Getting pit stains out of a white shirt

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MackerelCat
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Joined: Thu Aug 27, 2015 9:44 pm

Getting pit stains out of a white shirt

Post by MackerelCat »

DH has a lovely white Geoffrey Beene dress shirt that he usually reserves for job interviews, weddings and funerals, but he put it on the other day to wear to work and noticed it had suddenly developed yellow armpit stains.

I tried Oxi-Clean stain gel and washing it again, but the stains did not budge. So I tried spraying the stains with Tilex shower cleaner, which both bleach and a degreaser in it. I sprayed the spots and stood right there watching as they faded out. Then I dunked the shirt into a sink of warm water and scrubbed the Tilex out with a bar Fels Naptha laundry soap. Rinsed it completely clean, wrung it out, dried it and it's snowy white without any damage to the fabric.

Obviously this is only going to work on white clothing, but boy, did it work great!
Mackie
dlrcpa
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Re: Getting pit stains out of a white shirt

Post by dlrcpa »

Wow, it would never have occurred to me to try that. Good save!
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MackerelCat
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Re: Getting pit stains out of a white shirt

Post by MackerelCat »

The Tilex also worked on getting some mysterious dark gray stains out of a white t-shirt and a white cotton bra. It's now my secret weapon for stains on white clothes.
Mackie
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LWolfT
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Re: Getting pit stains out of a white shirt

Post by LWolfT »

Were all those clothes cotton?
Must admit, I've never considered that for stains, but hey ...
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MackerelCat
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Re: Getting pit stains out of a white shirt

Post by MackerelCat »

DH's shirt is a cotton/poly blend. My t-shirt is 100% cotton, and the bra is cotton with some polyfabric on the cups.

I figure the Tilex (mold and mildew formula) is really strong stuff, so I don't go off and leave it sitting on the fabric. Stayed right there and watched until the stains began to fade out, and then I dunked the item into warm water in the laundry sink and scrubbed with some Fels Naptha soap.

This was a bit of a desperation move that worked out, as those clothes would not have been wearable with the stains they had before I tried it. Well, maybe the bra, but it looked nasty with the stain on it, even if no one would see it.
Mackie
ferncircle
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Re: Getting pit stains out of a white shirt

Post by ferncircle »

I'd be worried that the fabric is getting weakened and it's hard to see when it's only happened once.

Perhaps not the right spirit given that we're trying to be frugal but there is a product for this called Deo-Go which I've seen work as advertised. Me, I use the Crystal deodorant - works great and no stains to speak of after years of use.
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