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Yellow Stains

Question; What is the best way to get sweat stains (yellow) out of a white 100% cotton garment? It’s a heavy canvas Karate uniform (duck canvas).

Answer; Yellowing in the underarms is caused by salts and minerals in your perspiration aging. It could age from you not cleaning it often enough or from the soap/detergent not strong enough to remove all the perspiration in the wash. Then when you put the garment in the dry the heat caused the remaining perspiration to yellow. This happens a lot with silks hanging in the closet when it’s not cleaned regularly after each wearing.

The best thing to do is to prevent it from ever happening. If you are not washing the karate uniform after every wearing then you need too. If you are washing it after every wearing then add some stain remover or extra detergent to the underarms and scrub it, let it rest a few minute so it can penetrate, then wash it. To try and remove the yellowing  you can also add some ammonia (household ammonia from the drug store) to the underarms along with the detergent and let it rest a few minute before washing. Be careful to keep the ammonia away from your face and any open wounds. And only use this technique on the white cotton, the ammonia is very high in alkalinity and will remove color and burn silks and wools causing permanent yellowing.

Yellowed underarms are extremely difficult to remove, I have products and techniques that I use in our store that will remove it but I don’t know were to even start to tell you how to do this at home, I’m not sure I could accomplish this at home. Not many cleaner know how to remove yellowing so call around and ask or if you are near our store drop it by and we can take care of it for you.

Thanks for writing hope this helps.

Karl

Pacific Heights Cleaners

San Francisco, Sausalito

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