10 Ways to Remove Deodorant
Stains From your Clothes
Nothing ruins your favorite piece of clothing quicker than a streak of deodorant. Depending on the clothing and the type of deodorant, removing a steak can be a little tricky. In this guide we’ll show you all the ways to remove deodorant streaks from your clothing, and how to prevent any stains your deodorant might cause.
Remember that delicate items such as silk or if it’s labelled ‘dry clean only’ is probably better off left to a professional to remove the stain, since this clothing is extremely delicate it’s easy to damage. All the methods we list in this guide work well but we know not everyone will have the ingredients on hand, that’s why we have included a variety of different methods containing different ingredients because surely you’ll have at least some of the ingredients needed.
How to prevent deodorant stains in the first place
The best method to remove deodorant stains is to not have them in the first place. The majority of stains happen when clothing is put on too quickly after application. Once you’ve applied the deodorant, give it two or three minutes to dry before putting on your clothing. The main ingredient behind deodorant stains is aluminium salts, many deodorant’s these days don’t contain aluminium and avoiding the ingredient will help to reduce the stains created.
Wash your clothing immediately after use
Usually deodorant stains are hard to get out once they’ve sat in an unwashed shirt for a while, washing the clothing you wear right after being used is a way to prevent the stains, all though it’s not very cost effective and we wouldn’t recommend it for what you wear day to day.
1. Try Vinegar
You will Need:
- Vinegar
- Water
- Tooth Brush, or any brush should do
This method is well known and for good reason, create a mixture of one cup white vinegar and four cups warm water. Mix it well, letting your stained clothing sit in the mixture for around one hour.
Once the clothing is soaked gently brush it down with the tooth brush and the stain will slowly begin fading, his method works well for both white and coloured clothing.
Once the stain is gone, give the clothing a wash in cold water to get the vinegar out of it and any leftover residue from the stain.
2. Dish Soap & Hydrogen Peroxide
What You’ll Need:
- Dish Soap
- Old Toothbrush
- Hydrogen Peroxide
Out of all our tests we’ve found this method to be the quickest solution to getting rid of the average deodorant stain. Get a small dish and fill it 50/50 with Dish Soap and Hydrogen peroxide, mix the two well. Then apply it to the stained area, let it sit for 60 minutes with a toothbrush or any old brush. Rinse your shirt and the stain should be gone.
3. Aspirin
You will Need:
- Warm Water
- Aspirin Pills
If you’ve got some Aspirin and water don’t worry as you’ve got more than enough to remove the worst deodorant stains. Grind two aspirin pills into a powerdish substance, combine them with a half cup of warm water and then apply them to the stained area. Allow it to sit for about one hour so the aspirin can really seep into the stain and loosen it up. Finish it off with a wash like you would usually do and your stain is gone!
4. Oxygen-Based Bleach & Ammonia
You will Need:
Household Ammonia
Oxygen-Based Bleach, like OxiClean
Rubber gloves
Old toothbrush
This method is less well known and should be used only for the worst deodorant stains, the ones where every other tactic fails, you turn to Oxygen-Based Bleach & Ammonia, this is so intense you’re going to need some gloves.
Mix two tablespoons of Oxygen-Based Bleach and Ammonia together, stirl well until they’re mixed thoroughly. Apply the mixture to the stain and give it a good rub with a toothbrush for 10 minutes. Allow it to sit for another 10 minutes before washing it cold water.
5. Lemons
You will Need:
- Lemons
- Water
Another one of the most common methods for removing deodorant stains and especially helpful because nearly everyone has a lemon sitting somewhere.
Squeeze some lemon juice until you have half a cup. Combine it with warm water and soak the stain with the lemon mixture, rubbing it in with your fingers or a brush. Let it sit for 30 minutes before washing it as you normally would do.
6. Vodka
You will Need:
- Vodka
For all you drinkers out there this method works wonder and if you’re willing to sacrifice a little bit of vodka this should be a problem. Vodka is such a strong liquid it’s surprisingly very effective at removing stains made by deodorants. We recommend using a cheap vodka because it does just a good job at the expensive ones.
Create an equal mixture of vodka and water, around one cup should work well. Soaking the deodorant stain and letting it sit for 20 to 30 minutes, give it a good rub until most of the stain is gone. Then just wash either in a washing machine or by hand as you usually would do.
7. Salt
You will Need:
- Salt
- Water
While this method works only for softer stains we’re recommending because everyone owns salt and water and out of pure convenience it’s worth mentioning. For each piece of clothing stained you’ll need 4 ½ cups of water and 4 tablespoons of salt.
Mix the two thoroughly together in a large container and soak the entire shirt in the mixture for around one hour. Wash it was you usually would and most stains will be gone.
8. Denture Tablets
You will Need:
Denture Tablets
Bucket of Water
Surprisingly denture tablets do have other uses, we know the vast majority of readers don’t have access to denture tablets. But this is an ultimate guide and we thought we would include it anyway.
Dissolve four denture tablets into a bucket of water allowing them to fully dissolve. Place your stained clothing in the bucket and let it sit for about 8 hours. After the 8 hours give it a wash as you normally would and the stain will be gone.
9. Scrub with Nylon Stockings
You will Need:
Nylon Stockings
For the softer stains you could easily just give them a good rub with a Nylon stockings, their soft material can rub the stain right out. After the stain is removed give it a wash as usual.
10. Baking Soda & Hydrogen Peroxide
You will Need:
- Hydrogen Peroxide
- Baking Soda
- WaterOld Toothbrush
The best method for removing the worst of deodorant stains, if you’ve got a stain that for the life of it, won’t come out. We recommend baking soda and Hydrogen peroxide. These ingredients aren’t exactly what you casually keep in the pantry, but serious problems require serious solutions.
Combine one quarter cup of baking soda, one quarter cup of Hydrogen Peroxide and one quarter cup of water, mixing them all together until they turn into a paste. Rub this potent paste onto the deodorant stains and let it sit for 30 minutes. Use some sort of brush, (we recommend an old toothbrush) and scrub the stain with the paste until there’s no stain left. Afterworlds wash your piece of clothing as you normally would.
11. Using off the shelf stain remover
If you’re really struggling with removing a deodorant stain, you may be better simply for an off the shelf deodorant, while they aren’t home made and can be a little expensive at times. Generally they do get the job done and there shouldn’t be a problem using them.
Switch to using deodorant gels
Solid deodorants are notorious for causing stains in clothing, gels are clear and are entirely invisible once dried. If you’re really struggling with your conventional deodorant, a gel is probably your best bet.
Wear a sweat proof undershirt
If you struggle badly with deodorant stains, especially if the clothing getting stained is expensive. We recommend sweat proof undershirts, you can find versions that are both thin and comfortable, preventing any sweat or deodorant stains from appearing on your outer clothes. Many people who suffer from excessive sweating choose to use sweat proof undershirts for this very reason.
Deodorant Buildup & Pit Stains
If you never noticed the deodorant building up, it can become quite embarrassing when you finally realise. A hard yellow type mark will begin appearing on the underarms of your clothes. This can be from a number of factors but usually your wearing thick deodorants or antiperspirants and their build up over time causes these embarrassing marks.
Deodorant buildup is a worse case scenario and is because you never cleared the stains in the first place and allowed them to build up over time. We recommend one of our more effective methods for removing any deodorant build up.
In conclusion deodorant stains can easily be removed with the right methods, hopefully you will have the ingredients for at least one of the methods we’ve mentioned above which should remove your stains no questions asked. If you have any questions feel free to leave them below.
