School shirts - stain removal help!

pete1412009

Hi all,

I am posting here because I am desperate for help with getting some stains out of my son's school shirts.  The shirts are 65% polyester and 35% cotton.

I washed the shirts as part of a normal wash, but afterwards there is very prominent staining as shown in the pictures.  These stains were not visible before washing, and no other clothes items that were included in the wash were affected.  

I have no idea what the stains are; they appear to be some sort of liquid or grease.

Over the weekend I have tried:
(i) treating with Dr Beckmann Pre Wash Stain Devils and washing again;
(ii) using the stain away cycle on the washing machine (this is about a two and a half hour cycle at 40C);
(iii) washing on a 60C cycle.

but after trying each of these, the stains still remain.

Does anybody have any suggestions about what I could try next??

GDB2222

Do you have any clue what the stain is from?

pete1412009

GDB2222 said:

Do you have any clue what the stain is from?

I'm afraid not.  It could be anything, from mud from the playground to something greasy from school lunches.

pete1412009

I'm not sure if it's significant but the staining became much more visible after washing.

kasqueak

I’d scrub them with a vanish bar and after washing hang them in direct sunlight. This does wonders for getting out difficult stains that my son seems to come home from school with! 

De-solvit is also a (strong) but effective stain remover. 

rach_k

Is most of the staining where they've been tucked into his trousers?  

pete1412009

rach_k said:

Is most of the staining where they've been tucked into his trousers?  

Yes, I'd say that it is mainly above the waist area.

pollypenny

The old-fashioned Vanish soap bar is marvellous.  However, if it's been washed the stain might have set. 

twopenny

I thought the same as Rach. It looks to be where it's tucked into the waistband of trousers.

So it could be sweat and dye from the trousers. Or just sweat.

I'd post this question on Mumsnet too. That's where you're likely to find someone with the same problem.

Dylon colour run might help. They do a range of stain removers in my local hardware shops but also available online

Other things to try are white vinegar and bicarb left to soak on damp cloth.

Vanish soap or Parmolive soap work on many things.

Washing powder mixed to a paste with water (though that's not easy now they've stuck granuals together) and pasted onto the marks.

From The Spruce "If the dye-stained clothes are colored or made of synthetic fabrics, rewash all the clothes using a nonchlorine (all-fabric or oxygen) bleach in addition to your regular laundry detergent. Do this before you put the clothes in the dryer."

From Thrifty Fun "Blue Stains Showing Up On Washed Clothing. You most likely have copper water pipes and this is causing the greenblue stains. We have the same problem. We have found that if you soak the stained clothes in vinegar and water the stains will come out."

carly

If the stains become visible after washing(as suggested in your earlier post) is it possible that the fabric is getting caught in the rubber door seal and picking up greasy residue from the seal or edge of the drum?

Stratus

Soak and scrub with washing-up-liquid before a machine wash is my suggestion here.

If they were white I'd have also suggested borax but not sure how that behaves with coloured fabric.