Sweat Stains

Sweat stains are a nasty side effect of armpit sweat. A seemingly harmless sweat ring can wreak havoc on your shirts, leading to yellow marks that just won't go away. Learn about sweat marks and deodorant stains and how to rid yourself of both for good.

What Are Sweat Stains?

Sweat stains are the rings and spots that show up on shirts after a sweat session.

Sweat stains can happen to anyone. But people who work stressful jobs, sweat heavily or suffer from hyperhidrosis have it the worst. You might live in fear of pitting out in front of others and alter your career and social choices to avoid sweat stains — and the embarrassment.

The good news: Sweat stains are preventable. And you can salvage sweat-stained shirts and return them to their former glory.

In this guide, we break down everything you need to know about sweat stains so you never have to deal with them again.

Types of Sweat Stains

Sweat stains come in a few different forms. Understanding what causes each and when they show up will to help you revive your wardrobe and prevent sweat marks in the future.

Wet Rings

Wet rings happen when armpit sweat bleeds through to your outer shirt. Workouts, stressful meetings or anything that gets your blood pumping can produce giant sweat rings in a matter of minutes. Wet rings are especially visible when wearing light-colored shirts (like baby blue). For many people, deodorant and antiperspirants just don't work to conceal wet rings.

Yellow Stains

Tossing a sweaty white shirt into the hamper until laundry day is a surefire way to get yellow stains. Yellowing can form when the proteins in sweat mix with the aluminum in antiperspirant. However, deodorants (even natural ones) can also produce yellowing with over-application.

White Deodorant Stains

White deodorant stains wreck your outfit before you even head out the door. If you’re gearing up for a stressful day at work, you might apply a few extra swipes of deodorant. When it rubs against your shirt, the residue clings to the fabric. Wiping these streaks away with water usually doesn’t cut it. Sometimes, deodorant stains persist even after washing and drying the stained shirt.

The Effects of Sweat Stains

Managing sweat stains takes time, money and energy.

Studies show that 35 percent of people experience at least one weekly "sweat event."

Regardless of how much you sweat, sweat stains can strike at any moment — during that interview you're gunning for or first date that has your stomach in knots.

Here are some side effects you might experience from sweat stains:

Overspending on Sweat Solutions

Managing sweat stains costs the average person $1,000 or more per year. The cost of antiperspirants, replacing dress shirts and undershirts, dry cleaning and laundry add up quickly.

Constant Stress

If you sweat heavily or suffer from excessive sweating, sweat stains are a daily struggle. You have to prepare for sweat stains to strike at any moment. You might keep a sweat kit on hand at all times — complete with extra shirts, deodorants. antiperspirants, cotton pads, maxi pads and even trash bags. Worrying about sweat stains commands your attention and affects your mood.

Restrictive Clothing Options

If you're prone to sweat stains, you have to limit your clothing choices. Why buy that designer dress shirt that fits you like a glove if yellow stains will show up after a few wears?

Instead, you might hide underneath loose, baggy garments to get extra airflow to your pits or stick with black and white shirts to conceal sweat stains.

Any way you dice it, sweat marks aren't sexy and certainly don't make you feel that way.

Emotional Distress

Sweat stains also damage your professional and social reputation. If you shy away from the spotlight, you might miss opportunities for advancement at work and avoid life experiences like dating and hanging with friends.


Tricks to Remove Sweat Stains

You've probably lost a few good shirts to sweat marks. Just because the damage is done doesn't mean you've lost the war. You can take a few steps to salvage your sweat stained shirt

Here are eight effective ways to remove sweat stains.

Meat tenderizer

Meat Tenderizer

Sounds strange, but massaging your sweat stains with meat tenderizing before washing can help lift up the stain, Wet the stain before applying, and wash immediately afterward for the best results.

Aspirin

Aspirin

In a pinch? Crush up a few aspirin and mix with a half cup of hot water. Soak the stain with the solution, and let it sit for a few hours before laundering.

Dish soap & hydrogen peroxide

Dish Soap + Hydrogen Peroxide

These household staples are stain-fighting powerhouses. Mix three tablespoons of dish soap with and six tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide, and work the solution into the affected areas for a few minutes with a scrub brush. Let the shirt sit for an hour before washing.

Deo go

Deo Go

You probably don't have Deo-Go lying around, but the stuff was made for one reason! to dissolve deodorant stains, If you're looking for a no-nonsense solution to deodorant marks, give it a try.

Oxy-clean

Oxy-Clean

Probably the most iconic stain-fighter, you've likely used Oxy-Clean or have some in the house. Spray OxiClean Max Force onto a stained shirt, and let it sit for a few minutes before washing.

Lime-a-way plus water plus tide free and gentle

Lime-A-Way + Water + Tide Free and Gentle

Pre-wash your stained shirt with 50 percent Lime-A-Way, 40 percent water and 10 percent Tide Free and Gentle for greater stain-fighting power.

Krud Kutter

Krud Kutter

This all-purpose staln-fighter is tough on crude but gentle on you. Simply spray Krud Kutter on stained shirts. and let it sit for about 10 minutes before washing.

The Foam on Dry Cleaning Hangers

If you're really desperate to remove a deodorant stain (and d n't want to apply a solution to shirt), give this quick-fix a try. Take the strip of foam on your dry-cleaning hanger, and rub it against the deodorant mark.


8 Ways to Prevent Sweat Stains

Now that you know how to remove sweat marks, let's talk about prevention.

Why wait until sweat marks have run their course to strike back? Prevent sweat stains with these seven tips:

trim or shave armpit hair

Trim or Shave
Your Armpit Hair

Hair traps sweat. Trimming it can keep sweat from accumulating and causing a stain.

Sweat reducing supplment pills

Take Sweat-Reducing Supplements

Vitamins C, B and E. sage, witch hazel, brewers yeast, lecithin and eucalyptus all have sweat-reducing properties.

armpit pads

Use Armpit Pads

To keep a small amount of sweat from breaching your shirt, armpit pads can help, For 100 percent protection from underarm sweat, try a Thompson Tee sweat proof undershirt.

Check out 8 Pads for Underarm Sweating here.

Stop Using Antiperspirant

Antiperspirant contains aluminum, which is the source of pesky yellow stains.

Pretreat shirts before washing

Pretreat Shirts Before Washing

Pretreat solutions prevent sweat stains from setting. Read on for more pretreatment solutions.

Wash shirts in laundry

Launder Shirts Immediately After Sweating in Them

The best defense is a good offense! Don't let sweaty shirts fester in the laundry bin for days. Throw them in the washing machine immediately.

use all natural deodorant

Use All-Natural Deodorant and Let It Dry Completely

Prevent yellow and white sweat stains with aluminum-free deodorant. Let it to dry completely to avoid getting white streaks on your clothes. (Note: Some natural deodorants cause deodorant stains. Use deodorant sparingly to prevent deodorant stains.)

Thompson Tee logo

Wear a Sweat Proof Undershirt

Prevent sweat from reaching your outer shirt with Thompson Tee, the only patented sweat proof undershirt designed to shield armpit sweat. Thompson Tee is guaranteed to stop sweat stains — or your money back.

Thompson Tee shirt

Stop Sweat Stains in Their Tracks With the Thompson Tee

Let's face it Regular undershirts don't stop sweat from soaking through and staining your favorite shirts.

The Thompson Tee is guaranteed to block underarm sweat and keep those difficult-to-remove sweat stains away. That means no more wet circles, yellow stains and white deodorant marks.

That's because the sweat proof undershirts have built-in layering technology that completely absorbs underarm sweat and releases it into the air as water vapor, No matter how much your pits sweat. the Thompson Tee is guaranteed to conceal armpit sweat and prevent sweat marks and stains.

SHOP NOW