Easily Remove Yellow Stains From Clothes By Mixing Two Common Kitchen Ingredients

Wearing white always feels like a fresh, clean slate until you step out into the sunlight to start your day and catch a faint yellow shadow under your arm or near the hem. You may have thought you just washed this shirt, but the stains say otherwise. This is the cruel irony of white clothes: they are pristine one minute and mysteriously stained the next. But before you toss your shirt in the donation pile or reach for harsh chemicals, there's a homegrown trick that some say can be plenty effective. All you need is lemon juice, salt, and sunshine. The natural acids in the lemon are supposed to work like a gentle bleach, while the salt lifts the stain, and the sun does the job of brightening.

Unlike common laundry stains that can be fixed with a little bit of vinegar, yellow blemishes are the biggest frustrations of owning white clothing. They dull that crisp, just-washed look and can seem impossible to get rid of once they set in. The usual stain-causing suspects are sweat, body oils, and the aluminum found in most deodorants. Adding in too much detergent or an overzealous splash of chlorine bleach  to correct them can make your whites look even worse. That's why testing the lemon juice theory might be worth a try, as it's one of the five best ways to remove yellow stains from clothing.

To try this stain-fighting experiment, wet the stain with water and then squeeze fresh lemon juice directly over it. Sprinkle salt on top and gently rub the fabric together. The friction helps the salt and acid work into the fabric fibers. Rinse the area with cold water, then add another light layer of lemon juice before hanging the garment outside in the sun, which will create a natural bleach effect that helps fade the stain. Once the garment is dry, wash it to soften any stiffness left from the salt. 

The trick is balance. If you scrub too much or leave lemon juice on fabric too long, it can cause discoloration. Critics say this works best on light stains versus extensive ones. Also, never use lemon on colored cotton fabrics or delicate materials like silk since the acidity may be too strong. If your stain won't budge after a few tries on white natural fabric, try these four other stain removal solutions everyone needs to know, or hand the job to a professional cleaner.