One of my readers, Susan, sent in this great question:
I always have this struggle starting and lasting throughout the summer season. I have narrowed the culprit down to sunscreen. The most important thing to wear in the summer time does terrible things to my laundry! I’ve tried several different brands and they all turn my clothing this awful orangish color where it comes in contact with the clothes. I am figuring that it reacts to the minerals in our well water, which is heavier in magnesium-type deposits. Even cloroxing white clothes doesn’t always get it, often times turning the stain yellow instead of orange. And it has ruined several colored clothing. Any suggestions? I’m at my wit’s end with the damage!
Thanks.
I’ve done quite a bit of research on this sunscreen problem and spoken with several sunscreen companies. It turns out that the problem is with a little chemical known as avobenzone. It is the ingredient in some sunscreens that eliminates the harmful effects of long-ray UVA.
While it is extremely effective in a sunscreen compound, it can wreak havoc on white clothes. It can cause orange stains that are quite difficult to remove. It seems that having well water, which tends to be ‘hard’ water only makes the problem worse.
So how to remedy this problem?
- Find a sunscreen that does not use avobenzone.
There are a few products on the market that do not contain the chemical: Blue Lizard Suncream Sensitive and Kiss My Face Oat Protein Sunscreen. Obviously by not using the chemical, the problem is completely eliminated. - Do not use clorox or Oxi Clean to remove the stains.
Believe me, it hurts me to advise you not to use Oxi Clean…but in this case it will only make the stains worse. It will deepen the orange stain and possibly set them in permanently. The chemical reaction between avobenzone and clorox/sodium perchlorate (ie: Oxi Clean) are not friendly, so it only makes the orange reaction appear worse. - Try ONE of the following products. Trying more than one at the time can be dangerous due to fumes.
The Works Tub & Shower Cleaner: As you can see from its online ad, it touts that it rids the shower of “stubborn rust stains and mineral deposits.” It will do the same for your clothes. Spray a small amount onto the stain and gently rub in with a toothbrush until the stain is saturated with the product. Leave on about 5 minutes and literally watch the stain disappear. Launder as usual with white clothes only.
Bar Keepers Friend OR Bon-Ami in the powdered form: These products also work on rust stains and hard-water stains. Make a thin paste of the product and water and rub onto stain very gently with a toothbrush or your finger. Leave on about 5 minutes and rinse under cool, running water. If stain is still present, repeat the paste process. If it is gone, launder as usual with white clothes only.
Whink: Also used to remove rust and hard-water stains, this product comes in a liquid form. Lightly pour on orange stain and it should disappear in 2-5 minutes. This should only be used on white clothes! It will definitely take the color out of anything other than white. Trust me…
Please take note: I am not sure whether The Works, Bar Keepers Friend or Bon-Ami will cause colored items to fade or develop bleach-type areas after application. Use these products on an inside seam first. If it doesn’t bleach it or lift the color, you are probably safe to use it on the rest of the fabric. I am quite certain that Whink will bleach colored clothes, as it has happened to me!
Also: It is important that after treating your items that you wash them only in a load with white clothes. Or you can even wash them alone if you are unsure if they will bleach other items. Even if you rinse the item thoroughly under running water, some product will probably remain embedded in the fabric of the item. You don’t want to ruin a whole load of clothes!
As with any stain removal advice given on Mama’s Laundry Talk: Mama is not responsible for any adverse reactions caused by one’s stain removal efforts. You alone are responsible for any advice taken and the outcome on your clothes.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Twitter: weekendcowgirl
June 21, 2010 at 5:54 pm
Thanks! All my old t’s I wear around the farm have sunscreen stains around the neck. At least I can experiment with some of these products.
Weekend Cowgirl´s last [type] ..Girl’s Road Trip
Never heard or Charlies but would love to try them. Thanks.
Avobenzone is also in moistuizers that contain sunscreens. I’m not sure about foundations.
Sunscreen stains are only caused by certain sunscreens that contain oils. It’s a grease/oil stain. It comes out on your clothes as a yellowish, sometimes orange color. My most successful remedy is to use a degreaser, such as GOO GONE. It’s to help remove sticky substances from stuff and works amazing on sunscreen stains. Just spray it on. It usually only takes one wash, however it might take a couple more washes to get the “citrus” oily scent out that is a result of the degrease spray. =) HInt: if you do spray this stuff on clothing, wash it separate from your other clothes or they will all smell “citrusy-oily”.
I had a white polo shirt that my son had stained with chocolate, so I went to soak it in detergent/oxyclean before washing it. As soon as the shirt hit the water, these bright yellow/orange patches were everywhere. They were especially bad on the collar and sleeve holes. I was crushed. I found this post and tried something similar to the shower/tub cleaner mentioned above. It’s called ‘Lime Away’. It totally worked!! I’m thrilled; I thought I was tossing it. Thanks so much for blogging about this. PS: We have well water too.
Twitter: MamaLaundry
June 8, 2011 at 10:21 pm
Suzanne – I’m so glad it worked for you! Yippee!
Thank you so much!! Using TheWorks just saved my gorgeous new sundress! Now to go shopping for a different sunscreen before I go on vacation….
SolarAegis is another natural sunscreen that won’t stain!
“CLR” (Calcium, Lime, Rust) Remover took the stain right out of my daughter’s sunscreen stained shirt. Thank you so much for the tip!
Twitter: MamaLaundry
July 6, 2011 at 2:09 pm
Oh you’re welcome! So glad you could get the stains out!
What can I use to get those orange stains out of colored clothes?
Twitter: MamaLaundry
August 1, 2011 at 9:52 pm
Eleanor, I haven’t found a product yet that will not cause the color to fade. When and if I do, I’ll make sure to post it here!
So sorry -
Lauren
Thanks everyone! Just tried “The Works” on a white sports bra that had bright orange sunscreen stains all over the straps. I sprayed the works on and the stain faded right away. I’m not sure if this item will ever be white again but atleast I will now be able to spray anything white as soon as I take it off to possibly avoid stains in the future.
Twitter: MamaLaundry
August 1, 2011 at 9:51 pm
Yippee for you, Holly! So glad it worked fairly well.
-Lauren
Does anyone know if this will also work on the yellow discoloration under the arms on white shirts from deoderant?
Twitter: MamaLaundry
September 10, 2011 at 9:21 am
Ann, it probably won’t. The chemical make-up of sunscreen is different than the chemical make-up of deodorant stains. Sorry.
I am struggling with the exact same issue that Susan describes. I agree that the well water in my home, with higher than normal degress of magnesium, may be the culprit. I am also currently taking a prescription dosage (product un-named) of omega fish oil and can find nothing on the web about that. Your suggestions are worth a try – since I’ve tried Dawn, various Tide products, Oxy-Clean. I’ll let you know how Bar Keeper’s Friend works on the whites.