I love a good clean, crisp white shirt. Who wouldn’t? Be it a t-shirt or a blouse, a white shirt is a classic. It can be dressed up or down and goes with everything. What I don’t like is the slow creep of the ugly yellow armpit stain. You can always tell it’s coming…the slight darkening, the little bit of hardening…ugh. Most of us will try to throw it in the washing machine on hot with a ton of bleach to stop the stain’s march, but to no avail. On my quest to try to live a little more naturally, I wanted to know how I could hopefully get rid of yellow armpit stains in my white shirts, even the ones that have been set in by the dryer – naturally. Below is how to remove sweat stains naturally and what actually worked for me.
How To Remove Sweat Stains Naturally
Here are a few ways that you can try to treat those pesky yellow armpit stains with natural ingredients:
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Lemon and Water
Lemon is the natural DIY’ers staple fruit. It is a natural lightener, so it would make sense that it can be used to remove sweat stains. Mix equal parts fresh lemon juice with water and rub it into the stains. Let it sit for a half hour and then wash as usual.
Vinegar
Good ol’ white vinegar is another staple cleaning product and something that many of us have in our pantries. Mix a couple of tablespoons with water and again rub into the stains and let it sit for a bit. Wash as usual.
Baking Soda and Hydrogen Peroxide
Mix equal parts hydrogen peroxide and baking soda (like the kind you have in your pantry) and get it to a paste consistency. Rub it into the armpit stains and again wash as usual.
What Actually Worked to Get Rid of the Armpit Stains?
I tried all of the above and the lemon and the vinegar were a bust for me. To be fair, I didn’t use lightly stained clothes for my trial. I used well worn, set in stains. The worst one was an old white t-shirt of my husband’s that was actually crunchy in the armpit from deodorant. (He doesn’t use natural, aluminum free – find the best natural deodorants to use here).
I mixed the hydrogen peroxide and the baking soda and rubbed the paste into three shirts and it actually did improve all three. The two white t-shirts of mine were improved quite a bit, but my husband’s crunchy one only improved a little. I decided to double up on his shirt and send it through the process and wash again.
On the second wash, the crunchiness did actually soften and the stain lightened. All three shirts were better and I would use this natural hack again.
