How to remove sun cream stains from clothes
So youve slathered yourself in sun cream. Well done, you.
But after a day of feeling smug in your sun protection, you whip off your clothes and notice something haunting: A greasy white stain on your favourite summer outfit.
You rub at it in vain. It doesnt budge.
This absolutely should not put you off wearing sun cream. Thats important.
Yes, this is emotional moment, but stay calm in the knowledge that the stain will come out, and protecting your skin is vastly more important than having to hide a streak of cream on your sundress.
Sun cream stains because it tends to be oil-based, leaving a tricky-to-budge mark that reacts with sun and water, meaning you might not notice the stain until after youve been out all day or washed your outfit.
Heres how to best remove a sun cream stain.
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Do a pre-treatment before you throw your clothes in the wash
Use a concentrated laundry detergent designed for stains, and rub this directly into the stain. Leave for ten minutes, rinse, then put your clothes in the wash.
This ones a key step and will remove most stains better than just bunging clothes straight in the washing machine.
Soak the stain in white vinegar
Most sun creams are oil-based, so you need something to break that down: White vinegar will do the trick.
You dont need to soak the entire clothing item in the stuff (in case youre worried about the smell), just the stain, for a few hours before washing on a hot temperature.
Use eucalyptus oil
Eucalyptus oil has magical stain removal qualities when it comes to greasy marks – and it smells incredible.
Coat your stain in the stuff, leave for five minutes, then wash as normal.
If the stain is on white fabric, bleaching is your friend
Sun cream tends to leave a yellowish stain on white clothing, which doesnt look great.
But the good news is its easy to get rid of.
After washing, hang your stained white item out in the sun for natural bleaching effects, or, if the stain is really not budging, squirt some lemon juice on it first.
You can also pick up fabric whiteners which safely use bleach to make whites brighter.
If the stain is on a delicate fabric, head to a professional
If youve got sun cream on silk, or linen, or some other complicated fabric, trying to remove the stain on your own isnt worth the stress.
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For anything delicate or fancy, take it straight to the dry cleaners.
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