I just bought some new shirts recently and even after ONE DAY of wear I already have sweat stains or something on the collar area. How can I get rid of this? I usually have to retire dress shirts because of this way before they actually wear out.

I've heard of pre-soaking in a bucket with some detergent or wiping detergent directly on the stain and letting it sit a while, but I've got some bright-ass shirts I don't want to fade.

How have/do you guys combat this???

Thanks!

1/17/2008 7:54:58 AM

shower

1/17/2008 8:00:40 AM

Just take them to the dry cleaners. Do you really wear a shirt more than once before you have it cleaned?

1/17/2008 8:06:07 AM

You clean shirts every single time you wear them?

That's a complete waste

1/17/2008 8:26:20 AM

Not if you like looking, being, and feeling clean.

1/17/2008 8:34:51 AM

what joenumbers said

seriously, drycleaning (really laundering in this case) is like less than a dollar a shirt if you just do the basic, unboxed etc

ive never heard of anyone wearing the same shirt twice between cleanings

1/17/2008 8:34:59 AM

^seriously??

1/17/2008 8:44:18 AM

I'll recycle sweaters sometimes, and pants get two or three wearings unless they get dirty, but shirts? Even if I'm wearing an undershirt, just because of the potential for both sweat damage and wrinkling, shirts are a one-and-done item.

[Edited on January 17, 2008 at 8:45 AM. Reason : #]

1/17/2008 8:45:18 AM

it really depends on the shirt.
You "shouldn't" really wear collared/button-up shirts more than once, but, for example, in the winter I regularly wear my long-sleeve over-shirts a couple times between washing, mostly because I always have an undershirt or t-shirt underneath them, and they're quite heavy and thick and take a lot of space in the washing machine.

and jeans, of course. that's a huge waste of time/water/energy/money to wash jeans every time you wear them.

[Edited on January 17, 2008 at 8:51 AM. Reason : .]

1/17/2008 8:49:14 AM

I guess a lot depends on the person too, unless my ass is doing serious work I barely even sweat whereas some people being alive causes them to sweat through a shirt every day. I can easily get 2-3 times out of a shirt if I am wearing an undershirt and dont get it dirty somehow. If it was an easy day Ill just hang it up and wear it again, its not like wearing your boxers for a couple of days before washing them or something. As others said feels kinda wasteful if it doesnt really need to be washed.

1/17/2008 8:56:02 AM

i have the same problem with a couple of new shirts. i have other shirts that i've had for over a year that have never had this problem. i don't know how to fix it.

what does the dry cleaner's do to get it out?

i just read on a couple of different website to use shampoo for oily hair and hot water.

[Edited on January 17, 2008 at 9:01 AM. Reason : ]

1/17/2008 8:58:33 AM

Well I shave my head but I have an oily scalp regardless.

I work from home a lot so I only have to dress up when I'm at a client site, so if I'm only there during the afternoon then hell yeah I'll throw that sucka back on a hanger and into the closet!

Maybe Scotch-Gard would work?

(Yes, I left out the 'u')


PS I've tried dry cleaning - even putting notes like "please pay special attention to collar and cuffs" but I guess either they don't speak enough Engrish to understand or what they're doing isn't helping.

[Edited on January 17, 2008 at 10:48 AM. Reason : .]

1/17/2008 10:44:05 AM

Do some serious Spray and Wash and let it soak for like 15 minutes.

Try dryell (Sp?). It's like an at-home dry cleaner and comes with this special cleaner.

Or try rubbing some deodorant around your neck...or wear a lot of black shirts.

1/17/2008 10:53:42 AM

Clean your necks more thoroughly, i mean scrub it and not just rub soap on it.

1/17/2008 1:02:20 PM

Quote :

"try rubbing some deodorant around your neck"

1/17/2008 1:04:00 PM

^^Thanks, I'll make sure I get all of them.

1/17/2008 6:27:53 PM

cleaning your neck well is paramount, but oxyclean and a bristle brush work.

try it. they sell the generic oxy powder at wal-mart and target.

wet the area to be cleaned, sprinkle a little powder to get started, rub it in with the brush, launder immediately.

have you tried color safe bleach if you have non white shirts?

cleaner water and better detergent help too.

[Edited on January 17, 2008 at 6:30 PM. Reason : eh]

1/17/2008 6:29:48 PM

wisk, duh

(do they even sell that anymore?)

1/17/2008 6:33:03 PM

Quote :

"Just take them to the dry cleaners. Do you really wear a shirt more than once before you have it cleaned?"

joe17669

Yeah, and get them with creases in the sleeves and extra-heavy starch like I do.

1/17/2008 8:38:23 PM

^^^Thanks!

For the past 6 months I've been using Cheer with color guard and it does an amazing job of not only NOT fading my shirts but making older shirts look better.

I have some superduper bright shirts I just got that I'd even be afraid to use the color safe bleach on, but I like the idea of pre-treating with Oxyclean. My college roommate was best friends with the son of a VP or Prez of that company so our apartment was constantly filled with Oxy-clean branded cleaning shit. It all worked well though!

1/17/2008 9:32:22 PM

i used to manage a drycleaners and the best way to get rid of collar stains is to take some detergent (whichever you want) and dilute it with some water and some hand soap. mix it up real well and dump a ton of it directly on the stains, take a bristle brush and beat it into the collar really well and scrub it a little. if it's a white or light colored shirt you can add some clorox 2 to the mix with warm water and let it soak onto the collar for a while. then just wash it as you would normally.

sorry if i am repeating what has already been said, i didn't really feel like reading every post!

1/17/2008 9:43:25 PM

no, i appreciate your post very much since you're probably the most 'in the know' in this thread!

1/17/2008 9:48:35 PM

um, aren't these stains on the inside of your collar? who gives a shit if they're there, unless its somehow bleeding through two layers of fabric

1/17/2008 11:34:03 PM

Quote :

"seriously, drycleaning (really laundering in this case) is like less than a dollar a shirt if you just do the basic, unboxed etc"

Where are you getting your laundering done? I paid $2.24 per shirt last week. $1.25-$2.00 seems standard around here.

1/17/2008 11:45:19 PM

Face it, Phil, you're just one dirty mother fucker.

1/18/2008 1:23:12 AM

i'll multiwear a shirt or two.. but i'm fortunate that i don't sweat/smell much, unless i'm doing something demanding... it which case i wouldn't be planning to wear twice anyway

if they're white, obvious answer is bleach... otherwise... the dry cleaning idea sounds good

1/18/2008 1:34:01 AM

ive heard that shampoo works

1/18/2008 2:13:54 AM

^^^You shut up and go pop out a baby Beast!

^^^^^Yeah, they're on the inside but they're pretty much on the fold at the top of the collar so if they got bad they'd be somewhat visible

1/18/2008 9:57:39 AM