Just asked this on another forum (living/holidaying in Cyprus type board) and the basic answer seems to be "NO" but I'm wondering if there is some science behind it ?

"can you remove the yellow staining you tend to see most on white shirts/T-shirts that you get from suncream contact?"

We've tried all the washing powders, stain removers and I think bleach... but nothing gets rid of it...

I'm now thinking its not a stain... even if you had put yellow dye on a white shirt bleach would get rid of it.. so maybe its something else ??

any ideas

Steve

No idea what it is, I have never used sun cream, but for ALL kind of stains (including my karate gi) I use the non bleach "superwhite plus stain remover" from Dylon Fabric care, -- can also hand wash it. If this won't remove stains ... then nothing will.

suncream is a thing unto itself... suncream stains and scorpions are about the hardest thing to remove on the planet !...lol

All the normal methods like pre-soakers don't seem to work...!

I'm just googling and a stain expert site suggests presoaking in white vinegar and using anything thats good for fats/oils... it does however suggest that you shoudn't put the clothing into the tumble drier until you have removed the stain or it could set it permenantly ! (its always after you've washed and dried them that you notice the marks though !!!)

Thanks

Steve

sun screen lotions (I assume they all work the same way!) work by having a strongly absorbing organic chemical in their formulation. Most organic chemicals absorb in the UV and blue part of the spectrum, but some absorb much better than others.

The brown stain could be one of these UV absorbing chemicals, or a brown staining compound (yes, I know its obvious!) or a product of the good old Maillard reaction, which is responsible for browning in toast, biscuits, meats etc. Some creams contain the reactants that interact with the skin forming these Maillard browning compounds, sometimes called Melanoidins (sound familiar?).

The first two groups of chemicals (UV absorbers and stains) need strong solvents to dissolve them, try nail varnish remover, or dry cleaning fluid. The melanoidins should be water soluble, so I don't think it is that.

Hope that helps.

ps Strongly absorbing UV chemicals are usually very nasty things.

Thanks for that Lapis, looks like its going to be a nasty stain that takes some strong chemicals to get rid of then !

Steve

or you could always dye it the colour of the stain, Steve, like I have done with turmeric stained tablecloths, and Buddhists robes! (without the Buddhists in them, of course!)

LOL, maybe thats the best bet, just rub the whole shirt in suncream !... lol

Steve

and increase the sun factor of the shirt into the bargain. LOL

LOL, could start a new trend !

LOL! Like Lapis my Mother used to dye my Father's Naval "Whites" blue once stained. Shall we just say his wardrobe is now predominately blue!

Blue Naval uniform! Well, the sea is blue LOL!