How Do You Remove Sunblock From A T-Shirt

Sunblock stains on T-shirts are common summertime laundry problems and they can be difficult to deal with. Often sunblock stains do not even show up right away, but may turn up as yellow or orange stains with time. If you are on top of sunblock stains, watch for them and know what to do about them, you can keep your favorite T-shirts looking great.

The best way to prevent stains is to carefully wash T-shirts in an enzyme-based detergent if they have been in contact with sunblock. Be sure to check the tee before putting it in the dryer, as heat will aid in setting the stain, making it even harder to get rid of. If you find that a T-shirt has made it through the washer and has a sunblock stain on it, you need to pre-treat it, let is soak and then rewash it.

Since sunblock is an oil-based product and is often waterproof, care must be taken in removing such stains from a T-shirt or your shirt may be permanently stained. Treat your T-shirt as you would for any item of clothing that came into contact with a greasy mess. You can use dish detergent that has grease-fighting properties as a pre-treatment. You can also apply a protein-based stain treatment that is good at dealing with oily stains. If the laundry detergent you use is protein-based, you can also pre-treat with it. After applying the pre-treatment, let it sit for at least a half hour, although overnight is best. Rub it in gently to make sure it gets into the fibers of the clothes. Then wash the T-shirt in the hottest water that is safe for it.

If you do get to the point of seeing those unsightly yellowish stains appear on your T-shirt, there is still hope. Bleach and vinegar are often helpful with small or light colored stains. For bigger or darker ones, there are bathroom cleaners on the market that advertise that they remove rust and hard water stains. You may use those in your laundry to remove those impossible sunblock stains that nothing else will work for. Just be sure to not mix those cleaners with other detergents or bleach. Wash once with the bathroom cleaners and then a second time with laundry detergent for the clean scent and soft feel.

A great solution to sunblock stains is to opt for T-shirts that are darker in color and will not show the discoloration from such stains. You can also try to prevent the stains by putting on your T-shirt only after your sunblock has dried. You can also try having a little fun with the idea of sunblock stains and having a T-shirt custom-printed with something like:
•    Official Sunblock Stain T-shirt
•    Yes, I wear sunblock. See the stains!
•    My sunblock did this (arrows pointing to collar and sleeves)

If your favorite T-shirt gets ruined by sunblock, don’t despair. Thanks to custom-made T-shirts, you can now recreate your favorite T-shirt exactly. In fact, you can even get a couple of them in case it happens again.

Get your custom-made sunblock T-shirt today and enjoy the sun safely.

2 thoughts on “How Do You Remove Sunblock From A T-Shirt

  1. Pingback: Top 10 T-Shirt Fashion Faux Pas | Fibers T-Shirt Blog

  2. AJ

    thanks for the info – we work outside and all of our work T-Shirts haave tunred yellow with this batch of sunblock…

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