Caring for Your Clothes A little dingy in the armpits? Excessive sweating is the culprit! And it’s not just your whites: sweating fades all colors of clothes–yellowing whites and fading darks unevenly.
So how do you keep them clean?
Follow instructions. Those tags on your shirts do more than identify your size: consider them your laundry cheat sheets. Should the garment be washed in warm or cold water? Can you use bleach? Does it go in the dryer? ItÂ’s all on your tag!
Tip: Realize that items marketed "dry clean only" probably arenÂ’t joking. Take these to a commercial dry cleaner to avoid shrinking and discoloration. For more info, check out Dry Cleaning Tips and More on Dry Cleaning.
YouÂ’d be surprised how much easier garment care becomes when you simply follow the instructions on the garment tag. As a general rule, use hot water with bleach to brighten white garments and cold water with regular detergent and a non-chlorinated bleach (like Clorox or Biz) to brighten colored clothes. But remember, any kind of bleaching can be hard on clothes, so use your bleach as sparingly and infrequently as possible.
Tip: To avoid irritation, allergies or sensitive skin shouldnÂ’t use bleach, and should wash clothes in warm water with a detergent that is free of dyes and other chemicals.
Timing is everything. ItÂ’s also good to know when to wash. If youÂ’re active or just sweat a lot, don't let your sweat-soaked T-shirts and workout clothes sit in the hamper or in your gym locker for days on end. Take them home and wash them. Remember, acids and salts corrode metal. Sweat contains your bodyÂ’s salt, acid and other chemical byproducts and will erode your clothing if not removed promptly.
Pre-treat. Pre-treating gets the cleaning going prior to the wash. If you have an obvious stain or you know that a shirt will likely develop a stain in a certain area (like your underarms), pre-treating increases your odds of zapping the stain. Simply apply undiluted laundry detergent or liquid dishwashing detergent (or rub bar soap, or suds from bar soap) directly on the yellow-stained area and launder immediately.
Use quality laundry detergent and fabric softener. In addition to laundry detergent, use fabric softener when you wash your clothes. Softener helps keep the material feeling new.
And, yes, the quality of your detergent and softener does play a major role. Products like Tide™ and Cheer™ are more expensive than generic detergents, but they are also more powerful.
Shortcuts from the Experts
The first time is a charm. According to the "Queen of Clean" (
http://www.queenofclean.com/tips/index.html), after wearing a garment for the first time, prior to laundering, work in some warm water and Fels Naptha Soap, available in the bar soap section of your local supermarket (usually on the bottom shelf), into the underarm area. This will prevent the yellow stains from forming in the future.
Grandma Andrews' special mix. Everybody seems to have their own "secret" formula for fighting the laundry battle. According to Marcella Andrews of St. Paul Park, Minnesota, the best way to fight ugly yellow armpit stains is to take six or seven aspirin, dissolve them in warm water, and soak the yellow-stained area in the mixture overnight, then wash it with the regular hot water wash load the next day.
Other Tips and TrapsCost efficient and environmentally safe. To make "brights brighter and whites whiter," add 1/4 cup baking soda to your laundry in addition to laundry detergent. Not only is it great for combating yellow pit stains, it also removes odors and costs just a few cents per wash load. Better yet, itÂ’s better for the environment than bleach is.
Check before you wreck. Before you throw any clothing into the dryer, check the stained area to make sure the discoloration has washed away. If not, don't dry it. If you do, the heat of the dryer will "set" the stain into the garment forever. Instead, put the garment through one of the treatments listed above or take it to a professional laundry for extra attention.
Know your deodorant. Some deodorant products contain acidic solutions of aluminum chloride, which make the shirts difficult to clean. Avoid deodorant products containing this ingredient.
Keeping your clothes clean doesn't have to be the pits! Take a little time and precautions, and your clothes will stay sharp — and clean!