My boyfriend works construction (all kinds ). He sweats badly and his shirts and pants are terrible. Even after I wash them two or three times, it doesn't help. He wears t-shirts and jeans.
He gets paint, grease, you name it, it's on there. I would throw them away, but he's just going to get more fifty. It seems like I've tried every detergent out there. No help. Any ideas? Thank you for all answers!
By Rhoda Willis
I always use Simple Green spray for laundry like that. My husband drives a log truck, and has to do alot of his own maintenance on it. If they are bad enough, I will put them in a 5 gallon bucket on the porch after spraying the worst spots, fill it up with water, and add a little more, then let them sit for a day or two before washing.
Otherwise, I just spray with the Simple Green, using it like laundry spot remover, and it works well enough.
For seriously greasy spots, I have used the hand cleaner gels like Mojo, or other brands, and scrubbed into the spots, letting them set for a few hours before washing.
My husband works on small engines, lawn mowers, tillers, etc. Some of his tee shirts are badly stained with oil, grease, and dirt. I use a stain remover from the Dollar Tree Store. It comes in a 32 ounce spray bottle and is called Awesome Pre-Wash Laundry Stain Remover. When I sort his shirts from the hamper, I lay them front side up, lying open and flat on a pile. I place the pile in a ventilated area and Spray the stains on the front of the top shirt, around the neck, and then turn it over and spray the back if there are any stains there.
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My husband works for WM. His work shirts are yellow and silver. I tried to get the stains he gets on them out with Oxi stain remover and a Spray and Wash with no results.
Can someone give me a good recommendation to get these tough stains out?For tough stains I use a variety of things.
Dawn dish soap--the plain blue simple Dawn is my first line. I rub it in and let it sit overnight, then wash on cold. Don't dry in the dryer until the stains are gone--air dry in the sun if you can.
Second line is to mix one part of the dawn and one part of baking soda and one part of vinegar in a jar and then spread it on the stain--massage it into the spot and let it sit for 1-2 hours then wash, do not machine dry as above.
Third line--take equal parts of hydrogen peroxide and two parts cold water, shake them up in a jar and then pour the mix on the stain. Let it sit for 1-2 hours, then wash, don't machine dry until the stains are out.
Sometimes it takes all 3 to get the stains out. My hubby has had a few that were x3 fails...and the shirt became a rag. That was sad.
Post back how it goes!
It seems a lot of suggestions have been offered but one of the problems that I see is you do not say what type of material the shirts are made of and different combinations of material will not react the same way.
Probably Pghgirl's suggestion about using Dawn would do a good job and not cause any damage to the shirts.
No one really mentioned Oxiclean but if the shirts are colorfast and the stains are old this may be a good solution but I would start with less Oxiclean than most sites recommend until you see if it will help.
You can start with a small amount of warm water to dissolve the powder but soak in either warm or cold water. Soaking is the key to stain removal and then wash in cold water and do not dry in dryer as it will probably take several soaks to really clean old stains.
I vouch for baking soda and vinegar. Together, they clean out lots of stains. They create a little explosion that gets stains out.
How can I remove construction dust from clothes left on site?
Linda from Cedarburg, WI
My husband operates machinery. He gets in the ditch with all the dust, dirt, flow fill, cement, and plenty of sweat. I spray his clothes with Shout then wash in very warm water with Persil That gets most everything out They don't look like new but they sure do smell good.
I have heard that Mean Green gets stains out of work clothes. Do I add it with my detergent or just put a cup of Mean Green in the washer? I would really appreciate it if anyone knows.
Thanks!
You put it on the stain and leave it there 10-15 minutes and then rinse off.
Did the mean green work for you? I am not a fan. My husband works in a warehouse and his clothes are filthy.
We do better making home made oxi clean.
I use 1/3 cup hydrogen peroxide, 1/3 cup baking soda and 1 cup of cool water (stir up good) and soak the stains in that mix (pour over and let it sit for 15 minutes then rinse).
PLEASE TEST before using (find a small spot on a seam or such) to make sure it doesn't ruin the color.
Depending on how many items you have, you may need to double, triple or quadruple the recipe. Make it up fresh and use it all at once. It does not keep well for me.
I like it and it is cheap to make! AND it works!
Ground in dirt on clothing often needs pretreatment to ensure that it is removed in the wash. This is a page about cleaning jeans with ground in dirt.
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My husband often comes home with really dirty clothing. Especially when it rains, he works outside for much of the day.
