Keeping / getting school uniform clean

[BuiltForComfort]

Does anyone have any tips on how to get a school polo shirt clean?? I bought 2 new ones for ds recently, not because he'd grown out of the old ones but because they were so filthy I was embarrassed.

First time of wearing each of them they have come home marked with black smudges, it looks like marker pen for whiteboards. Top is pale blue so didn't think I could bleach it. Have washed at 60C with vanish spray, bio washing powder and extra vanish powder and makes no difference. He looks so scruffy! and grubby which is unfair as he has clean uniform every day. He is only 5 so I don't expect him not to get messy.

[PandaG]

marker pens are often used in school, and no, they don't come out! My DC are older now, but tbh if they had marker pen stains on polo shirts that were otherwise clean I used to continue to send them in to school wearing the shirts. I've not found anything to get the pen out.

[BuiltForComfort]

sigh. thought that might be the case. Although there are other vague green and yellowy stains (fluorescent marker perhaps, or egg ... who knows). I'm certainly not buying any more shirts until they're outgrown or fall apart then.

I know they're clean every day and so does ds, so that'll have to do!

[Suffolkgirl1]

The only thing I have found to get out the marker pens is cheap hairspray!!!
Before washing spray the stain until quite wet - make sure you put several layers of kitchen paper behind the material otherwise the stain goes out of the front of the shirt and into the back!