The Unexpected Laundry Stain That's No Match For Hydrogen Peroxide

If you use self-tanner regularly, you'll know how it can get everywhere. From your towels to your clothes, tanner is tricky to get out due to its vivid color and high pigment formulation. It may be good for giving you a bronzed glow, but not so much for your laundry. Fortunately, there's just one item you need to get your clothes looking less orange and back to their original look — hydrogen peroxide.

Forget looking through the entirety of your cleaning cupboard and scrubbing frantically at the mark (which might have the opposite effect and set the stain). To get self-tanner out, all you need is hydrogen peroxide and a cloth. Hydrogen peroxide is considered to be a natural product, so you can still use it if you're trying to make the jump toward cleaners that contain fewer chemicals. However, as with all products, there are some things you should know before applying a liberal amount to your stained towels or shirt.

Grab a clean cloth and apply a small amount of 3% hydrogen peroxide to the cloth. Then, all you need to do is tap the cloth gently against the stain until it disappears. You may need to add a bit more hydrogen peroxide if the stain is stubborn or isn't lifting much. Don't use hydrogen peroxide with a percentage higher than 3%. Any type with a percentage more than this is usually used for processes like bleaching hair, which could be too strong for your garments. An alternative way to use the handy liquid for stain removal is to add a cup of hydrogen peroxide to your washing machine, but this will probably only be effective if the self-tanner spill doesn't look too bad.

The way hydrogen peroxide works is that it will remove the part of the self-tanner that contains pigment and gives the stain its color. Eventually, it will be broken down enough that no trace of it can be seen. Because it only removes the pigment of the mark, it's important to put the affected items on a wash cycle afterward so they're actually clean in addition to being stain-free. Put them in a wash on their own if possible so as to avoid the transfer of any hydrogen peroxide onto your other clothes.

One thing to keep in mind is that hydrogen peroxide may not be suitable for all clothing. Vintage clothing can be too delicate to use harsher bleaching agents on and may even fall apart because of its age. Because of this, do a patch test on items you're unsure about. Turn the item inside out or use an inconspicuous area of fabric to put a small bit of hydrogen peroxide on. If the fabric doesn't show any signs of discoloration or other damage, you should be fine to go ahead and use hydrogen peroxide on the stain. 

Moreover, hydrogen peroxide has the potential to bleach items. This means it's only suitable to be used on light items such as cream or white clothes. Otherwise, you run the risk of your favorite shirt becoming patchy and lighter in color. Other than these caveats, however, it's well worth trying this hack if nothing else seems to be working to remove the self-tanner stain.