Inside: Tired of the yellow stains on collars? Check out these easy tips on how to remove ring around the collar. Get rid of ring around the collar for good!
Recently my husband was decluttering some of his dress shirts. We have been trying to make sure we are only keeping the clothes that we really like and are in good condition.
I noticed that his white dress shirt had some ring around the collar on the neck.
If you aren't familiar with what ring around the collar is it is a build-up that happens around collared shirts. The build-up tends to occur from sweat or body oil and dead skin.
Gross, I know. I notice it on my husband's dress shirts because he tends to wear them buttoned with a tie. I think as soon as they are that close to your neck all day long they gather more body oil.
Although washing shirts will remove a lot of dirt and grime it doesn't always get rid of the body oil that comes with ring around the collar.
If you have a white or little shirt that now has some yellowing around the neck check out these simple tips on how to remove ring around the collar.
How To Remove Ring Around The Collar
To easily remove ring around the collar you will need a few things.
You will need some dish soap, baking soda, and an old toothbrush or laundry brush. I love this laundry brush from The Laundress.
Just about any brand of dish soap can be used, but I really like this kind. I use it pretty much exclusively for my laundry.
Besides those things you just need some time and a washing machine. You can easily get rid of those yellow stains around the collar.
Pre-Treating Ring Around The Collar
To start, you will want to put a small amount of dish soap around the collar of the shirt. You don't need a ton, just about 1-2 teaspoons.
Dish soap is really good at getting rid of grease. Since body oil is greasy, the soap will help break it up and get rid of it.
Next, use the toothbrush or laundry brush to help scrub the dawn soap into the collar. You can add a little bit of water to the brush if you need help getting the dawn worked into the collar.
Once the soap is all around where the ring around the collar is then you can take a tablespoon or two of baking soda and sprinkle it over the collar.
Let the dawn and baking soda sit on the collar for about 30 minutes.
Then, wet the laundry brush again and scrub at the collar working the baking soda in.
The baking soda will not only wick away the greasy body oils, but it is also abrasive and so will work into the fabric to get it clean.
Washing The Shirts
Once you have pre-treated the shirts then you can wash them. This will help remove ring around the collar.
To help really remove the body oil I recommend using the hottest water possible for the garments that you are cleaning. I normally use the hot water cycle.
Start the machine and add the normal amount of detergent that you would use for that load.
Then once the machine fills up add the shirts to the washing machine. Let the washing machine run for a minute or two to let the shirts get wet.
Next, stop the machine and let the clothes soak for about 10-15 minutes. Then let the machine run like normal.
Once the machine is done then take the shirts out and dry them as you normally would.
Repeat if Necessary
If your shirt collars are really dirty they may need to be cleaned two times to really remove ring around the collar.
If they come out of the dryer with stains still on them then repeat the above steps.
You will want to make sure you add plenty of dawn soap to the collars and let them sit for about 30 minutes.
Plus, make sure you get the baking soda scrubbed in really well.
The second time washing has removed even the worst case of ring around the collar.
With these simple tips, you can get your shirts looking like new again. Plus, with all the body oils gone they will smell better too!
Get those white shirts bright white again with these easy tips on how to remove ring around the collar. Save some money and your clothes.
Want some other easy laundry tips? Check out how to remove sweat stains from sheets and blankets. Get those white sheets bright white again!
