How do you clean sweat stains out of your shirts?

[ErichKeane]

So I've only done ~100 games this year, and have a couple of shirts where the collar has a dark brown stain around the top, and it looks awful.  I just opened a brand new cream shirt yesterday, and after two games, it looks awful as well.

For my light-blue, I brought it to a dry cleaner, and they weren't able to get much to happen to it.  Is there a secret soak or something I can do to get rid of these?  Having to replace a $50 shirt every 2 games would make this an unfortunate value proposition.

[834k3r]

I've never been able to get stains out of my shirts. On the other hand, once I switched to a non-aluminum deodorant I've not had to deal with sweat stains.

[ErichKeane]

9 minutes ago, 834k3r said:

I've never been able to get stains out of my shirts. On the other hand, once I switched to a non-aluminum deodorant I've not had to deal with sweat stains.

Yeah, I don't wear aluminum deoderant either, this is the ones on the collar (I see I wasn't clear there!) transferred from my neck.  I originally thought it was sweat + dirt, but I worked on turf yesterday and got the same problem.

[BLWizzRanger]

One solution is to get Botox injections to stop sweating.... 

[834k3r]

1 hour ago, ErichKeane said:

Yeah, I don't wear aluminum deoderant either, this is the ones on the collar (I see I wasn't clear there!) transferred from my neck.  I originally thought it was sweat + dirt, but I worked on turf yesterday and got the same problem.

If it's oily, I would suggest maybe using some dish soap. If I get grease stains on my shirts (like when I'm grilling), I'll put some dish soap on the grease stain before it's washed. It does a pretty good job if I catch it. Once the stain goes through the dryer, though--it's set and I've never found anything to remove it.

When I was a kid, my mom would tell me to soak my shirts in vinegar for an hour if they got a stain on them. I don't like the smell, but it seemed to work (if my memory of 40 years ago still is accurate).

[ArchAngel72]

Well I for one am so cool  I do not sweat..

  But meh I wear a wicking shirt and that never has seemed to have had an issue nor my other shirts had issues with sweat stains.  

 

I do also have a tendency to wash my stuff that night too. So it does not get a chance to dry.

 

 

[ErichKeane]

5 minutes ago, ArchAngel72 said:

Well I for one am so cool  I do not sweat..

  But meh I wear a wicking shirt and that never has seemed to have had an issue nor my other shirts had issues with sweat stains.  

 

I do also have a tendency to wash my stuff that night too. So it does not get a chance to dry.

 

 

I also wear an undershirt, but obviously not under my collar.  It seems to just be in the area around my neck?  I've had this problem washing same-night as well... I DO wonder if it is sunblock related though... hmm...

My wife suggested oxyclean, so we're going to give that a shot today

[Catch18]

I use Shout stain stick on the collars and armpits, seems to work pretty well.

[flyingron]

Spray-n-wash (or its equivalent) BEFORE every time they go into the wash.  As others have pointed out, once you've run through the dryer, the stains are likely set forever.  A little of Febreze "in wash" will also help with the smell if you have that problem.

[ArchAngel72]

I am kinda giggling at this thread cause the last couple weeks my fall ball games have been 60's to high 40's I am wearing a cold gear NB long sleeve shirt and sweating.. Nope not sweating now.. LOL

 

[ErichKeane]

3 minutes ago, ArchAngel72 said:

I am kinda giggling at this thread cause the last couple weeks my fall ball games have been 60's to high 40's I am wearing a cold gear NB long sleeve shirt and sweating.. Nope not sweating now.. LOL

 

My games yesterday were 85+, and on Turf in direct sunlight.  I was melting... in Oregon, in October!

[ArchAngel72]

47 minutes ago, ErichKeane said:

My games yesterday were 85+, and on Turf in direct sunlight.  I was melting... in Oregon, in October!

3 weeks ago I was the same on  Sat game mid 80's  no clouds, not a breeze even if you farted.  I was roasting something fierce.

 

[tpatience]

Just wear black, problem solved 

[Thunderheads]

23 minutes ago, tpatience said:

Just wear black, problem solved 

how does black resolve sweat stains ?!?! LOL 

[tpatience]

1 hour ago, Thunderheads said:

how does black resolve sweat stains ?!?! LOL 

He said his cream and blue shirts have stains. I didn’t see that his black shirts were stained 🤷‍♂️

[MadMax]

I swear by these two products: 

Nathan Power (Sport) Wash. not only do I use it on all my officiating uniforms, but also keep a spray bottle mixer of it on hand to spray and wipe out salt stains on my ballcaps. 

OxiClean MaxForce Gel Stick… I _slather_ this stuff on collars of my lighter-colored umpire shirts, and especially on the knees of my plate pants, which get trashed because of my HOK stance in dirty, desolate plate circles. 

[The Man in Blue]

5 hours ago, tpatience said:

Just wear black, problem solved 

Or navy.

[poke-poke]

[The Man in Blue]

7 hours ago, ErichKeane said:

I also wear an undershirt, but obviously not under my collar.  It seems to just be in the area around my neck?  I've had this problem washing same-night as well... I DO wonder if it is sunblock related though... hmm...

My wife suggested oxyclean, so we're going to give that a shot today

 

It is most definitely sunblock related.  At least, it has been for me.  Straight sweat stains I have no problem getting out with oxi-products.  Some of my older powder blues are perma-stained from sunblock and sweat.

[tpatience]

2 hours ago, The Man in Blue said:

Or navy.

[poke-poke]

All navy shirts should be burned, even for softball 

[Ump Nick]

14 hours ago, ErichKeane said:

So I've only done ~100 games this year, and have a couple of shirts where the collar has a dark brown stain around the top, and it looks awful.  I just opened a brand new cream shirt yesterday, and after two games, it looks awful as well.

For my light-blue, I brought it to a dry cleaner, and they weren't able to get much to happen to it.  Is there a secret soak or something I can do to get rid of these?  Having to replace a $50 shirt every 2 games would make this an unfortunate value proposition.

Hey Blue, Dawn works a pre-soak and rub some one b4 putting in wash. Soak and Wash right after game. Also I like to wear the half turtle neck officials type undershirts this will help! Lmk good luck! 
 

Ump,

Nick

[Ump Nick]

1 hour ago, tpatience said:

All navy shirts should be burned, even for softball 

Crazy 😝 

[BT_Blue]

1 hour ago, Ump Nick said:

Hey Blue, Dawn works a pre-soak and rub some one b4 putting in wash. Soak and Wash right after game. Also I like to wear the half turtle neck officials type undershirts this will help! Lmk good luck! 
 

Ump,

Nick

I was about to recommend something similar. We use the new Dawn spray that they advertise for washing dishes. But we use it on stains. Especially ones caused by a 3 and a 5 year old little filth-buckets. Works pretty well. Especially on grease and oil because, after all, it is a dish washing spray.

I also have not noticed any discoloration from the spray. So that is good too.

[BT_Blue]

My wife also uses a soap bar called Fels Naptha Soap. That stuff goes on the really stubborn stains.

[flyingron]

14 hours ago, Thunderheads said:

how does black resolve sweat stains ?!?! LOL 

Black socks they never get dirty,
The longer you wear them the stiffer they get,
Sometimes I think of the laundry,
But something inside me says "Don't send them yet."

[MadMax]

6 hours ago, BT_Blue said:

My wife also uses a soap bar called Fels Naptha Soap. That stuff goes on the really stubborn stains.

I’ve used this too, to great success. The only hitch to it is that it’s not well-suited to the traveling road show, and doing laundry 🧺 in the wide variety of places the Road Umpire finds himself. If they packaged it in a resealable form, then game on. 

It took multiple treatments and washings, but I managed to clean (resurrect, more like) a TOC Cream shirt that had gotten rolled over by a golf cart at Camelback Ranch during USA Baseball Invite.