How to Remove Sweat and Perspiration Stains

Do you have pit stains that won’t wash clean?
Sweat in any location may result in staining that seems impossible to remove. Even though it may be difficult to admit, those yellow spots are probably from you, and not your deodorant. Sweat and perspiration stains are going to show up on dark and light colored fabrics, and they can be nearly impossible to remove in some cases. Most people would agree that they look pretty ugly, but they also weaken the fabric and cause the color to change. In extreme cases this may even result in holes. If it goes untreated, you can pretty much guarantee that your shirt will be looking old and unwearable the next time you need it. With regular dirt, a quick spin in the wash will get things clean, but sometimes no amount of soaking or spinning will remove underarm grime.

Although commonly found on shirts at the back, collar or pits, sweat can cause stains on all sorts of clothing, and fabrics. The tutorial below will detail the steps used for clothing, but similar techniques could be applied to hats, sheets, upholstery and more.

Forget about using regular detergents, or relying on some sort of spot removing stick when tackling this type of job because they just don’t have what it takes. You’ve probably tried some of these products already, and you’ve probably been let down in the process. Now you’re searching the internet for another option because you still want to find something that will actually work. Well, the good news is, there is a solution. The simple steps below will take you through the process, and by using a better cleaner and the proper technique, you will be able to remove the discoloration, and restore the look of your clothing. Rather than throwing it away because you believe it to be a lost cause, use a cleaner that actually works and save your favorite shirt from becoming garbage.

What makes Them so Tough?

Although it is not your deodorant causing the stain, it is probably the main culprit in making it so hard to remove. Regular old sweat does not usually cause a bad stain all by itself, but it is quite possible. Typically it is the combo effect of the ingredients in your antiperspirant or deodorant that makes it so hard to clean though. If just bodily fluid alone, you could probably launder like normal, but most mainstream products will include Aluminum Chloride or some other form of aluminum as a main active ingredient. Other common versions include; Aluminum zirconium tricholorohydrex glycine, Aluminum chlorohydrate and Aluminum hydroxybromide, so check theon your current product and you will most likely find one of these listed. This is the stuff that stops you from sweating, by absorbing the moisture, and it is what many of us are trying to wash out right now. You may even find that natural alternatives contain other ingredients that increase the possibility of staining, and hinder your ability to remove it.

Most other ingredients that only serve to make your underarms smell better do not usually have the same effect. This is why the right alternative made from more natural ingredients may eliminate staining altogether. The reason why the aluminum is included, is also the main reason why it is hard to clean. Sweat already bonds well with fabric, but when combined with this powerful ingredient, it holds on even better, and also becomes resistant to water. This barrier and bond is what makes the stain so tough to remove, and why regular cleaning methods are often futile.

Why Traditional Techniques Don’t Work

When tackling an ugly spot like this, most of us will reach for the bleach first, especially for white fabrics. For most of us, this makes plenty of sense, and is all the way in accordance with standard laundry practices. You may not think it, but chlorine bleach is one of the worst things you can use to treat perspiration stains, even on white cotton fabric. This is because the chlorine in household bleach will react with the proteins in the perspiration and cause the remaining spot to darken even further. You thought the pale yellow stain looked bad, well just wait until your collar or underarms are almost mustard in color.

Detergents are supposed to clean our clothes, but none of them will remove a bad sweat stain. You can wash over and over, and the spot will not even fade in appearance. This particular type of grime bonds very well with fabric, so it holds on tight. This is why regular washing will usually not make a difference. Even the tougher, detergents that claim to eliminate staining will not work when cleaning arm pits, collars, hat brims and other notorious areas. Pre treaters and other products that are specially designed to remove laundry stains are also little help with these particular types of spots. Despite spot removal being their sole purpose for existence, you can rub and spray these on all you want, but most likely your shirt, workout clothing or hat will still look exactly the same.

The unique make up of this mess is why removing it is so difficult.  Working with traditional products and methods can be frustrating due to the success rate, so rather than waste time, money and effort on all of those dead end options, try a more effective solution that is safer for your clothing, and totally free of harsh chemicals.

So what is the solution?

Try Quick n Brite. It is highly effective, so it makes it easy to remove sweat stains from your clothing. You can use it on shirts, hats, exercise outfits and more. It doesn’t matter if it is in the pit of a shirt, down the back or around the collar. It even works on hat brims and delicate fabrics without any risk of harm. The same technique that will eliminate discoloration caused by perspiration will also remove other tough spots on your laundry too. Get it to relieve the frustration caused by this problem, but then keep some in your laundry room at all times to provide the same level of results on grass, ink, blood, oil, mud, gum, tar and more.

It is safe for use on any fabric, so you will be able to eliminate sweat stains on cotton, silk, spandex, polyester and more without any worry of harming the fabric. It won’t bleach or ruin your clothes in any way, but it will provide a simple and effective way for you to clean those yucky yellow spots.

How Does It Work?

It is an all-natural enzyme cleaner, so it’s specialty is breaking apart organic staining. Sweat and perspiration stains are no different. Quick n Brite will remove fresh spots easily, but it also works on those that have been set-in by time, washing, or use of other cleaners.  It doesn’t matter how long the it has been there, or what you tried to use on it in the past. Instead of bleaching away the color, this cleaner actually removes dirt and odor to improve appearance the right way. It does not try to burn it away with the use of harsh chemicals, but it will completely remove it from the fabric you are cleaning.

This natural product is 100% biodegradable, and totally safe for the environment, kids and pets. It will break the bond that those yellow spots have with your clothing, and then it will gently float them off the surface. You can then manually buff and remove them, or you can run the garment through the wash in order to machine wash the stain away.

How To Remove Sweat Stains:

There are two ways to use this cleaner to remove any sweat or perspiration stain on any type of clothes. You can do a thorough, start to finish, cleaning, or you can use it like a pre-treater, and then machine wash the clothes in order to finish the job. Using it as a pretreater is probably the easiest method, but you would have to wait for the wash cycle in order to wear the item, or see the full results. You could also remove the whole spot without washing the item as well. This is good if you are in a time crunch and want to wear the shirt right away, or if you are cleaning a more delicate item that can not be machine washed.

No matter which way, you choose to approach this job, you will want to use the paste version of Quick N Brite, full strength. For other types of laundry spots, you can use a heavy solution in a spray bottle, but this one is pretty tough, so you will want to bust out the big guns. This high concentrated natural cleaner is meant to be diluted based upon the job type, so for hard core jobs like this one, just use it straight. A lighter solution would work in most cases, but it might them require multiple applications depending upon severity, so to keep the job quick and simple just use it full strength.

For use as a pretreater, follow these steps:

1. Apply the paste full strength to the affected area.
2. When applying, use your fingernail, an old toothbrush or something similar to work it in. You could also apply the cleaner to the fabric, and then grab the fabric with either hand and rub back and forth on itself to achieve the same sort of light scrub upon application. You want to break the surface tension as you apply the cleaner in order to assure it is able to fully penetrate to lift the stain. Full on scrubbing is not necessary, but a technique like this will give better results and reduce overall time needed.
3. Let the cleaner sit for at least 20-30 minutes. For tough spots, or ones that have been washed in, or set in by use of other cleaners, let it sit overnight.
4. After sitting, place the garment in the wash and launder like normal.
5. Once the wash and dry cycle is complete, your stain should be gone. If light discoloration still remains, just repeat these steps to completely remove it, or follow the more manual style directions below. For most situations, a single wash cycle will do the trick after proper application, so a second round would not be necessary.

Complete Removal – No Machine Washing.

1. If you are pressed for time, washing something delicate, or just prefer to completely remove the stain prior to washing, then follow these steps. This method is also a little more effective for the more difficult situations. If you have tried the method above, and did not achieve desired results, then this one may work better for you.
2. It may help to prepare the area first. For some fabric types, you may want to skip this step in order to use less moisture. To prepare the area, get it wet with warm or hot water, or spray on a heavy solution of Quick N Brite.
3. Once prepared, apply the cleaner full strength. For best results you should use the paste, but the liquid version will also work.
4. When applying the cleaner, lightly scrub it in with a fingernail or brush. You can also use the fabric itself depending upon type. Just rub one part on another in order to work the cleaner in and begin the removal process.
5. For light staining, you can skip to the next step. For best results you will want to let the cleaner sit for 20-30 minutes. If the spot is not too bad, you can skip this step to save time. If you do not get the results desired, try over and either include this step, or extend the time you let it sit. This cleaner breaks down the sweat stain and lifts it up as it sits. The more time you leave it on there, the longer it will be working to clean your spot.
6. To remove the spot after applying the cleaner, you can rinse clean under the faucet, or buff it out with a clean, dry towel. When you buff with a terry cloth towel, the yellow or brown color will transfer from the armpit of your shirt onto that towel.

Letting it sit is the most important step. The reason why sweat and perspiration stains are nearly impossible for other cleaners to remove is due to the unique make-up of the spot. This type of stain embeds itself into fabric quite well, and forms a strong bond. Because of the chemical composition of the actual sweat, certain products will make it change colors or darken, and others will either do nothing, or do very little while making the bond stronger between the fabric and yellow coloration. When you let Quick N Brite sit on the fabric, it will begin to break down the stinky spot, and release the bond with the fabric. Over time it will completely break it down, and allow it to float just off the surface of your shirt or other garment. Once this process has completed, you can toss it in the washing machine, or take a terry cloth towel and wipe the yellow away. Because it was loosened and lifted by the cleaner prior to laundering, a stain that used to be impossible to get clean will wash out just like any regular dirt.

Preventing Future Problems

Not sweating would be one way to prevent future stains, but since this is not actually possible, there are some other things you can do instead. Your body needs to release moisture in order to cool itself down. One of the main places it does this is under your arms. The eccrine glands are the ones found in the highest concentration in your pits. They are responsible for the bulk of the perspiration that takes place under your arms, and throughout the rest of your body. Things like heat, exercise, stress or nervousness can really increase production, so keeping these things to a minimum will natural cut down on production, and therefore, staining.

Because aluminum as an ingredient is so responsible for the really tough spots we find on clothes, eliminating that will drastically reduce the occurrence of stubborn stains for most people. More natural alternatives, will not have the same sweat prevention abilities, but they also won’t lead to garment damaging spots because the stain may not be as severe. Some of these natural products will still contain some sort of acid in place of the aluminum, and that is also linked to the same types of problems, although it is not as notorious. If you do switch, and are still having trouble, try finding a deodorant without acids or aluminum. Other simple things you can do include using less deodorant, letting it dry before dressing, or rinsing your shirt thoroughly prior to placing in the laundry basket at the end of the day.

No matter what measures you take, you are going to get a stain or two in your pit or some other common place. There are certain things you can do to prevent new ones, or reduce severity, but sooner or later you will be faced with cleaning one from your shirt or hat. When this happens, it is best to have a proven product and technique to get rid of it. Quick n Brite works great for perspiration stains, and it will also remove other spots on laundry that most products are unable to handle. You could scrub and scrub, or do load after load, but with this stuff it will never be necessary. Because it works differently than most other products out there, it is able to remove one of the toughest laundry stains there is, when most others fail.

So run, jump, jog or play ball, and don’t worry about the moisture. You will no longer need to worry about ugly stains in your pits, around the brim of your hat or down your back. This powerful cleaning product is the perfect choice for combating this problem because it makes it easy to remove sweat stains from any type of clothing, and you are pretty much guaranteed results.

Because it works so well on sweat stains, you know it can easily tackle other minor spots with ease. This one is pretty tough, but Quick N Bite makes it simple to handle. Most other common stains will actually be easier to remove, and you can do it with less of the cleaner. For a job like this, you will definitely want to use the paste full strength, but for more simple stuff, you can mix just 3  tablespoons into a spray bottle and use it as a pre-treating spray(heavy solution) for any mess you see on your clothes. When compared for performance, this  is the best laundry pre-treater available. It removes tough spotting and set in stains with ease. You can use it for grass, regular dirt, blood, oil, grease, juice and so much more, and you never have to wonder if it is safe for a particular type of fabric. If you can safely get it wet with water, you can clean it with Quick N Brite. When you also look at how safe it is, and the fact that it contains no toxic substances, it is basically unmatched for overall value.

Quick n Brite is non-toxic and safe around children and pets. It is also 100% biodegradable. Whats even better is that Quick n Brite has hundreds of uses for cleaning all over your home. Buy it for an easy way to clean and remove your sweat and perspiration stains, but use it everywhere else too. It will save the day by eliminating ugly yellow or brown spots on any type of clothing, but then it will continue to amaze you as it cleans other grime all over your home.

Quick n Brite