
Is there anything else that could be done?
Are they expecting people to bin& buy new ones quite often as they are quite "cheap"?

Bella56

I have had this problem (with smells, not necessarily stains) and can sympathize. I tried everything too, even soaking shirt armpits in straight vinegar, nothing worked. I had to use them for rags. My shirts were the cheap cotton ones from M&S by the way. I'd never had that problem before!

Valli

At what temperature are you washing the shirts?

patchwork_cat

Yes they expect you to bin them - that is what they want! The quality of supermarket shirts has gone down hill in recent years.

tmac7742

they are 65% polyester 35% cotton. Is it worth paying £10 for a cotton one?
@Bella56- where do you buy your shirts now?

sonastin

Do you use fabric softener? I read that fabric softener can react with something in deodorant to cause the marks to build up. I used to have the problem a lot but OH stopped me using fabric softener for other reasons and I don't seem to be getting marks on some of my newer t-shirts. Haven't bought new clothes for ages but it does seem to work.

Getting used to the static electricity from no softener is another issue!

Shoey1610

I haven't tried this myself yet, but my sports instructor suggested that if you have sweat stains on a white top you can soak them in a bucket with a couple of aspirin thrown in. Might be worth a try?

gayleygoo

DH is a postie so he wears light blue shirts too, and they do get very dirty from sweat and weather... luckily RM replace them every so often, but I still try to get rid of the stains so they look better longer.

Some tips from a book I just got yesterday:
- Use stain removal solution on the back of the stain, so you don't drive the stain deeper into the fabric.
- Ironing shirts with a little spray starch will help prevent dirt sticking to the fabric
- Rub along the stains with a damp bar of soap, use a toothbrush to gently later the soap in, rinse and wash. (Or do the same with vinegar and soda bicarb paste, or a little of your normal shampoo)
- Rub chalk on stains to absorb oil.
- Rub with a heel of white bread!

I've not tried these ideas yet, but I intend to try some of them to see if they make any difference. I'll report back if any work!

tmac7742

No I don't use a softener or the 2 in 1 type of detergent but I know what you mean.

Haven't tried Aspirin & should be cheap enough and we need some anyway. Thank you!

tmac7742

gayleygoo wrote: »

DH is a postie so he wears light blue shirts too, and they do get very dirty from sweat and weather... luckily RM replace them every so often, but I still try to get rid of the stains so they look better longer.!

My dad used to get his uniform from work (they also washed it).
I wish every work place did that!

Willowpop

tmac7742 wrote: »

My dad used to get his uniform from work (they also washed it).
I wish every work place did that!

Yeah, wouldnt that be nice. At least we can get tax breaks for washing uniform at home...not much, but it's something.

Aspirin works..I use it on my daughters school shirts. Small bowl (or sink) of water, shirts in, dissolve 2 aspirin...soak, give the mucky bit a scrub and wash as normal.