Last Updated on September 1, 2021 by Cristina
How to get yellow stains out of white clothes vinegar is the answer. There may be other answers but there is no surer thing for getting yellow stains out of white clothes than vinegar. For instance, in this article, I will look at the many possibilities and tell you why vinegar is the best choice.
How To Get Yellow Stains Out Of White Clothes
There are many ways to remove yellow stains from white clothes and vinegar is just one of them. So, before we talk about how and why vinegar is so effective, let’s take a look at what causes white clothes to accumulate yellow stains and other options for cleaning them.
Why White Clothes Accumulate Yellow Stains:
- White dye is used in many white clothing and this dye can eventually yellow the cloth dyed with it.
- Sweat contains several minerals and other factors that can cause yellowing; especially when combined with deodorants and antiperspirants. Therefore this causes a chemical reaction that causes yellowing.
- Antiperspirants and deodorant contain factors that causes yellowing, and this is particularly true if they contain aluminum.
- Storage causes the white dye in the cloth to dry out and fade. This allows the cloth to yellow. The more you wear white clothing, the less likely it is to yellow.
- Hair and skin products can sometimes cause yellowing around the neck area. Let them dry before you put on white clothing.
- Wash right after wearing. For instance, as soon as you are finished wearing your white clothing, wash them. Therefore don’t let them sit around in a laundry basket for a week.
- Don’t launder everything with bleach even though it is a whitening agent. In some fabrics, it can be detrimental to the garment fabric and cause yellowing.
- Iron in the water
How To Remove Yellowing From White Clothes
Now that we’ve looked at some of the reasons why your white shirts and clothes can yellow, let’s look at how to remove it. As I said previously there are many ways to remove those irritating yellow stains. Here are some of the others:
- Oxygen-based detergents are well known for removing stains. Mix a gallon of water with one scoop of the oxygen-based detergents. Soak for six hours than launder as usual.
- Hydrogen Peroxide with water – mix about ¼ cup of hydrogen peroxide with ¼ cup of water. Put this mixture in a container big enough to hold your white clothing and let the clothing soak for about an hour. After this wash as normal in cold water. Repeat this until the stain is gone.
- Hydrogen Peroxide, water, and baking soda – Just add baking soda to the above mixture. Add ¼ cup of baking soda and mix well. Add the clothing to the container but scrub the stain spot with the baking soda solution. Soak the white clothing for hour and then wash as usual.
- Lemon Juice – mix ¼ cup of lemon juice and a gallon of water. Make the water as hot as possible and soak the clothing for several hours. Don’t launder after this. Just hang the clothing up to dry.
- Baking soda and hot water – You can take just hot water and baking soda to have the same effect as baking soda, water, and peroxide. For instance, this takes two cups of baking soda in a bucket filled with very hot water. Wash in laundry with an oxygen-based detergent.
More How To Get Yellow Stains Out Of White Shirts
- Toothpaste has an effect similar to baking soda. Apply the undiluted toothpaste to the stain and scrub with a brush. After the stain is dissolved wash as usual. Don’t used colored toothpaste. A whitening toothpaste would be the best.
- Chlorine Bleach might work as well. Just don’t use too much. If you smell the chlorine, you are using too much and need to rinse it out again.
- Borax can be added to the rinse cycle. Only use a couple teaspoons at most. If possible, hang the garment outside in the sun to dry.
- Regular Bleach will work but just make sure the fabric that is stained can stand up to bleach without being damaged.
- Laundry Bluing Products adds a small amount of blue dye to the cloth. The blue dye actually makes the clothing look whiter.
Tide Brights and Whites Rescue In-Wash Laundry Booster
- RIT color remover – RIT is known as a clothing dye, but this product will remove the color from clothing. For white clothing, this is safer than bleach. Do not use it for dark-colored clothing.
- RIT whitewash is also safer than bleach.
- Denture cleaner requires 4 tablets dissolved in at least a gallon of water. Soak the clothing for at least eight hours but no longer than 12 hours. After this wash in your regular laundry.
How To Get Yellow Stains Out Of White Clothes Vinegar Is The Answer!
Now that we’ve discussed many other possible ways to remove the yellow stain, let’s consider how it works with vinegar. For instance, in most households, vinegar would be the first choice of treatment. Use white distilled vinegar as this will not only remove the stain it is a fabric softener as well.
Use about one-quarter of a cup added to your rinse cycle to remove the stain and soften the fabrics. There are a few notes of caution however when using vinegar in this way. For instance, make sure you are only using distilled white vinegar. Secondly do not use any chlorine bleach with vinegar. This could cause a chemical reaction that creates harmful fumes if beathed in. Also, be careful of the fabrics you are using vinegar with – don’t use with silk, rayon, or acetate.
If you follow these guidelines for how to get yellow stains out of white clothes, white distilled vinegar will be your first choice! Vinegar in the rinse cycle can accomplish many things, and whitening is one of them. There is acidic acid in vinegar that will remove the stains without hurting the fabrics. Not only will it remove stains, it will also remove soap and detergent residues.
