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Housekeeping

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Original poster

Suntan lotion stains in white polo shirts

18 replies

soupmaker · 24/06/2014 16:06

How the heck do you remove the yellow stains left by suntan lotion on white polo shirts? Damn stuff has ruined 4 of them. I've tried Vanish powder in washes, washing up liquid and hanging out in the sun to dry. Nothing works.

Help.

OP posts:
needtobediscreet · 24/06/2014 17:46

Following! I have the same problem and am yet to find a solution!

Olddear · 24/06/2014 19:21

I don't think you can! I've done the same thing! Made a paste with vanish, soaked overnight in more vanish, tried fairy liquid........can't shift them. Luckily it wasn't expensive, but still......

Original poster
soupmaker · 24/06/2014 20:50

Someone has suggested Fairy Platinum to me. Going to try that. Will report back.

OP posts:
PinkSquash · 24/06/2014 21:07

I've not found anything that works, so frustrating. Hoping the Fairy works!

Ilovemydogandmydoglovesme · 24/06/2014 21:22

Would bleach be any good or would it just make it more yellow?

LJBanana · 24/06/2014 21:24

Ariel stain remover spray. Blue bottle. It's a bit pricey but it works. Also if your DC's don't have to have branded uniforms, then M&S stain away polo shirts are a good buy.

PigletJohn · 24/06/2014 21:56

it will be the "oxidised oil going yellow" problem. It also happens from oily skin. You can wash whites and they look clean, put them away, and the traces of oil oxidise and the collars go yellow.

You need a good hot wash, plenty of powder, and can pre-treat the collars first, either with a paste of powder, or a pre-wash spray. Bleach will not help.

Once the oil has oxidised, it goes gummy and hard and is very hard to remove, so the first wash is the most important one.

You may have seen on cooking oil bottles that the dribbled oil goes sticky as it oxidises over time.

Original poster
soupmaker · 25/06/2014 15:13

Well I think I now have the answer. Throw away and buy new ones. The Fairy Platinum, Vanish Oxi Action and a hot wash didn't even touch them. Hmm

OP posts:
Lightheartedindeed · 25/06/2014 15:42

Before throwing them away try cheap bleach, like tesco value. I have found it useful in stain removal before and it's not strong enough to ruin clothing. GL

krisskross · 26/06/2014 11:51

hi someone else on her suggested a paste of lemon juice and salt, rubbed into the stain and left out to dry in the sun before washing, then wash. I'd say its an improvement but not perfect solution.

SunnyRandall · 26/06/2014 11:55

I am just putting up with the yellowing and thinking I can bin them in three weeks time.

Aldi sun cream has left yellow stains on my duvet cover where the dc have lolled about after I have put it on them in the morning. Not happy. It is the worst one for staining that we have used. And it is sticky as hell.

needtobediscreet · 26/06/2014 14:05

We had another 'live' suncream on white clothing incident today. Big blob of cream on my son's fancy dribble bib. Was upstairs at the time so tried the Stardrops that was in the bathroom. Seems to have worked.... Grin Not sure if it would on an older stain but worth a try?

PigletJohn · 26/06/2014 21:09

if it is fresh and wet, then you have the best chance of getting it out. Hot hot hot wash, plenty of powder, and whatever pre-treatment for grease-marks you like.

if you don't get it out in the first wash, the traces will linger and go yellow in time, even if it seemed clean when you got it out of the machine, and it will be very hard to get out later. Sunlight and bleach to not work on oxidised oils.

NothinToSeeHere · 26/06/2014 21:14

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
soupmaker · 26/06/2014 22:41

At home we use Ambre Solaire, never had a problem with it. DD1's afterschool club has slathered her in the stuff from who knows where and ruined 3 school polo shirts. Thankfully we are in Scotland and school holidays started so I'm chucking the worst 2 and keeping an emergency one for under sweatshirts only!

OP posts:
RaspberryLemonPavlova · 27/06/2014 12:17

I always used ambre solaire and the polo-shirts still went yellow. I just used to bin them in July and get fresh for September.

needtobediscreet · 27/06/2014 23:57

It was ambre solaire kids that stained my son's bib....

donna2209 · 30/07/2015 11:41

Hi I have found an article about this but I haven't tried this myself so do not know if it works. Disclaimer!
The chemical in the suntan lotion that causes white clothes to go yellow is Avobenzene which eliminates the long ray UVA. It has a similar chemical set up to rust and if you live in area with hard water this can make it worse. Apparently using bleach and oxy cleaners will also have little effect or make it worse. The suggestion is that you use a rust remover or a cleaner for removing rust or mineral deposits. This can only be done on white clothes. (I would defo do a test before). It suggests you spray a small amount onto affected area and gently rub in and leave for 5 mins then wash as normal.
If anyone tries good luck and let us all know

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