Suncream has stained white clothes

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Been discovering yellow/brown marks on white clothes after washing, and realised it seems to be linked to suncream.

Anyone else had this? Any tips for getting rid of the marks? I can’t use bleach as some of the clothes are only partly white (eg striped).

Also any tips for avoiding it happening again? Been using Nivea suncream so will swap brands but not sure if that will be enough.

thank you

Every brand does it.

I think the only type that doesn't is pure mineral sunscreen that's made of zinc

Gah. I don’t remember this happening up till the last year or two? Has suncream changed or maybe I just never noticed… (probably didn’t have so many white clothes while the kids were little…)

Has always stained my clothes and bikinis ☹️

Have a try at a Stain Devil-type stain remover - one that removes oily stuff. I did this some time back with a white linen shirt with an excellent outcome!

Just been doing some googling, I think we have been using higher factor suncream recently which apparently stains worse :( so maybe that’s why I didn’t notice so much before

How annoying

I have found a tip to soak in neat white vinegar then wash, so will give that a go. If nothing else, it will help clean the washing machine…

This has been happening forever. I used a baby sunscreen from Boots 12 years ago which stained our bath yellow.

I just try not to use white clothes when a SPF is needed. School polo shirts always have a yellow tinge.

Thanks Westfacing - will try if the vinegar doesn’t work

I used a baby sunscreen from Boots 12 years ago which stained our bath yellow.

😱

Think washing up liquid can help and I've also found if it's white then leaving in the sun tends to bleach it out

Yes, always!! And I can never shift it, even drying in the sun as is often recommended for whites. Watching for tips…..

I've ruined so many t shirts because of this . Yet to find anything that sorts it.

Saw an old thread on here that said sticky stuff remover takes it out. Used it this week on some of my daughter's badly stained white stuff and it worked. I had tired Napisan and the Pink Stuff stain remover first which had no effect. I covered the dry stains in sticky stuff remover and left them a couple of hours before washing. Did have to wash twice for the smell afterwards but she was delighted as we thought her favourite shorts were ruined.

Aha. Just done some more reading and found lots of comments that Ultrasun doesn’t stain (at least for the SPF30, unclear re the 50). It doesn’t have the avobenzone which is the staining chemical in most of them.

Now Ultrasun 30 is what we used to use when the DC were smaller - switched to Nivea to save money once their bodies got bigger!! That might explain why I only noticed the stains recently.

Back to Ultrasun 30 it is, I think. Costly but then so is chucking out clothes.

If anyone has still had this issue with ultrasun please say!!

Ooh I do have sticky stuff remover so can also give that a go

Bleach will turn it bright pink.

Hang it out in the sunshine and the sun will lift the yellow stains out again.

Don’t bleach, isn’t that meant to turn the suncream oils pink? Eucalyptus oil works well, that’s the best thing I’ve found after years of trying to save swimming costumes and white school shirts! Pour some onto the stains and leave a while. Smells really strong when you are doing it though and for a couple of washes afterwards!

Try rubbing the yellow bits with a lemon and then hanging out in bright sunshine. Has worked for me in the past.

Oooooh good find. Wish I hadn't just bought a tonne of piz buin...

It's a well known problem and has been for decades. I have never discovered anything to get it out. Bleach does not remove it. I tried it and it turned bright yellow. Maybe a dry cleaner? I treat white t-shirts as disposable after summer. The best you can do is to be sure the stuff is really absorbed and dry before getting dressed. I haven't personally found mineral sunscreens much better as they still seem to stain.

I use white vinegar for this. I spray the yellow stains liberally, then wash and it's usually gone. You can also use diluted citric acid if the vinegar doesn't work. Again apply liberally, bit then leave in the sun for a few hours before washing
Nivea is the absolute worst suncream for stains imo, followed closely by piz buin. We all use ultrasun family spf30 now and it's brilliant, even for very sensitive skin.

Edited to add, ultrasun is expensive but it's effective for two years once opened, rather than the usual 12 months.

Checked and piz buin doesn't contain that ingredient and my son wore a white t shirt today - no staining. Very reasonable price too.

I’m happy to confirm that Ultrasun doesn’t stain, even the factor 50

I used to manage the customer careline for a suncream manufacturer. Unsurprisingly, this was the biggest cause of calls/letters (it was a while ago!) in the summer, with huge numbers of very irate people wanting us to pay for their expensive clothes which had sun cream stains on them (despite it clearly saying on the bottle not to come into contact with fabric until the cream has absorbed, and that it will stain).

Anyway - we did lots of experimentation, and found the Dr Beckmann Stain Slayer to be the most effective at getting rid of stains.

It's the SPF ingredient which causes it. Pretty much all sunscreens have it in, so it's not a brand-specific thing.

I have always been super careful, and managed to avoid staining, but a few weeks ago got sunscreen all down the front of a pair of trousers (squeezed the bottle and it splurted where I didn't expect). I used SMOL stain remover on it, and now there's no marking at all.

The staining often doesn't appear straight away - it can develop over time...

I used OxyWhite stain remover successfully on DSs T-shirt he wore every day on holiday recently. Put it to soak for hours with a plate on top to hold it under