What are those YELLOW Arm Pit Stains?
Curious as to why you get those yellow arm pit stains on your white shirts?
Perspiration, in addition to being a way for the body to regulate temperature, is also a means of excreting bodily wastes. The yellow stains are caused by (among other things)UREA, which is one of the waste products generated by the body’s natural processes. As you may have guessed UREA is also excreted in urine. (it is why your urine is that yellow color sometimes), although Urea is FAR more concentrated in urine than in sweat.
Everyone is different which means that every person’s sweat contains different amounts of urea and that’s part of why some sweat stains are worse than others.
Most antiperspirants contain Aluminum Salts, which react with the chemicals in sweat, and make the stains worse. Then…this is the kicker….when the aluminum salts are combined with laundry detergent (especially in cooler water settings), the salts do not fully dissolve. The result is a disgusting, crusty-looking, yellowish stain (can be greenish, if the person wears blue deodorant) that doesn’t come out in an ordinary washing cycle.
If you have this problem try pre-soaking the fabric in warm water with organic white vinegar and a non-chemical natural laundry detergent (try farmlife (Dirty Girl Farm) laundry detergent). Then wash in the hottest water safe for the fabric. If the stain still won’t come out, dampen the fabric and apply a thick paste of farmlife Laundry Soap (soap mixed with warm water) then sprinkle organic white vinegar over the paste and let sit until stain disappears. And if that still doesn’t work, try this……sprinkle some meat tenderizer into the stain (rub it in, like your preparing a steak for the grill). Wait about an hour, and then put it back in the wash. If the meat tenderizer won’t do it…well you may want to think about retiring your shirt or top…remember to re-cycle into a cleaning cloth.
To help prevent stains from returning, your first line of defense is the laundry: 1. wash your clothes on the hottest recommended temperature; 2. use the highest recommended agitation setting; 3. max out the duration of the agitation cycle; and 4. use the CORRECT amount of detergent….remember too much can be just as bad as too little.
Switch to a NATURAL DEODORANT one that does not contain aluminum salts or chemical ingredients.
