How to get sweat stains out of sheets and pillowcases

How to remove sweat from sheets

1. 1

   Find the stained areas

   Spread the sheets out in good light. Sweat and oil yellowing usually shows on pillowcases, the top edge of the flat sheet, and where your back and shoulders lie on the fitted sheet.

   Why: Pretreating only works where you apply it, and those areas carry most of the body oil and sweat.

2. 2

   Rub in liquid detergent

   Work full-strength liquid laundry detergent or a prewash stain remover into the yellowed areas with your fingers. Let it sit 10 to 15 minutes.

   Why: Detergent lifts body oil, which holds the sweat residue in place and turns yellow as it ages.

3. 3

   Soak in an enzyme presoak or oxygen bleach

   Fill a tub or basin with warm water, dissolve an enzyme presoak or oxygen bleach as the package directs, and submerge the sheets. Soak for at least 30 minutes, or overnight for long-yellowed bedding.

   Why: Enzymes break down the protein in sweat, and oxygen bleach oxidizes yellow discoloration. Both work better in warm water.

4. 4

   Wash hot with a full dose of detergent

   Wash in the hottest water the care label allows, using the full recommended amount of detergent. Don't overload the washer: sheets need room to move and rinse.

   Why: Too little detergent or cold water on oily soil is a common cause of yellowing in the first place, and a crowded drum doesn't rinse well.

5. 5

   Air-dry and check

   Line-dry or look the sheets over before tumble drying. If yellowing remains, repeat the soak, because set-in stains often need several rounds.

   Why: Dryer heat can bake in residue that's left, making the next round harder.

Why sheets and pillowcases turn yellow

Sweat is mostly water with salts, lactic acid and urea, but it's carried with body oil from your skin. Night after night, sheets absorb both, plus skin-care products and hair oils on pillowcases. Washes that use too little detergent or only cool water remove the water-soluble part and leave the oil, which builds up and yellows as it ages.

That's why the fix pairs a detergent pretreatment for the oil with an enzyme or oxygen bleach soak for the protein and color. Prompt treatment matters: the University of Georgia notes that perspiration stains can weaken most fibers over time. The wider method is on the sweat stains page.

Cotton, linen, microfiber and bamboo sheets

Cotton percale, sateen and flannel take warm to hot water and oxygen bleach well, and white cotton labeled bleach-safe can take chlorine bleach. Polyester microfiber holds onto oils, so the detergent pretreatment matters most there. Linen can take hot water if the label allows. Rayon or lyocell made from bamboo may carry a label calling for cooler water or gentler cycles, so follow it and lean on the enzyme soak.

Cotton and linen can shrink in very hot water unless treated, which is another reason to read the label first. More on bedding care is on the sheets page.

By situation

Fresh sweat after a hot night or night sweats

A normal wash with enough detergent in warm to hot water usually removes it. For heavy night sweating, washing more often than the usual every two weeks prevents buildup.

Long-yellowed sheets

Expect several rounds of pretreating and overnight soaking. Yellowing built up over months may lighten gradually rather than disappearing in one wash.

Yellow stains on white pillowcases

Pillowcases collect hair oil and skin products as well as sweat. Pretreat with detergent, then soak in oxygen bleach or in equal parts 3% hydrogen peroxide and water. Chlorine bleach is an option only on white cotton labeled bleach-safe.

Colored sheets

Use oxygen bleach only and test it on a hem first. If sweat has changed the dye color, a few drops of ammonia on fresh stains or white vinegar on old ones can sometimes restore it. Rinse well afterward.

Sheets that smell like sweat after washing

The University of Georgia suggests an overnight soak in warm water with 3 to 4 tablespoons of salt per quart, then a detergent pretreatment for 30 minutes. For persistent odor, 3% hydrogen peroxide left on for 15 to 20 minutes, if it won't harm the color, repeated two or three times before laundering.

Silk sheets

Silk is a protein fiber that enzyme presoaks and chlorine bleach damage. Follow the label, hand-wash or dry-clean, and don't use an enzyme soak.

What not to do

• Don't wash sheets only in cold water with a small dose of detergent. Extension guidance links yellowing to too little detergent and cold water on oily soil.
• Don't use chlorine bleach on colored, silk or spandex-blend bedding. Chlorine damages those fibers and strips non-colorfast dyes.
• Don't mix ammonia or vinegar with chlorine bleach. Ammonia with bleach releases chloramine gas, and vinegar with bleach releases chlorine gas.
• Don't tumble dry hot while yellowing is still visible. Heat can set the remaining oil and protein residue.

Other methods that work

Baking soda paste

Iowa State Extension lists a baking soda and water paste, left 30 minutes to overnight, for sweat stains. It's useful on a pillowcase spot before washing.

Caution: Rinse it out before the wash.

Salt and lemon juice in the sun

Iowa State's AnswerLine suggests salt and fresh lemon juice on white cotton sweat stains, then drying in the sun.

Caution: White cotton only. Sun and acid can weaken or yellow some fibers and fade colors.

Stain still there?

Yellowing came back a few weeks after it was cleaned

Oil is building up again. Use the full detergent dose, wash warmer if the label allows, and add oxygen bleach to every few washes. See yellowed whites for routine prevention.

Sheets feel stiff or look dingy all over

The washer may be overloaded or the water hard. Wash a smaller load with enough detergent, and repeat the oxygen bleach soak.

A yellow outline of where you sleep stays after several soaks

Very old buildup may not come out completely, and long-term sweat can weaken fibers. Keep up the routine washes, and replace sheets that have thinned.

Safety

• Use only 3% hydrogen peroxide, not hair-bleaching strength.
• Never combine ammonia or vinegar with chlorine bleach.

Never mix cleaning products; see chemicals you must never combine.

Questions

Sweat on other surfaces

• Sweat stains: the complete guide
• Sweat on clothes
• Sweat on a hat
• Sweat on a mattress
• Sweat on white clothes

Other stains on sheets

• Stains on sheets: the complete guide
• Blood on sheets
• Gum on sheets
• Slime on sheets