This is a polyester shirt from the Uniqlo airism range.
I like the shirt, but recently it got these spots on it? Is this from sweat?
This picture is after washing with lots of detergent.
Is there a way to get it out?
It seems to disappear after a while, but comes back after washing.
The shirt also smells ok, but after wearing it for a short while it starts smelling.
Does the shirt’s fabric content tag mention spandex or elastane or any other stretch material in it? If it’s not 100% polyester and it’s any percentage of stretch fabric, I would say that is the elastic material breaking down and degrading. It can degrade from age, hard wear, washing in vinegar or harsh detergents, or putting it in the dryer at high heat. It’s also completely unnecessary in knit fabrics and I’ll give you three guesses why fast fashion brands like to throw it in everything they make (but I think you’ll only need one).
You might be right, it mentions 89% Polyester, 11% Elastane.
I did notice that the discoloration almost completely disappears after hanging it outside in the sun for a few hours.
It still gets very smelly as soon as I wear it though (which is not the case with the newer ones) but maybe that’s just polyester in general?
Okay yeah, that would be my guess as to what that is then. Honestly, not sure why it goes away for you, as my elastane/spandex blend clothes have just been relegated to the “house clothes” category now. I could be wrong but it looks just like it from what I can see.
Polyester does hold on to scents like crazy in my experience. If it’s not washing out try some isopropyl alcohol in a spray bottle and giving it a spritz. Different textiles all have different properties, but I almost always recommend natural fibers for most purposes.
Do you use fabric softener? Or dryer sheets?
No. I generally don’t use either
Yup, sweat marks.
Sometimes vinegar can help dissolve them.
Also you don’t need a lot of detergents it’s kind of counterproductive. Your detergents will probably bind to the salts and leave residues.
Increasing heat may also help dissolve…
So what would you suggest? Soaking into vinegar/water for a while and then rinsing in the machine?
Have you tried a cycle on hot with no detergent?
Rereading your comments I’m kind of thinking your excessive use of detergent might be all that it is.
While with me all of my white undershirts have sweat stains and I really can’t get rid of them no matter what I try bleach doesn’t work cuz it will just dissolve the fabric.
They’re deoderant stains, and vinegar should get them out.
I’ve had this problem even before using more detergent. I just tried more this time to see if it would help.
I can’t run a cycle on hot with these shirts because they will warp on anything above 30 degrees celcius.
I’ve heard soaking in borax might help, but didn’t try yet.
Your pump drain might be clogged?
I recently fixed a washer. There were these beads that perfectly clogged every single hole and then some. Apparently a remnant of a beaded necklace. This would leave the clothes covered in soap and dirty water when I’d ring them out it would still be brown. Other Ssgns pointing to that would be your clothes are still wet you might get a suds detective(5d) error things like that…
All my other clothes from the same wash are perfectly clean, just these older synthetic shirts have this. I think the drain is ok, pretty new machine too.
Borax can work pretty good. It’s safe. Just use as directed my friend. Less can be more. And lots of hot water. Fill the washer only half full of clothes but running on the full fill cycle of water.
Yea, polyester is a pretty terrible fabric. I prefer cotton or wool.
I used to work in a laundry. I don’t think you want those chemicals anywhere near you. But that’s an option.
I always preferred the pressurized washers. The clothes always came out clean. Not necessarily stain free but they didn’t smell bad and the texture was good and clean.
I guess the reason I got polyester is because it dries so fast, making it a bit better for hiking and sports for me (I sweat a lot) Wool would be great, especially merino. But it can be so pricey and It tends to be itchy for me.
Haven’t found something good as a replacement yet.
You want linen, but it’ll still be pricey. Might be able to find something second hand? Linen is capable of truly remarkable evaporative cooling and is amazing for getting rid of moisture and sweat
Washing polyester on hot is going to irreversibility shrink it
I’d recommend OP only buy organic fibres, they are a lot more durable and can be washed hotter (also don’t shed microplastics)
I work in a hot and humid shop. The best way I’ve found to get the smell/discoloration out of my clothes is washing them in 55c water, 1/4-1/2 cup cleaning vinegar (depending on the size of load), and whatever the minimum mark on the detergent is. I’ll let them soak about 15min, let half the agitate cycle run, soak another 15min, then let the washer run as normal.
Any clothes that don’t survive are just shit out of luck.
Might be soap residue? Try an extra rinse cycle. Sometimes I get residue that also comes off by rubbing a pantyhose (could try a thin sock) on it.
The extra rinse cycle was also my thought.
It might be, but my newer shirts in the same wash don’t have this at all.
That sounds like salt from a wash that is not hot enough.
Can’t run it on higher temperature with these shirts though, they will get wrinkly and it’s permanent (label says max 30 deg c)
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Do not wash using the regular setting in a washing machine in the US in any machine made in the last ten years. Choose another setting. The regular setting doesn’t do a good job. That is from several washing machine repairmen
Care to explain pretty much anything from your comment? Why is the regular program not good? Why does it matter if you’re using it in the US? And which setting should I use instead? Should it be warmer, colder, less/more centrifuge?
I’m using a specific program at low temperature (30 deg c) because otherwise the polyester won’t survive
You may just be having a bad choice in cloth.
Polyester is always a bad choice.
