Lifehack logo

How to Remove Stains From Shirts

Stains, be gone! The best tips and tricks to remove unsightly stains from your wardrobe.

By Chelsea KendrickPublished 7 years ago 5 min read
1

Let's roleplay here. You're out with friends at a diner or a baseball game, or whatever. You grab the most delicious looking burger – juicy patty with the perfect amount of ketchup, layered with freshly-chopped lettuce and tomato – but then, a freak accident. The bun slips. The burger sprays. The ketchup oozes. Now, what do you know, your shirt is ruined.

Or is it?

Spills aren't the end for your favorite outfits. There are numerous means to extract those stains from your fabric. Once you learn how to remove stains from shirts, the lifespan of your wardrobe can extend indefinitely.

Remove Deodorant Stains with Denim

This one is sort of obvious. Deodorant stains are easy to spread if you pull your shirt on after application, and they can be very annoying. However, these are among the easiest stains to remove if you know how. To remove deodorant stains from a shirt, use denim.

Simply rub the deodorant off on some denim. The fabric catches and peals away the deodorant and, from there, it usually dries and flakes away. An easy solution to an annoying problem.

Remove Sweat Stains with Lemon Juice

This one makes sense. Lemons are acidic by nature. Acids break down other materials, such as bases. And sweat, while not a base by nature, does have some basic qualities to it. So, naturally, the powerful, acidic lemon juice would be enough to remove them.

The added plus is that, instead of smelling like rotten onions, your shirts will now have a faint lemon scent, which is a far less offensive smell than your body odor.

Remove Oil Stains with White Chalk

I don't know if I can explain this one. I'm not a chemist. But, I do know that oils soak up into chalk. Perhaps it's their atomic structure. Perhaps it absorbs those fluids that don't mix with water, or the like.

Either way, you put some chalk powder on those stains, and it'll be drawn up and out of your fabric in no time, letting you wear that crop top without shame again...

Remove Lipstick Stains with Baby Wipes

Lipstick seems to get everywhere, even though it is essentially a solid stick of make-up. You only need to slip while putting it on – or, have your girlfriend rest her face against your shoulder and rub off a load of the stuff on your white button-down.

Well, good news is here. You can salvage your shirt by using the same material designed to remove fecal matter from a baby's bottom. That's right. Baby wipes are the best thing to remove lipstick stains from your shirt. Remarkable, yes? Yet, true.

Remove Make-Up Stains with Shaving Cream

But, don't use that baby wipe on the rest of your make-up stains. Oh no. The solution to that problem is a little outlandish, but trust me, it works. You need to rub shaving cream over the stain.

Yes. Shaving cream.

Simply rub the shaving cream over the stains, and let it soak it all up. Leave it there for a few seconds before brushing it aside. Reapply until you've erased all of the make-up stain. Just... don't shave your shirt. That isn't gonna work...

Remove Grease Stains with Soda

Oddly enough, dumping soda on your clothing can actually benefit you. Of course, not an excess of it. You aren't going to overturn a liter of coke on your shirt. So, how do you remove grease stains from a shirt with soda?

Simply soak some soda on a paper towel and press down on your grease stain. The grease will be drawn to the soda and out of the fabric. Farewell, stain. So long.

Remove Coffee Stains with Baking Soda

Baking soda is something of a universal solution to stains for most people. While baking soda doesn't work as well with all stains, it does wonders for stains caused by everyone's favorite legal drug: coffee.

Coffee stains are so noteworthy by how visible and dark they look. It's hard to overlook a big blotch of coffee on your front shirt... unless you sprinkle baking soda over the brown blotch. That stuff will soak up your coffee, and keep your shirt looking clean.

Remove Ink Stains with Milk

No one in their right mind would ever willingly spill milk on their shirt. Milk stinks, right? You can't leave that crap out in the heat. Which is why, in order to remove ink stains, you must wash your clothes immediately after trying this, so you don't cause other problems with your shirts.

However, using a few drops of milk to take out ink stains on your sleeves does wonders for removing ink stains. Just, once again, don't let that stuff go bad on your sleeve.

Remove Blood Stains with Hydrogen Peroxide

Did you just commit bloody chainsaw murder (or a paper cut gone awry), and have no idea how to clean off your clothes before the police come to lock you away? Well, the solution to your problem may lie just inside your bathroom cabinet.

Hydrogen Peroxide is an ideal, household chemical to clean just about anything. Blood stains, especially. The chemicals should cancel out all that blood on your shirt... unless the stains are profoundly deep, which may prove to be counter-productive.

Remove Grass Stains with Vinegar

Many household problems can be patched up with vinegar. Have a bad odor in the house? Set out some vinegar. Dog pee on the floor? Use vinegar to wipe it up. So, before you ask how to remove stains from a shirt using vinegar, please consider the following.

When it comes to clothing, vinegar has a specialized use. Kids outside, running around and rolling in the grass? They come inside with green blotches all over their fabric. Vinegar is the best fluid to remove all those pesky green blotches.

Remove Red Wine Stains with White Wine

You wouldn't think a problem with wine can be solved with more wine, but that's the reality of the situation. If you have a red wine stain, the solution is to soak that stain out with white wine.

The reason being is that both fluids counter-balance each other, drawing the other out of the fabric, thus purifying your fabric once more. Just don't leave the two on there. Dab it off after a little while to draw both stains out.

clothing
1

About the Creator

Chelsea Kendrick

Just an Indiana gal who heard the call of the East Coast. Twitter and Instagram: @chel_bk

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.