Cleaning hack: Laundry stain remover

Raise your hand if you have shirts you never wear because of pit stains.

Wait.  Don't raise your hand.  No one wants to see that.

Source
A third note: these are not my armpits

I'm not exactly sure why, but in the past couple of years I've been noticing pit stains on some of my favorite shirts.  Maybe I'm sweating more, maybe I'm buying clothes that are more susceptible to sweat stains, or maybe this has been happening all along and I've just never noticed.  All I know is I have several shirts that I wear only as a last resort because I don't want to have to avoid raising my arms.  Or worse, forget that I have to avoid raising my arms.

Now, considering my love of purging, you might be wondering why I don't just get rid of those stained shirts.  It's because I feel like maybe I can save them.

And, as it turns out, actually, I can.

Here's what I did:
Mix together

• 2 parts baking soda
• 1 part hydrogen peroxide
• 1 part blue dawn dish soap

to make a paste.  Apply the paste to stains and scrub in using a scrub brush or old toothbrush.  Let sit for an hour or more, then launder as usual.  Store extra stain remover in an opaque container.

*Note: you might want to spot test for colorfastness first.

I used tablespoons as my "parts", and it made enough paste to treat pit stains on 5 shirts, plus a couple of other miscellaneous stains.  I applied the paste to the inside of the shirts, and I let it sit overnight.

I was actually kind of skeptical.  Those stains have been there for a while, and they've been washed and dried more than a few times.  Although I was skeptical, I figured it couldn't really hurt, since I haven't really been using those shirts anyway.

But...

It worked!  I'm still a little shocked that it actually worked.  I've heard this mixture works on all kinds of stains--not just sweat stains.

If you try it, let me know what you think!

*Another note: this is apparently the extra strength version.  For regular strength, use 1 part baking soda, 1 part dawn dish soap, and 2 parts hydrogen peroxide