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How to Clean Ring Around the Collar Stains

Ring around the collar is a collar stain caused by body soil. Learn how to clean ring around the collar and cuff stains on your shirts, suits, and clothing.

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Question

The collar of my shirts get very dirty, how can I treat this?

Answer

I’m guessing you have a shirt with “ring around the collar”, a combination of sweat and body soil that rubs off the neck and onto the inside collar of a shirt, leaving a dark stain that can be difficult to remove when it has been allowed to build up over time. On a white dress shirt made of  bleach-safe fibers like cotton or polyester (but no spandex), pre-soaking with Clorox® Disinfecting Bleach is really helpful. To do this, add ¼ cup Clorox® Disinfecting Bleach to 1 gallon of water and submerge the shirt in the soaking solution for 5 minutes. When the soak time is complete, pour off the soaking solution and wash the shirt in hot water using detergent + ⅓ cup Clorox® Disinfecting Bleach.

You didn’t mention the color of the shirt with a dirty collar—if it has color (or if it is white and includes a little spandex), then you’ll want to use Clorox 2® For Colors Stain Remover and Laundry Additive to pretreat the stain before washing. Just use the cap to pour a little Clorox 2® For Colors Stain Remover and Laundry Additive directly onto the stain on the collar and gently rub it in. Wait 10 minutes, then wash the shirt in the hottest water recommended on the garment care label using detergent and more Clorox 2® For Colors Stain Remover and Laundry Additive. You can prevent collar stains from building up by doing this each time you wash the shirt, and it’s also good to only wear a shirt once before washing it.

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