I have a very bad habit of pinning things on Pinterest and then never doing anything with them. How many of us are guilty of that? I would say probably most of us. Well, finally the other night I put one of my Pins to the test.. a DIY version of pit stain removal:)
Apparently the stains don’t bother J at all, but I do the laundry and it drives me nuts! {HAHA oops- he just called while I was writing this post and was quite surprised I was going to be showcasing to the world his pit stains..apparently they don’t bother him only because no one sees them..whoops!} Although, his statement isn’t entirely true because I see them. And it’s really disgusting! It almost makes me want to heave it’s that bad. But like I say, it doesn’t bother him, which is another thing that annoys me. One day, they looked that bad that I even considered taking them to somewhere similar to this Ad Astra Dry Cleaning Perth company to see if, with their wonderful magical hands, they could help to remove the stains that have been bothering me for such a long time now. In the end, I didn’t, but it is definitely something to bear in mind for the future because I have a feeling that they won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
I was tempted to buy him new undershirts the other day they were grossing me out so much. But..were having a baby…so spending unnecessary money isn’t on the top of my list! {Although- if I could get him some new undershirts- these are my favorite ones by far- so cheap and amazing!!} I have heard about these undershirts that have underarm sweat pads which would just be perfect as I won’t have to worry about any stains. But then the next dilemma is the v-neck vs crew neck undershirt decision. I think for the time being we should just stick with the shirts we’ve got, but what a great option for anyone that suffers from the same problem. So I got to looking through my Pinterest Cleaning Tips board and found a great tip for that exact problem…and I already had all of the ingredients-perfect!
I used 1/4 cup dawn dish soap and 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide for the mixture to do about 15 shirts. Also, I knew that I was working with some serious stains so I automatically went ahead and scrubbed with a little baking soda as well. Here is what grossness I started with {you can also clearly see it in the above photo}:
I simply made the solution, and poured it on to the stains one by one in a large pyrex dish {to prevent any spills}. Once the solution was on I took a toothbrush and scrubbed on the baking soda. Side note: please tell me I am not the only one who has a toothbrush in their house specifically for cleaning?! Once that was all done I let all the shirts soak for a solid hour before washing them:
A little trick I recently discovered – a deodorant that doesn’t leave those icky stains! (That’s what does it). It’s by Speed Stick: staingaurd, specifically designed to keep your white shirts white. (AND IT REALLY WORKS!)
This doesn’t work for me 🙁
It’s entirely possible that the ingredients in Deo-Go are no more complex than what you experimented with, but I bought a bottle last summer after reading about it on a style blog and have been pretty pleased with it.
http://www.getdeogo.com/
I recently read that Rust Stain Remover for fabrics works wonders. After trying it, I was amazed at how great it does work!
All you do is dampen the spot, soak the stain with Fabric Rust Remover and scrub it in, then let it soak for approx 5 min.. After that you rinse out with water and then wash normally.
Love your blog!!
Throw those t shirts away. I think they were beyond reviving. You live in a hot climate, so wearing a t shirt protects the dress shirts. They are bound to get gross. You’ll have plenty of things to keep you busy in the future. You could try soaking the new t shirts in the washer overnight before you wash them, as a preventative. A lot of people soak clothes in white vinegar. I use Borateem. I think you are starting the nesting instinct pre-labor. Lie down and read your last book for a while. Ann
I found the same idea on Pinterest, and I got GREAT results! I added a lot of baking soda to make it almost a paste, and I scrubbed it using a clean kitchen scrub brush (hard bristles). I could see the stains coming out as I scrubbed, so I really think it was that action (and not the sitting and soaking) that did it.
Hi Adri, I love your blog! I have been reading through your old posts. Lots of inspiration and love the pregnancy posts as I am currently pregnant. =) What works for me for pit stains is oxiclean. It works for so much. I use a lot on really stained items (i.e. shirts like the ones you show in this post) and soak them for about 8 hours. I usually soak things in my tub. I wait until I have a lot of stained items (happens quickly with an 18 month old). Put 5 or 6 large scoops of oxi clean in the bathtub and then throw everything in. Well, some colors will run so I usually do colored things separate in buckets, bowls or my utility sink. Less stained items get pulled out sooner more stained ones left to soak and at the end the bathtub is super clean! Pefect. Thought I’d share as now you have a little one.
Aloha from Hawaii,
Erica