Yikes—stuck with those gross sweat stains? They leave your clothes looking and smelling unpleasant. But let’s face it, those sweat stains are inevitable and everyone gets them one way or the other, so the question is not how to not get sweat stains, the question is what can you do about them?
Your clothes deserve the absolute best care to make you look gorgeous and sweat stains are kind of in the middle of that. Don’t worry, we’ve got one great agent to save you from this hassle, the one, and only hydrogen peroxide!
Hydrogen peroxide is a cost-effective, versatile cleaner that can get rid of these sweat stains in no time. Due to its oxidizing, bleaching, and deodorizing powers, this agent can work on these stains from within and alter their chemical structures from within.
Hydrogen peroxide forms OH radicals and these radicals are the reason for its effectiveness as a cleaning agent. Before we discuss the usage of this agent to remove sweat stains, let us learn a little bit more about sweat stains.
Are Sweat Stains Easy to Remove?
Sweat stains are not easy to remove once they have set in the clothes because they are formed due to a chemical reaction between skin, sweat, bacteria, aluminum, the fabric of the shirt, etc.
This entire reaction results in those weird yellow stains that don’t easily go away. These sweat stains are proteins and they bind strongly to the microfibers of the cloth and that is one reason for their resistance to removal.
Since these stains are not easy to remove and don’t go away on their own, there have to be some agents that you can effectively use to remove these stains? Yes, there are definitely some great agents out there that can remove these sweat stains from your clothes and make them useable again!
How to Remove Sweat Stains Easily — Top 5 Methods
Do you want to learn how you can remove these sweat stains from your clothes? Here are the top 5 methods for you to use and get rid of those nasty stains. Without further ado, let’s get right into it!
#1 Using Hydrogen Peroxide to Remove Sweat Stains
The sweat stains on your clothes are made up of proteins and are a result of the reaction of sweat with aluminum and other compounds.
Hydrogen peroxide has the ability to denature these proteins and alter their chemical structure and make these sweat stains go away from your clothes. Hydrogen peroxide has strong oxidizing properties that make it a helpful cleaning agent to work against these sweat stains producing proteins and bacteria.
Please keep in mind that hydrogen peroxide would essentially work best for white clothing because it does have mild bleaching properties that can affect the coloring of your clothes.
What You Need
- Hydrogen peroxide
- Baking Soda
- Brush
- Bowl
How To Use
- In a small bowl, first pour some hydrogen peroxide
- Now add in the baking soda and mix the solution well
- Gently apply the solution to the stained areas of the clothing with the help of a brush
- Start rubbing the solution on the stains in order to remove them
- Run the clothing under hot water to remove the solution
Points to Consider
Hydrogen peroxide is a dangerous chemical compound because it is unstable and produces penetrative OH radicals, therefore you should be cautious while handling it and should observe the usage of gloves while applying it. You should avoid exposure to your skin and eyes because it can be irritating to them.
#2 Using Baking Soda and Vinegar to Remove Sweat Stains
Baking soda and vinegar are the definitions of extraordinary compounds when it comes to cleaning. These agents have different yet very useful properties that make them a great option to remove sweat stains from clothes.
Vinegar is made up of acetic acid and reduces the pH to denature the sweat proteins while baking soda dissolves these organic proteins and doesn’t let them stick around in your clothes.
Usage of this method would not only remove the sweat stains but also brighten up the clothes to which these agents are applied. Baking soda in particular also helps with the awful smell these stains produce. Here is what you need for this cleaning method:
What You Need
- Baking Soda
- Vinegar
- Hydrogen Peroxide
- Salt
- Brush
- Bowl
How To Use
- You should start by mixing a cup of vinegar and half a cup of baking soda in a small bowl
- Now add a small amount of hydrogen peroxide and salt to the bowl
- Mix the entire solution really well
- Pour the solution on these sweat stains and start scrubbing the stains with a brush
- Run the clothing under hot water and dry them well
Points to Consider
Vinegar has acidic properties and it should not be allowed to come in contact with skin or eyes, nor should it be ingested in any way or form.
You should also scrub the stains really well if they have settled in because they would be harder to remove and would need proper cleaning for effective removal
#3 Using Dish Soap to Remove Sweat Stains
Dish soap can be used to remove sweat stains from your clothes because it is able to cut through greasy residue and dissolve the organic components on the sweat stains. Dish soap contains hydrophobic and hydrophilic components.
The hydrophobic component dissolves the hydrophobic parts of the stains i.e. the organic greasy residue whereas the hydrophilic component dissolves the hydrophilic part of stains i.e. the watery bacterial part.
If the dish soap is used in appropriate amounts along with hydrogen peroxide, it can be really effective to remove tough stains such as well-settled sweat stains.
What You Need
- Dish Soap
- Hydrogen Peroxide
- Brush
- Bowl
How To Use
- The first step is to add the dish soap to a small bowl
- Pour in hydrogen peroxide and mix the entire solution really well
- Now start pouring this solution on the sweaty areas of the clothes
- Scrub it with the brush until you find the stains to be gone
- Wash your clothes and let them dry
Points to Consider
Dish soap and hydrogen peroxide would make the perfect combination to remove sweat stains from your clothes, but you need to be careful while scrubbing the clothes because you can damage the clothes.
Moreover, you should be cautious while handling hydrogen peroxide because, as mentioned above, it can be irritating to your skin and eyes.
#4 Using An Enzyme-Based Detergent to Remove Sweat Stains
As it has been well-established that sweat stains have proteins in them and to break down these proteins, we have another agent in the race.
Enzyme-based cleaners break down these proteins in sweat stains by penetrating the crevices and microfibers of the cloth.
Once these proteins have been broken down, they get removed and are no longer capable of causing the stains.
For more specific enzyme cleaning, you should get specific protease detergents that would be the most effective for the sweat stains. In addition to removing the stains, enzyme cleaners can also break down the odorant molecules and leave your clothes with a fresher smell and look.
What You Need
- Enzyme based detergent
- Spray Bottle
- Brush
How To Use
- You should start by pouring the enzyme-based detergent into a spray bottle
- Now you need to spray the sweat-stained area with this enzyme detergent
- Clean the sweaty area by scrubbing it with a brush so that the enzyme detergent settles in well
- Now run your clothes through one cycle of the washing machine
- Take your clothes out and let them dry. Check if the stains are gone but if not, then repeat the process
Points to Consider
After the application of the enzyme-based detergent, you should wait for at least an hour before scrubbing it. This is necessary because enzyme-based detergents take time to penetrate the microfibers of the clothes and be effective.
#5 Using OxiClean to Remove Sweat Stains
Using bleach for any protein-based stains is the worst idea out there because it can cause yellowing of the stains.
A great alternative is OxiClean which is made up of oxygen bleach. It is not as potent as the conventional bleach but it works perfectly to remove the stains from your clothes without draining the color out of them.
Oxiclean also contains a sufficient amount of hydrogen peroxide and that also validates its usefulness as the perfect sweat stain remover.
Though Oxiclean has a different structure than the conventional bleach, it works well to remove the armpit stains from your favorite clothes in no time.
What You Need
- OxiClean
- Bucket
- Water
How To Use
- Fill up a bucket with water
- Add a cup of Oxiclean in it and mix it well
- Soak your sweat-stained clothing in the bucket
- Let it soak overnight for maximal effects
- Now take your clothes out and dry them well
Points to Consider
Oxiclean won’t be effective if you don’t give it enough time to act on the stains. Soaking the clothes overnight is ideal but if that is not possible, then you should at least give it 3-4 hours to work on the stains and get rid of them.
How Do You Get Rid Of Hard Armpit Stains On Shirts?
Hard armpit stains are tough to remove because those stains are a combination of unwashed deodorant, sweat, and body oils that are not soluble in water and don’t easily get out of the microfibers of your clothes. You would need to use multiple agents in order to remove these stains.
Mix baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and water in a small bowl.
Apply this solution to the specific armpit sweat-stained areas of the clothes and scrub them with a brush. Now leave the clothes for around 15 minutes. Finally, launder your clothes with your daily-use detergent and you should find those resistant stains to be gone.
How Do You Remove Dried Sweat Stains?
Dried sweat stains are almost near-impossible to remove and there is a chance that they might never come out, but you should anyway go ahead and try this method.
You should start by mixing 2 cups of water with 1 cup of vinegar and soak your sweaty clothes in it.
After that, you should take them out and pour some hydrogen peroxide directly into the stain, and scrub it really well to allow it to settle in. Now you should launder your clothes and see if the sweat stains are gone. If they are not, you can repeat this cycle with the additional use of baking soda in the process.
The Best Sweat Stain Removing Agent — Final Words
The best sweat stain removing agent is definitely hydrogen peroxide. As you can see that it was a component in almost every method described above and that just speaks volumes for its effectiveness as a cleaning agent to remove sweat stains from your clothes.
Due to its strong OH radicals, it possesses the power to break down these sweat stains and leave your clothes fresh and beautiful.
Hydrogen peroxide has almost the same chemical makeup as water, but it is a much stronger and more potent cleaning agent. It degreases, disinfects, and deodorizes almost every surface that which it is applied.
So do you want to try this agent too? Order your set now!
