How to Keep Your White Dress Shirts White, Not Yellow

A wardrobe of men's clothing is an investment of time and money and knowing how to properly care for men's dress shirts can extend the life of that most important item of clothing for work and classy casual menswear. Dress shirts as you would know, are men's favorite attire. Be it an official meeting, anniversary celebration, hangout or a formal event, it's a perfect wardrobe choice and there is no denying this!

However, if custom shirts are one of your priority clothes, it means that they probably get dirty every now and then. Proper laundering methods can be entrusted to specialists, but doing so at home can save money. Getting the most wear out of any dress shirt begins with buying quality, well-made pieces and then caring for them properly with careful laundering and ironing practices. If handled with care, quality dress shirt pieces can serve for many years. Professional laundering services and dry cleaners may be used, but it is simple and affordable to care for your dress shirts at home if you know how.

In this Style Advice, we’ll be sharing some of the frequently asked questions and other care tips for your dress shirts and keeping them white.

What causes yellow stains on shirts?

The real cause of these yellowish stains is a mixture of the minerals (especially salt), mostly due to body oils and sweat mixing with the ingredients in antiperspirant or deodorant (primarily aluminum). This is the combo that makes the yellow stains on white clothes and discolors the collar, cuffs and underarm areas.

Misconception on keeping white shirts, white?

Bleaching my white shirts will keep them white.

You may be tempted to use bleach to remove stains, however, too much of it can cause your white shirts to become discoloured and damage delicate fabrics such as linen or synthetic fibers like nylon, microfibers, or polyester. It might be a quick fix solution for stain removal, but in the long run, bleach may cause your whites to turn yellowish and will weaken the fabric, causing it to tear easily. Bleach also tends to weaken the shirt fibers and returns the synthetic polymers back to their original colour, yellow. Use bleach with less or no chlorine unless necessary.

How do you get yellow stains out of white shirts?

1. Combine 1.5 cups baking soda, two tsp hydrogen peroxide and 1.5 tsp of salt.

2. Dampen stained shirt.

3. Pour mixture onto stains.

4. Let it sit for 20-30 minutes.

5. Scrub the mixture into the stains with short-bristled brush.

6. Toss into washing machine for one wash cycle.

How to maintain white shirts and minimising the chances of it turning yellow?

1. Wash after every wear - perspiration is absorbed by fabric and the longer you wait to wash the white clothes, the more difficult it is to remove the stain and the higher the chance of it turning yellow.

2. Apply stain removal on collar and cuffs before washing the garment to prevent oil build-up or to remove stains.

3. Separate your colours and take care not to include other laundry items with bold colours that may bleed into your shirts.

4. Set up your washing machine: To minimize wear on a fine or lightweight dress shirt, use the Delicate cycle.  If the shirt is made from a heavier duty fabric (such as oxford shirts), or is particularly dirty you may opt for the Normal cycle.

5. Do not use any detergents that are chlorine based as these will cause discoloration to many shirt fabrics. Always measure your detergent precisely. Under-using and even over-using detergent can leave the fabric grey. You wouldn’t think that adding a little extra detergent would make your white shirts look dull — but it can.

6. Skip the fabric softeners - You might not think twice about adding fabric softener to your laundry. After all, you want your white shirts to feel as soft as everything else in your wardrobe. However, you should skip the fabric softener if you’re trying to keep your whites bright. Fabric softener adds residue to your garments, and that residue can actually attract extra soil to the fibers. That results in more yellowing or dullness — exactly what you want to avoid with white clothing. 

6. We recommend avoiding the dryer and letting the shirt air dry on a hanger, although (depending on the size of your house) this is not always practical. Be careful about hanging the shirts on a sharp hanger or with tight clothespins as this can distort the fabric or leave a mark on the shirt. If you must put the shirt in a dryer, avoid high heat or over-drying the shirt. Use the dryer to get most of the moisture out of the shirt, and then iron the shirt immediately to remove the rest of the moisture and any wrinkles at the same time.  If you dry your shirts completely in the dryer you’ll find the shirt a bit harder to iron perfectly, and they will likely shrink beyond SuitYourself’s calculated shrinkage allowances.

7. Never spray perfume on shirts. The best time to put on perfume is right after shower and before getting dressed as it gives the perfume time to dry and prevents it from staining your clothes.