How To Remove Deodorant Stains

The key in learning how to remove deodorant stains is choosing the right products. Start with your laundry detergent and try switching to one that doesn’t contain chlorine bleaches. Also, as tempting as it may seem – especially with white clothing – avoid household or chlorine bleaches as they will only make things worse.

How to remove deodorant stains from clothes

Most of the time, what people refer to as deodorants are actually anti-perspirant that contain aluminium salts.

This active ingredient reduces sweat flow in the underarm areas by constricting the upper part of sweat glands. Anti-perspirants also help to reduce bacteria that cause bad odour.

When it comes to stains, these can occur for a number of reasons. They are usually caused by a complex interaction of sebum, laundry detergent and aluminium salts. But, yellow stains can also form without an anti-perspirant because skin lipids mixed with dirt particles can also stain clothes.

Whether you use a roll-on or aerosol, find out how to get deodorant stains out of clothes with these quick and easy tips to remove deodorant stains.

The quick method: If you see your deodorant has transferred onto your clothes as you are getting dressed, try dabbing at the stain with a pair of tights before it dries.
The traditional method: If the deodorant stain is a bit more stubborn, try rubbing with your stain remover stick.
The medicine cabinet method: Crush two aspirin tablets in half a cup of boiling water. Rub the mixture into the stain and let it sit for a few hours. But, make sure to try it on a small part of your clothing first to check that the fabric can handle it.

WHY DO WE GET SWEAT STAINS & DEODORANT STAINS?

Everyone gets them but why? What causes sweat stains and deodorant marks?

Sweat stains are caused by sweat mixing with your skin's natural bacteria, your deodorant or even your clothing. If you were to look at the colour of sweat as a chemical component you would see that it is not yellow coloured, it's these reactions that cause it to turn yellow.

Deodorant stains are different from sweat stains - these are usually white marks made up of anti-perspirant particles that contain salts and other ingredients designed to help prevent sweating. When you sweat through these ingredients, they can form solid stains that are often hard to remove in the wash.

Prevent deodorant stains

Shake It!

Make sure to shake your product well to ensure that the aluminium chlorohydrate powder is evenly distributed in the can and subsequently on the skin itself. In order to avoid white marks, all anti-perspirants must be fully absorbed or dried sufficiently on the skin before putting on clothes.

THE OTHER FACTORS

The colour of stains on clothing might be influenced by trace metals in the tap water or whitening agents in your laundry detergent. Moreover, clothing materials might not be sweat-proof and transfer their dye onto lighter-coloured clothes due to bleeding.

Removing Deodorant Stains at Home using everyday items

It's a common problem for many, how to get deodorant stains out of clothes. Luckily you can find quality cleaners for getting our deodorant stains in your home now.

When you need a home remedy for armpit stains, the best way to do it is with an acid. Acids actively dissolve the bonds between the proteins, alkali, and aluminium which cause stains.

Finding an acid might sound difficult or expensive, but don’t worry. Many great acidic products can be found around the house, or very cheaply from your local supermarket.

Next time you’re stuck with an inconvenient stain, try one of these five simple acidic stain remedies and see which works best for you:

HYDROGEN PEROXIDE: Soak the stain in equal parts hydrogen peroxide and water. Remember that, hydrogen peroxide has bleaching qualities so this method is only suitable for white clothes.
BAKING SODA: Mix baking (or bi-carb) soda into a paste in a 3:1 ratio with water and scrub into the stain with an old toothbrush. You can also add a dash of hydrogen peroxide for an extra boost on white clothes. And, if you don’t have baking soda around, pure plain soda water will do the trick, too.
WHITE VINEGAR: Combine two tablespoons of vinegar with one cup of water and soak clothing.
LEMON JUICE: Simply combine lemon juice with an equal amount of water and scrub it into the stain.

Steps to Remove the Stains

After you’ve applied the liquid or paste to the stain, let the clothes sit for at least an hour before you wash them in hot water.

Washing clothes before you treat stains can set the proteins and make them much harder to get out.

WARNING: Always be careful when working with any acids, especially when treating delicate and colourful fabrics as acid solutions can damage them.

Citric acid is also slightly hazardous in case of skin contact, eye contact, ingestion or inhalation. For this reason, we highly recommend wearing protective gloves when handling citric acid and to not breathe in citric acid dust.

Salt works as an abrasive cleaning agent to scrub the stain out. You'll need to put some elbow grease into it because it doesn't have any natural bleaching effect, but this can be used on clothing of all different colours.