Summer Stain Removal

Summer is hard on laundry. Apparently you can't go to a barbecue without wearing part of it. Children can't get near grass without eventually turning grass-colored. Sunscreen migrates from skin to shirts, swimsuits and towels.

Ice cream melts faster than anyone can eat it. And a perfectly innocent white T-shirt can go outside at noon and come back at 6 p.m. looking like it's been through active military service.

The good news: most summer stains aren't disasters, as long as you get to them before the dryer does. Here's how to get the season out of your clothes, from sunscreen (including those mystery orange spots) to barbecue sauce, berries and the Wet Pile.

The Summer Stain Rules

1. Blot, don't rub. Rubbing pushes the stain deeper.
2. Scrape off the solids first. Ketchup, ice cream, sauce.
3. Treat it the same day if you can. You don't have to abandon the picnic to do laundry. But don't toss the shorts in the hamper for nine days and expect a miracle.
4. Start with cold water. Hot water sets protein stains like blood, sweat and ice cream.
5. Check before you dry. This is the most important rule on this page. After washing, look at the stain in good light. If it's still there, treat it again and air dry. The dryer is just waiting to make your optimism permanent.

Sunscreen

Sunscreen protects your skin beautifully. Your clothes sometimes pay the price. There are two kinds of sunscreen stains, and they need different treatments.

Greasy Sunscreen Marks

Fresh sunscreen leaves an oily, slightly darker spot. Treat it like grease:

1. Blot off the excess, then sprinkle cornstarch or baking soda on the spot to soak up the oil. Brush it off after 15 minutes.
2. Work in a few drops of clear dish soap and let it sit 10 minutes.
3. Wash in the warmest water the fabric allows.

Orange or Rusty Sunscreen Stains

Ever pulled a white shirt out of the wash with orange or rust-colored spots where the sunscreen used to be? It isn't your imagination. Avobenzone, an ingredient in many sunscreens, reacts with iron and other minerals in tap water and turns orange. That's why the stain often appears after washing, not before.

• Don't use chlorine bleach. It makes the stain darker and permanent.
• Treat it like rust. Use a commercial rust stain remover made for fabric, following the label. On white cotton, you can also try lemon juice and salt left in the sun for an hour.
• Rinse well, then wash.

Prevention: Let sunscreen dry for 15 minutes before you get dressed, and wash swimsuits and beach towels after every use.

Self-Tanner

Self-tanner is designed to develop color and stay put. Wonderful on legs. Less wonderful on sheets and collars. Treat it fast:

1. Rinse the stain from the back with cold water.
2. Rub in liquid detergent or dish soap and let it sit 15 minutes.
3. Soak in oxygen bleach and cool water for a few hours.
4. Wash in cold water. Don't use hot water, which can help set it.

To protect your sheets, put on self-tanner a couple of hours before bed, or sleep in old pajamas the first night.

Grass

Grass stains are a classic summer achievement, and they're especially popular on knees.

1. Rub in enzyme laundry detergent with a soft toothbrush and let it sit 15 to 30 minutes.
2. For a stubborn stain on colorfast fabric, dab with rubbing alcohol and rinse.
3. Wash in the warmest water the fabric allows, with oxygen bleach.

Skip the chlorine bleach on colors. A bleached-out knee where the grass stain used to be isn't technically an improvement.

Sweat

Summer gives us sunshine, vacations and the chance to sweat through our clothes while doing absolutely nothing.

• Yellow underarm stains on whites: Mix 1 tablespoon of dish soap, 2 tablespoons of baking soda and 1/4 cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide. Scrub it into the stain, let it sit an hour, then wash. Mix it fresh each time.
• Colored shirts: Soak in oxygen bleach and cool water for a few hours, then wash.
• Lingering odor: Soak in 1 part white vinegar to 4 parts cool water for 30 minutes, then wash.

Don't cover sweat smell with scented detergent and declare victory. A shirt that smells like "Mountain Breeze" plus old sweat is just giving you two smells.

Barbecue Sauce

Barbecue sauce was designed to stay on ribs. It has other ambitions. It's tomato, sugar, oil and spices all in one, which is why wiping it with a napkin rarely works. The napkin handled the emergency. Now the laundry room has the case.

1. Scrape off the excess.
2. Flush from the back with cold water.
3. Work in dish soap for the grease and let it sit 10 minutes.
4. Dab any reddish shadow with white vinegar, rinse, then soak in oxygen bleach.
5. Wash and check before drying.

Ketchup and Mustard

Ketchup: Scrape off the excess (don't smear it), flush from the back with cold water, rub in liquid detergent and wash. Dab any orange shadow with white vinegar.

Mustard: The tough one. Its yellow comes from turmeric, a powerful dye. Scrape, flush from the back with cold water and rub in liquid detergent. Then dab with rubbing alcohol and soak in oxygen bleach for several hours. If a yellow shadow is left, dry the garment in the sun. Turmeric fades in sunlight.

Berries, Cherries and Popsicles

Strawberries, blueberries and cherries are wonderful right up until one lands on a white shirt.

1. Flush from the back with cold water right away.
2. Rub in liquid detergent and let it sit 5 minutes.
3. Soak in oxygen bleach and cool water.
4. For sturdy white cotton only, the old-school trick: stretch the stain over a bowl and pour boiling water through it from a few feet up.

Don't reach for chlorine bleach just because the shirt is white. Not every white fabric can take it. Read the label. The garment label, not the berry. The berry has already shown questionable judgment.

Ice Cream

Ice cream isn't so much a stain as a committee: dairy, sugar, fat and sometimes dye. Scrape off the excess, flush with cold water and rub in enzyme detergent. Let it sit 15 minutes, add a drop of dish soap for the fat, then wash. And if it was chocolate ice cream, the chocolate has now joined the committee. An oxygen bleach soak handles what's left.

Tree Sap

Dab rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer on the sap with a cotton ball until it dissolves. Then work in dish soap and wash in the warmest water the fabric allows. Test the alcohol on a hidden spot first.

Bug Spray

Most bug sprays wash out with regular detergent. Wash clothes you've sprayed after each wear. Sprays with DEET can damage spandex, rayon, acetate and some synthetics, so spray your skin instead of your workout clothes and swimsuits.

Pollen

Don't rub pollen. It spreads, and the oils in it set the stain. Shake the garment outside, then lift the rest off with a piece of tape. Rinse from the back with cold water, rub in liquid detergent and wash. A little sunshine helps fade what's left.

The Other Usual Suspects

Summer also brings plenty of mud, grease, chocolate and the occasional scraped knee. For those, and every other stain from A to Z, see my guide to how to remove stains from clothes. Quick versions:

• Mud: Let it dry, brush off as much as you can, then pretreat and wash.
• Grease from burgers and fries: Cornstarch, then dish soap, then the warmest water the fabric allows. Check carefully before drying, because grease can look gone when the fabric is wet. Here's my grease stain guide.
• Chocolate: Let it harden, scrape, then treat with enzyme detergent and dish soap. Here's my chocolate stain guide.
• Blood: Cold water only, then enzyme detergent. Hydrogen peroxide on whites.

How to Wash Swimsuits

Chlorine, salt water, sunscreen and heat are all hard on swimsuits. Here's how to make them last more than one summer:

1. Rinse right away in cool tap water after every swim, even if you didn't go in the pool. Sunscreen and sweat count.
2. Hand-wash in cool water with a small squirt of gentle detergent. Swish, let it soak 15 minutes and rinse.
3. Don't wring it. Press the water out, or roll it in a towel.
4. Dry it flat in the shade. Sunlight fades color, and heat breaks down the stretch.
5. Never put it in the dryer. Stretch fabric has suffered enough.

Beware the Wet Pile

Summer creates its own special laundry problem: the Wet Pile. Someone comes home from the pool. The wet swimsuit goes inside the wet towel. The wet towel goes into the beach bag. The beach bag goes on the floor. Two days later, somebody opens it, and the bag has developed its own atmosphere.

Hang wet towels and swimsuits to dry the minute you get home, or wash them right away. Already mildewed? Soak towels in oxygen bleach and hot water for a few hours, then wash them in hot water. Here's how to wash towels so they stay soft and fluffy.

Build a Summer Stain Kit

Keep these in the laundry room, and a travel-size stain pen in the beach bag:

• Enzyme laundry detergent
• Clear dish soap
• Oxygen bleach, like OxiClean
• Rubbing alcohol
• 3% hydrogen peroxide (for whites)
• A rust stain remover (for orange sunscreen spots)
• A soft toothbrush and white cloths

And never mix stain removers. Chlorine bleach plus ammonia or vinegar creates dangerous fumes. No T-shirt is worth turning the laundry room into a hazardous materials incident.

Summer Stains: Quick Answers

How do you get sunscreen stains out of clothes?

For greasy marks, sprinkle on cornstarch, then work in dish soap and wash in warm water. For orange or rusty sunscreen stains, skip the chlorine bleach and use a fabric rust remover, then wash.

Why does sunscreen leave orange stains?

Avobenzone, a common sunscreen ingredient, reacts with iron and minerals in tap water and turns orange, often after washing. Treat it like a rust stain, and never use chlorine bleach.

How do you get barbecue sauce out of clothes?

Scrape off the excess, flush with cold water from the back, then work in dish soap. Dab any remaining color with white vinegar, soak in oxygen bleach and wash.

How do you get tree sap out of clothes?

Dab it with rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer until it dissolves, then work in dish soap and wash in the warmest water the fabric allows.

Can you put swimsuits in the washing machine?

It's best to hand-wash them in cool water with gentle detergent. If you use the machine, put the suit in a mesh bag on the delicate cycle with cold water, and never use the dryer.

Keep Going

Get the rest of summer out of your laundry with these related guides:

• How to Remove Stains From Clothes: An A-to-Z stain guide.
• How to Remove Grease Stains From Clothes: Five ways that work.
• How to Remove Rust Stains From Clothes: Even old ones.
• Homemade Laundry Stain Removers That Actually Work: What to mix, and what not to.
• How to Wash Towels: So they stay soft, fluffy and absorbent.
• How to Wash White Clothes: And keep them white.
• What Temperature Should You Wash Clothes?: Cold, warm or hot.
• Laundry & Stain Removal: How to wash clothes and treat stains.