classylady Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 I've never had this problem before with my laundry. But for the past year or so my husband's underclothes now have yellow stains in the arm pits. I don't think I've changed the type of fabric I buy for him. I buy a cotton blend for him. I never had any problems with my own underclothes until I switched from Drisilq to a cotton. So, I can see that for me, it's probably switching to a new fabric. I've googled this, and most everything I read says it's a deodorant/anti-perspirant problem--and switch to one that has a lower aluminum concentration. All the remedies I read seem so time consuming--make a paste, rub it in, let it set over night etc. etc. etc. I can see doing that for maybe one or two items of clothing, but when I have a whole load of whites to wash, it just doesn't seem practical. And I would have to do that week after week. I've purchased Oxi Clean Max Force Power Paks. They may help brighten the clothes a little, but hasn't taken care of the stains under the arms. I've wondered if it's because there no longer are phosphates in the detergent? Anyone else having this issue? What do you do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iggy Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 (edited) When you wet the underarm stain with warm water, what does it smell like? That could tell you how to get rid of it. It seems to me, that this staining is not an overnight occurrence - took months to accumulate. When I married my husband, his garments were dingy, heavy and I was oh so tempted to toss them and get him new. Couldn't afford it right then. From past experience I knew the heaviness was from mineral loaded water and way too much detergent. So I put a filter on the water going to the hot water heater. Then I washed his garments with NO detergent until all the soap was gone. Took 4 wash & rinse cycles. Then I washed them one final time with Oxi Clean crystals and powdered all fabric bleach only. I DID NOT use the amount recommended by the soap manufacturers, I use 1/4 of what they recommend, especially for garments. This took the heaviness away - but unfortunately it did not remove the dingy, yellowing of the cotton blend. Once cotton blends are stained, then you pretty much have to bleach it. AND I don't mean laundry bleach either. It is the rayon or polyester fibers that have yellowed. If the garments are 100% cotton, then bleaching should take the yellowing out. There is a product on the market for removing yellowing in cotton and mostly cotton blends. I'm sorry, but I can not remember the name of it. In the future, use less detergent and additives. I wash our garments separately. His are cotton blends, mine are drysilk. Use differing amounts of detergents, etc. Also mine dry in 10 minutes with less heat, his 30 minutes with more heat in the dryer. I would take the time to make a paste and work it into the stain, then wash. I would also take a look at the amount of suds in the water as they are agitating during the rinse cycle. Stop the machine and see if there are any suds floating on top. If there are, then when that cycle spins out, reset for another rinse cycle. Then in the future, use less detergent and additives. For whites I use Oxi crystals, all fabric powdered bleach and then detergent. I use 1/4 of what is 'recommended', and my rinse cycle does not have suds sitting on top of the water when I stop the agitation. I would also get my husband a new antiperspirant deodorant. One with less aluminum, or get deodorants. Deodorants do not contain aluminum. The aluminum is what stops the perspiration. We do not use antiperspirants. Living in AZ our bodies had to perspire, we just used deodorants to calm the smell. I am allergic to the aluminum in antiperspirants - so I use deodorants or the crystal. Edited March 8, 2011 by Iggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
applepansy Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 I've gotten a lot of stains out with Oxiclean. I don't make a paste but soak in small batches in a sink of hot water. I haven't tried getting underarm stains out, but Iggy sounds like she has some good ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madriglace Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 Do you have access to home made soap? That stuff is amazing ... I have seen it take out stuff that would never have come out other wise. Maybe a soap making class for Relief Society ... that's where I learned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slamjet Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 Pre-treat with Fels-Naptha soap. It will take out anything. I should know. My old man made me chew this when I said bad words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 9, 2011 Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 My mother's solution for sweat stains: 1.) soak the shirt in laundry detergent mixed with lemon juice and distilled white vinegar and lay out in the bright sunshine for a day if that doesn't work 2.) Borax if that doesn't work 3.) Hydrogen Peroxide if that doesn't work 4.) alcohol if that doesn't work Throw the shirt out... Disclaimer: I have no experience in this. I have no patience to deal with sweat stains myself... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingnut Posted March 9, 2011 Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 Pre-treat with Fels-Naptha soap. It will take out anything. I should know. My old man made me chew this when I said bad words.I've never known anyone who has heard of -- much less recommended -- Fels-Naptha other than my mom. She swears by it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iggy Posted March 9, 2011 Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 Pre-treat with Fels-Naptha soap. It will take out anything. I should know. My old man made me chew this when I said bad words. slaps forehead with palm- totally forgot about the fels-naptha- it will even take out crayon that has been dried onto the fabric. BUT it also requires elbow grease. Wear rubber gloves to protect your skin if you are doing a bunch of shirts. Anatess, you don't want to do the lemon juice to colored fabric- only whites. If the stains are on the cotton jersey garments, then she may want to check out the Ritz fabric dye-they have a product that will re-whiten whites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayanna Posted March 9, 2011 Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 Pre-treat with Fels-Naptha soap. It will take out anything. I should know. My old man made me chew this when I said bad words.You mean he made you chew it when he caught you saying bad words.Poor little guy Okay, so where do you find this stuff? You know, just in case my kid gets a fowl mouth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingnut Posted March 9, 2011 Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 Okay, so where do you find this stuff?I've seen it at the grocery store with cleaning supplies -- usually on the top or bottom shelf, out of the way, and not a very large volume. It's wrapped in old-fashioned branded paper, and looks like this:(The soap itself is a yellowish-orange.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slamjet Posted March 9, 2011 Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 You mean he made you chew it when he caught you saying bad words.Poor little guy Okay, so where do you find this stuff? You know, just in case my kid gets a fowl mouth.Yea, he would sit there and watch us to make sure we didn't spit it out. The blisters in the mouth we got, and the dead taste-buds would last for a whole day or more. I only got it three times. My brother must have loved the stuff with his foul mouth. My little brother found it and tried to throw it away. Nope, dad found it. He finally got rid of it years latter. It still had our little teeth marks on it. I remember he couldn't find it once and had me chew on regular soap. Nope, no effect. Tasted just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iggy Posted March 9, 2011 Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 Never tasted the stuff, but I do love the smell of it. We got our mouths washed out with brown soap. My uncle got it from a military surplus store- sometimes that soap burned your hands when you washed with it. THAT is what Dad washed our mouths out with- only he didn't have us take a bite, he wiped the soap on our tongues. Only did it once to me- I learn fast , plus I puked all over him: front of the pants, all over the front of his legs and his shoes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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