How do you remove sunscreen stains that turned pink after soaking in chlorine bleach?

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saz1

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I have a few white shirts that got sunscreen stained. Initially the stains were yellow, but after soaking them in chlorine bleach, the stains turned pink. I've tried everything i can think of...Oxiclean (which later i found out works just like chlorine bleach for this specific problem), washing soda, oxalic acid, vinegar, citric acid, shampoo, dawn, laundry detergent, sunlight...nothing is working. The oxlic acid (thanks to ea56's and thomasortega's suggestion) got a lot of the stain out...but they're still there nonetheless. I even soaked them in the acid overnight. It worked wonders on the rust stain though, which i read the sunscreen stain was, but apparently not, because the oxalic acid turned the dingy whites (result of hard high iron water and bleach) bright white again but didn't completely removed the screen stain. Again, credit goes to ea56's and thomasortega for ending my dilemma by suggesting oxalic acid.

Any suggestions of what else i could use to get the stains out? Greatly appreciate it!
 
oddly enough, was going through the same thing with a pair of white striped shorts for a friend....from suntan oil...

it almost appeared as if the fine line blue stripes bled onto the white.....

I did the oxi-clean, borax, and finally bleach.....

first thing always is never dry the item, keep it wet through all your processes...as drying may set some stains permanently

but the real wonder was RIT Color Remover.....I followed the directions on the package for stove top.....heated the water to boiling, removed from heat, added the product and stirred, then added the wet garment, they recommend 30 minutes, I left it in a covered pot for an hour, stirring on occasion...…

and blind luck, it all came out......back to its original look...

I rinsed it several times, then ran it through a full wash cycle and dried....

this was the first time of using this RIT product...but figured at this point what do I have to lose....
 
Ahh! RIT Color Remover. My Google searches keep pointing me to it but im abroad and unfortunately its not sold here. Cant find it anywhere. Theres gotta be an alternative.
 
Back in the 70s, a friend washed his white shorts with madras shirts. I used Rit Tint & Dye Remover as above and returned the shorts to white. Why anyone who knows what madras fabric is famous for doing would not wash them separately is beyond me.
 
RIT Products

I have used the RIT Color Remover and it works like a charm. They also make a Super Stain Remover that has worked for me and nicely in the past.

I noticed on their website they make a product by the name of White Wash. I wonder if the composition of the White Wash is similar to some of the recipes for removal of yellowing and stains suggested on this site a few months back (the yellowed bed linens)?
 
You are forbidden to use bleach again

You do not seem to be having good outcomes.

Chlorine bleach is a powerful oxidizer. The Bleach oxidized the chemical in the sunblock, Avobenzone. What you have effectively done is caused a rust stain.

Before you created the mess, you could have tried using baking soda on the dry garment to try to absorb the remaining oil, then use dishwashing liquid without bleach or oxy bleach, as a soak. Then launder as usual.

Now that the stain has set, I would wonder if a rust out, or iron out product would help, or you may just need to get used the pretty color pink you have created.

Remember the advice that I think our Dear Laundress has given before. Always start your stain removal with the most gentle method and move to the harsher (or more caustic) methods for stain removal.
 
Since I can't get Rit here, I'm wondering if I could get the active ingredient from the chemical store. i read its sodium hydrosulfite. Thoughts?

@ foraloysius and iheartmaytag. I soaked them in soft water this time. Didn't know they would turn pink until they did. I know not to use bleach and hard water... I don't see why i should give up on bleach altogether.

They whole the sunscreen stwin is rust thing...if it was, why would oxalic acid - which is a deruster - not work?
 
@ foraloysius...

Actually, all I learned is not to use bleach with water that contains iron and not to use it to remove sunscreen stains. As for other stains, it's been effectively removing them (or turning them clear...which is as good as removing them as far as I am concerned) for me since 1976.
 
You're best to remove sunscreen stains with a very good surfactant.

The problem now is those stains may be more like dyed fabric and removing them will just damage the shirt.

Generally sunscreens are designed to be water resistant. The best way or tackling it (when fresh) is a long soak in a good detergent solution or a long warm wash in a front loader - I'm talking like 2 hour+ wash.

Trying to remove sunscreen by hitting it with bleach will just give you bleached sunscreen. It's not going to "let go" of the fabric that easily.

Try coating the stain in dish soap like Dawn and gently scrubbing.
Then leave it in a sink of warm water for several hours.

Rinse well and rewash in the machine on a cotton cycle with good quality detergent.

If that doesn't shift it, you've effectively dyed the fabric.
 
Rit and other color removers

Are reducing bleaches. That is instead of attacking coloured stains by adding oxygen, they do the oppose; remove.

http://cameo.mfa.org/wiki/Reducing_bleach

Reducing bleaches are commonly used to remove excess dye, and or for preparing textiles or paper for dying by removing color. Hence RIT an other dye makers offering a "color remover" product. Often those dying things at home need to remove the color of whatever first.....
 
The problem is sunscreen is designed to bind to skin and stay there. It will do exactly the same to most fabrics. Normally you don’t notice it as it’s clear, but the chlorine bleach has turned it pink.

Many of its ingredients are also not likely to be impacted by bleaches, particularly polymers and oils and certainly not in the relatively weak concentrations that are safe to use in a washing machine.

A strong surfactant should have significant impact, but you need to allow it time to work.

You’re dealing with a stain that’s a chemical coating, specifically designed to adhere even when immersed and sloshed around in sea water and pool water, rubbed, perspired through. It’s very tough stuff!

I would apply dish soap, scrub very gently and rinse well (by hand), apply a top of the line liquid detergent for laundry (non bleaching) and scrunch into the stains, fill a bucket of warm water or a sink and soak, maybe overnight. Then wash in a machine using the same detergent.

You could also try a stain remover suitable for something like ink stains.

If that doesn’t work - you’ve a dyed shirt.
 
I would try a really heavy surfactant, that has a solvent in it, Lestoil would work well I'd bet, it has stoddard solvent which would have a better chance at removing the oils.
 
Actually, getting the item dry-cleaned may do the trick too as often dry-cleaning solvents are far, far more effective at dissolving oils than water and detergent.
 
I think removing sunscreen is not only about removing the oil base but the chemical UV filters as well. They`re among the most stubborn stains. Apart from preteating with surfactants and soaking I`d suggest an oxygen bleach. As the stain has already been chemically altered by the chlorine it`s probably a case for the trash can.
 
I'd tend to agree, it sounds more like it's dyed than stained. You can't really get chemicals to distinguish between some of those types of products and the fabric dye itself, so you are looking at really doing a lot of damage to the clothes to remove it.
 
Thanks for all your input guys. I've spent more money on stuff to get the stains out than what the clothes cost. Now, it's not even about the money anymore. I've invested so much on this, I just can't give up.

I noticed something interesting. I've been soaking the stained clothes in a bucket of water, washing soda and liquid laundry detergent for 3 days. Looking at the stains today - still wet - they've become much more pronounced. I'm seeing stains now that I didn't know where there. I wonder if it's the semi hard water and the liquid detergent that's reacting with the sunscreen and causing this. Or maybe the washing soda? Or maybe it wasn't even the bleach. The clothes have been washed so many times with so many cleaners, I didn't think there was any sunscreen left to react with anything.

I rinsed them and soaked them again in water and citric acid to get any minerals from the hard water off, and the stains have faded, considerably. But that was the case before, when I soaked them in oxalic acid. I bet if I resoak them in the washing soda and liquid detergent again, the stains would pop again. Any idea what's going on?

@ mrboilwash. Funny, I got flamed before for using oxyclean, people saying (and even going as far as scientifically explaining) how oxyclean is what caused the stains.
 
You`re right, oxygen bleach may not be the best idea for each and every UV filter. There are so many in use and we don`t know exactly what we`re dealing with, and besides the damage has probably already been done by the chlorine.
Read somewhere Avobenzone (if that is what we`re dealing with) reacts with iron contents in tap water. This could explain the stains getting lighter when treated with acids.
There`s one more thing you could try to tackle the oil base again.
Mix some liquid detergent with lighter fluid in a ratio of about 2/3 of detergent with 1/3 or less of the gasoline. Apply directly onto stains and let sit for a while, maybe 15 - 30 minutes. Then wash with the remaining mixture.
It`s not exactly a green solution and you have to be very careful (mix only a small batch at once, don`t smoke, use in a well ventilated area, don`t use a tumble dryer afterwards, use common sense and so on)
Some here swear by Fels Naphta for greasy stains. Have you tried this already ? The detergent lighter fluid mixture would Fels Naphta on steroids.
 
No offence meant

But issues lie in not knowing what you are doing exactly, then throwing various things at a wall to see what "sticks".

Problem is each treatment that doesn't work can (and very well may) be not only failing to remove marks, but causing them to become more permanent.

Chemistry (organic) is a professional launderers best friend, as such applies here as well.

What you've got is a "combination mark", one that is made up of a few or several different substances with each responding to various treatments.

Sunscreen marks are caused normally by substances much like red wine and cumin abhor alkaline pH, but respond to acids.

In commercial setting there are two ways of dealing with such marks.

First involves what your dry cleaner or small laundry likely would try; individually pre-treating each mark ensuring it is removed before going onto the wash. The other is an intensive "reclaim" program using strong chemicals, hot to very hot water with *many* cycles. This allows them to treat a large amount of marked linen at once rather than individually.

Idea is to first either remove the acid stain using like, (oxalic acid or similar), then using a high pH (alkaline) bath to counter the acid and remove substances that respond (fats, oils, grease, etc...). The latter can be simply one step/bath or washing in a detergent with a strong pH level. A bleaching cycle may follow, then many rinses. Nearly all this (except for last final rinses) are done in hot to very hot water temps.

Happily enzyme treatments often are effective in breaking down "acid" based stains like tannin, cumin, etc.. Long as they are done properly and given a chance to work (long enough contact time).

Chlorine bleach soaking is nearly universally useless. Marks able to be removed by that substance respond in five minutes or less. Hotter the water temperature faster the bleaching action. Longer periods simply allow greater contact time and can (often do) result in weakening or outright damaging fabrics.

http://www.thelaundryforum.com/forums/chemicals/pink-stains-mainly-at-summer-time-t1342.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/30/smarter-living/mutard-ketchup-berry-dirt-grass-sweat-stains.html

https://lenoir.ces.ncsu.edu/2013/08/mysterious-orange-stains/

Marks caused by sunscreen are *very* common and there are scores of hit pages on Google or elsewhere. Thing is to follow advice that will work instead of old wives tales.
 
Problem with following advice found on the internet is that given advice is often totally contradictory.

nytimes.com recommends an (acidic) rust remover or lemon juice and salt to takle avobenzone stains and warns against any kind of bleach. What about other UV filters like octocrylene ?
They also don`t mention any particular further (alkaline) treatment to tackle the remaining oils other than wash as usual.

lenoir.ces.ncsu.edu recomends a long soak in a combination of an enzyme containing detergent and oxygen bleach which translates in an alkaline treatment. They even recommend chlorine bleach for whites if the fabric can stand it. Not a word about trying an acid first...
 
Octocrylene

Is not known to cause marks on textiles to same extent as avobenzone. While it may happen with former, the latter is far more of an issue, hence scores of internet hits regarding that substance and staining of textiles.

At least for the lemon juice and salt (wouldn't be my first choice for stain removal, but to each his or her own), NYT piece does recommend laundering "as usual" afterwards. While an alkaline pH is good for removing marks with oil/fat base; modern liquid detergents in theory may be able to cope as well.

A good wash and one (or more) rinses should remove much of the acid/salt from fabrics. But will give you the directions should clearly state any textile treated with lemon/salt should be rinsed *very* thoroughly.

I put "lemon/salt" in the "old wives" category as it is one of those things people swear by, but don't know how damaging it can possibly be to textiles.

It has been known since early in prior century that using lemon and salt to remove marks can weaken and or otherwise damage fabric. This especially if not rinsed and neutralized properly afterwards.
 
@ Launderess...

Thank you for your input, although you did sorta say a whole bunch of stuff but offered no real solution. Your post started off promising...and then just lead to a dead end.

"But issues lie in not knowing what you are doing exactly, then throwing various things at a wall to see what "sticks"."

Do YOU know what i should be doing "exactly"?

I didn't randomly come up with a concoction to remove the stain. I searched on Google and asked here.

"What you've got is a "combination mark", one that is made up of a few or several different substances with each responding to various treatments."

"Combination mark"? Googling it gives the following definition:

Combination Marks are graphics with both text and a symbol/icon that conveys the brand image that you wish to create for your company or organization.

Nothing about stains or laundry. Matter of fact, determined to learn about how professional launderers deal with stains, i Googled for any content online with the words Combination Mark and laundry/stains. Result: zilch.

But yeah, i get it, marked as in stained and combination as in different stains. You should patent the phrase, in case you haven't already. Anyway..."several different substances with each responding to various treatments" you say?

So what are those substances?

"Sunscreen marks are caused normally by substances much like red wine and cumin abhor alkaline pH, but respond to acids."

Got it! "substances much like red wine"...so tannin stains. They don't like to be treated with alkaline cleaners. So baking soda and washing soda are useless. They respond to acid. Great! But wait...aren't citric acid and oxalic acid... well...acid? How come they didn't respond to them?

"Idea is to first either remove the acid stain using like, (oxalic acid or similar), then using a high pH (alkaline) bath to counter the acid and remove substances that respond (fats, oils, grease, etc...). The latter can be simply one step/bath or washing in a detergent with a strong pH level. A bleaching cycle may follow, then many rinses. Nearly all this (except for last final rinses) are done in hot to very hot water temp"

At this point im starting to wonder if you even read my posts. It's exactly what i did. I first soaked the clothes in oxalic acid (acidic). After that i washed them with washing soda (alkaline). All hot water.

Basically your proposed solution is to hit it with everything on the PH chart...and then for good measure, use bleach. This most probably being due to not knowing what we're exactly dealing with. Sounds a lot like a case of "throwing various things at a wall to see what "sticks".
Is it actually a tannin stain...hence the acid treatment? In that case why a 2nd treatment with an alkaline solution? What "exactly" is the "substance" in the sunscreen which would require an alkaline treatment? Hell, what "exactly" is the "substance" in the sunscreen which requires an acid treatment?

You then say "Chlorine bleach soaking is nearly universally useless" and proceed to link an article which advices to use chlorine bleach to remove sunscreen stains.

You later say "Marks caused by sunscreen are *very* common and there are scores of hit pages on Google or elsewhere. Thing is to follow advice that will work instead of old wives tales."

So which advice is the one that works?
And wait a min...oxalic acid and washing soda is old wives tales? Didn't you just suggest them. But lemon juice - which is what you linked - is not?? I'm confused.

I am aware that sunscreen stains are *very* common and that there are scores of hit pages on Google. But thats not the issue is it? It's not that the problem does not exist...it's that there seems to be no info on a solid fix for it. There are a lot of people asking for a solution, a lot of (well meaning) people offering solutions...which are unfortunately ineffective, and a lot of people offering explanation of what the problem is and what is being done wrong to tackle it, without offering a solution.

I'm willing to bet, however, that this thread is the best there is on the subject on the whole interweb.
 
Combination mark/stains are those caused by substances made up of more than one component. That is black coffee marks are different than coffee with dairy (cream, milk, half and half). Sauces, gravies, certain liquid/cream cosmetics and so forth often present "combination" stains because they are made from diverse ingredients.

In a perfect world everything would come out in the wash using just one formula; sadly this isn't always true. In which case we are left with dealing with each individual component of a stain on its own terms. Rather like peeling back layers.

In this case the substance in question needs an acid to remove; then you have the base (oils, fats or whatever else that went into said sunscreen) which will need surfactants and or base pH to shift.

Yes, noticed you did use oxalic acid in a soaking bath. But do not know at what strength. It could also be very well possible a good amount of the staining substances have been removed, and you now need to deal with remainder.

From first linked article above:

"I had the same situation a few days ago. Soaking in a strong hypochlorite solution seemed to make the stains darker, this approach was abandoned. I next tried hydrogen peroxide which also seemed to have no effect. My 3rd attempt yielded a direction to move in. I had made a paste of our laundry detergent and applied it directly to the stain, results could be seen within 2 minutes. Since our detergent contains TAED and PC to produce PAA in-situ, I soaked the linen in detergent at 4 x normal strength with PAA at 20ml/l for 45 minutes follwed by a regular wash. All traces of the stains were removed."
 
Launderess...

Again, a whole bunch of stuff that lead nowhere.

"In this case the substance in question needs an acid to remove; then you have the base (oils, fats or whatever else that went into said sunscreen) which will need surfactants and or base pH to shift."

How do we know what the substance needs to remove when we don't know what the substance is?

"Yes, noticed you did use oxalic acid in a soaking bath. But do not know at what strength."

PH 1.3.
Do you know what strength i should be using?

"It could also be very well possible a good amount of the staining substances have been removed, and you now need to deal with remainder."

And what exactly is the remainder?

I'd read that link where someone posted on a form about the paste made from a detergent which contained "TAED and PC to produce PAA in-situ"

TAED is Tetraacetylethylenediamine...but what is PC, and PAA? What detergent did he use? What detergent contains TAED and PC to produce PAA in-situ?
 
Basically every European "Universal" type powder detergent contains PC (sodium percarbonate) which I think when activated with a catalyst like TAED will release hydrogenperoxide and peracetic acid (PAA).
Since you have already tried Oxyclean and bleach without any success my first thought was forget about the paste made from detergent, but on second thought maybe the peracetic acid might be what you`re looking for because it is an acid.

On the other hand powdered detergent is full of strong alkaline stuff like washing soda so I wonder how much of the peracetic acid gets neutralized immediately.
 
Alright...new stains. I thought avobenzone was the culprit. I bought sunscreen without avobenzone, yet i still got stains, nice and clear too.

Now what? Since many said I'd set the stain by bleaching...well now I got fresh stains that haven't been touched. And the strange part is that the shirt hasn't even touched water. I don't get how it stained? Perspiration? It can't be, because the stains are orange, not yellow. Bright orange, almost pink. So perspiration reacted with the unknown chemical in the sunscreen which is causing the stain?

So how do I tackle this? Ideas?
 
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