My husband's white shirts have a yellow/brownish stain under the armpit area. I've tried lots of soap and bleach to get the stain out, but nothing works. Is there a product that would get rid of these ugly stains?
-Ellen Finfrocka

Answer: On cotton shirts, wash in hot water (150°+F) with a pH of 11.5-11.8 for 8-10 minutes. When adding chlorine bleach, the water should be between 145°-155°F with a chlorine concentration of 100-150 PPM. Follow up with at least three rinses and a sour bath.

Perspiration stains in the armpit area can be difficult on poly/blend materials. I recommend a soak procedure with an oxygen bleach solution. There are a number of products available on the market that are built detergents with sodium perborate, which is oxygen bleach. As the shirts have already been washed without successful results, soak the shirts overnight starting with a water temperature of approximately 130°F. After the overnight soak, launder without additional product.

Some deodorants products on the market contain acidic solutions of aluminum chloride which make the shirts difficult to clean. Avoid deodorant products containing this material.

I spilled gasoline on a jacket, denim skirt and shoes. There is no visible stain, but I made the mistake of laundering the skirt with other darks, and now there is more gasoline odor. The jacket is airing out in the garage, but it's not improving much. Is there a danger in laundering gasoline soaked items? What can you suggest?
-Ann Harlow

Answer 1:
There should be no danger in the laundering process at this point. The odor from the gasoline has penetrated the fibers of the material. Washing with an emulsifier along with detergent should remove the solvent from the garments. Rinse thoroughly and tumble-dry...no more odors.
Answer 2:
If the clothing is expensive, take it to a professional dry cleaner. Having the clothing dry-cleaned will remove the odor and any hidden stains. Dry cleaning works because the solvent detergent process strips the gas solvent from the fibers.

After washing pillowcases using the washing and chemical program our supplier provided for us, one load of pillowcases was mistakenly left inside the trolley until the following day. By the next morning the pillowcases already had a bad odor. What causes this?
-Rudi, Laundry Supervisor

Answer:
Bad odors in linen are caused by bacterial growth. Linens that are wet, and are exposed to the air for several hours can start to smell musty. Generally, warm and humid conditions are an ideal growing environment for bacteria.
Have the wash formula checked and be sure to use adequate amounts of chlorine (100 PPM). If you have the types of conditions that are ideal for mildew or other bacterial growth, try using a Bac-Stop type product that kills bacteria and continues to prevent growth even when linens are on the shelf.

Answer:
Graying linens are a result of redeposition of some kind. This can be from hard water or chemistry that is inadequate in handling the water conditions.
The graying can also be caused from soil redepositing back onto the linens due to an insufficient amount of detergent, or the wrong detergents for the use. The formula has numerous wash steps at temperatures below 150 degrees F. Low wash temperatures and chemistry that doesn't match the conditions for proper cleaning are likely the cause.

Answer:
Formulas and chemistry can vary depending on the type of fabric the table linen is made of. Using conventional chemistry, the linens should be flushed one or two times in warm water, between 90°F and 110°F. There should be a Break cycle with temperatures between 140°F and 170°F, depending on fabric, at 10-12 minutes in length and pH ranges from 11.5-12.0.
Additionally use of a suds operation at similar temperatures for 8-10 minutes in length and a pH range from 11.2 to 11.8. Flush after this suds and then bleach the whites. For good stain removal the chlorine should be between 125-150 PPM for cottons.
Thorough rinses followed by an anti-chlor and a souring step should leave the fabric with a final pH of 4.5-6.5, depending on the type of fabric and whether or not the linens are going to be starched.