I’d like to take a moment of silence for my graveyard of white clothing.
It’s painful to think about the pricey white tank top with a coffee stain, or the vintage cream sweater smudged pink from some mysterious makeup product – all banished to the back of my wardrobe. Over the years, I’ve found myself hesitant to wear white, a color that proudly showcases my predisposition towards spilling.
Memorial Day has come and gone, which means the fashion rulebook says Americans can officially pull our breezy white linen pants and cream-colored sundresses out of hibernation (at least until Labor Day). So I was thrilled when a conversation with seasoned stylist Liz Teich made me realize that the color isn’t as risky to wear as I had thought.
Teich, who has styled celebrities and retailers for nearly two decades, notes that white fabrics’ lack of dyes actually opens doors when it comes to stain removal. Powerful stain removers such as hydrogen peroxide or bleach can strip the colors from dyed clothing.
“I have a lot of clients that are like, ‘I can’t wear white because I have kids,’ or ‘I can’t wear white because I’m a dog mom and I’m going to get dirty.’ It’s such a myth,” she says.
Below, she shared her favorite hacks for removing every kind of stain from your white clothing and keeping them looking brand new. And, if that stain still won’t budge, she’s also shared an eco-friendly tip for giving your stained garments a new life.
Our stylist’s picks for stain removal essentials
For fresh stains:
Treat it before you heat it
Remove the stain before tossing your item in the washer and dryer on high heat – otherwise it may become permanent.
For the washer, she advised washing your clothes on a cold setting. As for drying them: “My white T-shirts, my white tank tops, I don’t put in the dryer. I hang dry all my white clothes because if I miss a stain and I put it in the dryer, it will ruin it forever,” said Teich.
For mystery stains:
The Laundress Stain Remover
The Laundress
Stain Remover Kit
from $20
“I use The Laundress for any stains I’m unsure about,” said Teich. The Laundress makes a non-toxic, gel stain remover that Teich called her “holy grail”. It’s designed to fight old and new stains on any washable fabric.
Teich finds its gel formula to be effective in getting stains out of clothing. She uses the kit because it comes with a brush to use with the gel for ultimate precision.
For oil stains:
Dawn dish soap
For oil stains like salad dressing or lotion, Teich uses a $3 product that you can find at your local drugstore: Dawn dish soap.
“Dawn [gets] oil stains out like magic,” said Teich.
After applying it directly to the stain, simply add cold water to the spot, then use your fingers to rub at the oil splotch. “I don’t let it sit long because I don’t want to worsen the stains. I’ll dab the garment with cold water after applying,” advised Teich.
For a stain that won’t budge, Teich said she likes to scrub at it with an old toothbrush or this stain brush from The Laundress.
After she’s finished, she washes the piece of clothing on cold and lays it flat to dry. If she notices remnants of the stain, she’ll re-treat it.
The Laundress Stain Brush
The Laundress
Stain Brush
from $14
A last resort for oil stains:
Baking soda and … an iron?
“One of my favorite secret hacks is baking soda,” said Teich. This strategy, which Teich said she also uses to attack oil stains, requires parchment paper, baking soda and an iron.
To try it out: apply baking soda directly to your stain and let it sit for 30 minutes. Be sure to remove it before grabbing your iron or, Teich said, “it could cake onto the garment”.
Next, put a layer of parchment paper over the stain and iron over it using low heat for a few seconds at a time.
The iron’s heat helps the baking soda soak up all of the oils. That said, Teich only uses this trick with oil stains, which specifically reacts well to the heat. “I’d use this method as a last resort. You’ll find that Dawn dish soap or baking soda often does the trick,” she said.
For food (or blood or sweat) stains:
Hydrogen peroxide
Teich suggested using hydrogen peroxide to remove organic stains such as coffee, tomato sauce or red wine. This applies to bodily fluids such as blood and sweat too.
Rather than let the product sit for hours, try to work quickly so that the stain doesn’t worsen. Apply a dab of hydrogen peroxide to the affected area.
“Never leave hydrogen peroxide on garments too long. It can weaken the fabric. I like to rinse the treated area immediately with water to prevent that,” she said.
Read more: Break up with your liquid detergent. Try these plastic-free laundry sheets instead
Never use it on silk or delicate fabrics and always test in an inconspicuous spot if you’re unsure how it will react.
As with her dish soap method, Teich finishes the process by washing the piece on cold and laying it flat to dry.
Recently, she put her own advice to work after spilling coffee on her off-white cotton Varley tennis bag. “When I got home, I put hydrogen peroxide on it, rinsed it in the shower, and it [looked] like new,” she said.
For sunscreen stains:
Put down the bleach
OxiClean
White Revive Powder
$11.79
OxiClean White Revive Powder
OxiClean
White Revive Powder
$11.79
After her husband stained his Faherty white cotton T-shirt with sunscreen, Teich came to the rescue.
“He was devastated. I got it out with a few rounds of going through with the hydrogen peroxide,” she said.
She followed it with a cycle in the wash and OxiClean, which she suggests using instead of a harsher bleach.
Read more: Do dryer balls actually work? Yes, if you treat them like reusable dryer sheets
“I really like OxiClean. They have a white brightener that you put in your wash in addition to your detergent. If you wash it in cold water and don’t put heat on it, it’ll brighten [clothes] up,” she said.
And, Teich advised always washing your whites separately to maintain their brightness. “I had this come up with a client yesterday. All her white T-shirts look[ed] almost muddy and dull. I asked her, ‘Do you wash your whites separately?’ And she said no.”
For makeup stains:
Micellar water
Garnier
Micellar Water
from $9.99
“I actually wore a white blouse yesterday and it had a tie that wrapped around my neck and my makeup transferred on it. And [for] most people, it would be like, ‘Oh my God, this is trash forever. I have to bring it to the dry cleaner.’”
Micellar water is typically used as a makeup remover for your face. But, Teich said, “French women use it to wash their face because water is too harsh in Paris for their face. So it’s just gentle enough for your clothes. So I love it as a stain remover for makeup.”
For lost causes:
Revive them with color
Rit
All-Purpose Dye
from $2.99
As a sustainable fashion advocate, Teich recommended dyeing the stained white clothing that you can’t salvage – such as pieces you accidentally threw in the dryer or ones from dye and ink.
“Give it new life by giving it another color,” she told me, having learned this while working for a fashion brand. For a DIY project, she also suggested using matcha, pomegranate or other natural ingredients.
… And don’t forget carpet and furniture stains
Folex
Carpet Spray
from $7.48
Teich’s other stain-removing holy grail is a simple carpet spray from Folex, which she calls “magical”.
“I have white furniture and light-colored rugs, so this comes in handy, especially with my kids and the occasional spills. I used it on my tennis racket case today in addition to the hydrogen peroxide trick to freshen it up, and it looks pristine,” she said.
Other pieces you might enjoy from the Filter, the Guardian’s guide to buying fewer, better things:
