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Can bleach stains be removed?

Technically, you can't remove bleach stains--they're set for good--because bleach stains have already removed the color or dye from the fabric you're attempting to save. When it comes down to it, the removal of bleach stains is more akin to restoring the color that has been lost, either by stripping away the damaged fabric on a molecular level (if that's even possible), or by fading the color of the surrounding fabric to blend the bleach stain into the rest of the garment. Bleach is terrible stuff, with the power to strip the color out of pretty much anything, which is why you might ask yourself the next question:

When should I use bleach?

If it were up to me, never. Bleach is awful stuff, both for fabrics and for the environment. Not only will it cause yellow stains to eventually form on your whites (caused by the residual build up of damaged fibers), but its production and use has been linked to all sorts of terrible health problems in children and adults, like cancer, infertility, cognitive and behavioral disabilities, and other serious illnesses. If you're going to use chlorine bleach, I would only use it when you really need something to be white again. Otherwise, just use bleach alternatives, like oxygen bleach.

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How to Get Rid of Bleach Stains

How do you remove bleach stains? I would say you should just stop using bleach altogether; that's what environmental scientists are telling us these days. The manufacturing of bleach as well as its domestic and industrial use has been linked to enough health problems, particularly cancer, to warrant the erradication of chlorine bleach altogether. Perhaps the most publicized example of the effects of chlorine bleach are those cases where paper plants have used bleach to break down proteins and fibers in paper products. The chemicals leftover from the bleaching process are some of the most notorious and powerful carcinogens (cancer causing agents) known to man, and often times they're simply poured out into the lakes and streams nearby. There's an ongoing investigation and legal battle in my own hometown regarding Georgia Pacific's (a large paper producing corporation) disposal of toxic waste in people's backyards, people who now have higher rates of cancer than anywhere else in the region.

You ask me, how do I get rid of bleach stains? I say you stop using bleach and instead make do with the very good alternatives I've listed under the heading "natural bleach alternatives." If, however, you aren't willing to make the switch right now, I understand. I still use bleach myself, albeit very infrequently. But let's get to the crux of the matter, removing or repairing stains leftover by chlorine bleach.

Bleach Stain Removal / Repair

Natural Bleach Alternatives

Oxygen Bleach is the quintessential bleach alternative you will find in almost every store. There are a number of solutions called "bleach alternatives" or "color safe" bleaches, but essentially they boil down to the release of oxygen molecules which then oxidize (or, let's say, corrode) pigment or stains. A number of color safe bleaches are considered oxygen bleaches (Oxyclean is one of them), and these cleaning agents are more or less weaker with regard to their ability to dissolve stains and pigments. Ecover makes a good non-chlorine bleach.

Hydrogen Peroxide is actually the resulting chemical compound that is created when "color safe" bleaches and bleach alternatives are mixed with water. The oxygen released by hydrogen peroxide is a very strong bleaching agent. 3% hydrogen peroxide is probably the stuff you want to use to get rid of tough stains from whites. Anything higher in concentration isn't very safe to have in your house. Remember that hydrogen peroxide has a very limited shelf life because any exposure to light and air will cause the compound to release its oxyen components and revert back to plain old water.

Sodium Hydrosulfite is the color stripping agent we mentioned when we asked you to consider removing the color from your garment and redying it. It's safe for the environment, and it's extremely effective. It might just be ecologically safe equivalent of chlorine bleach. Rit Color Remover is a good example of such a product.

Borax, otherwise known as boric acid (sold as 20 Mule Team Borax) is a milder bleaching agent. It's not often used as a bleach, simply because it doesn't have the oxidizing power of the more traditional bleach alternatives. But, if you're looking for a good way to remove stains from whites and restore colors, Borax is a good product to have in your laundry room.

For an immediate treatment of a bleach stain, you may want to consider Sodium Thiosulfate. Sodium Thiosulfate, also referred to as photographic fixer, is an agent that has been used as a way to neutralize the bleaching effects of other substances. In other words, it neutalizes bleaching agents, and helps restore fabrics or surfaces that have been bleached. Sodium thiosulfate can be used as an immediate spot treatment to neutralize bleach before it stains your fabric. However, you would usually blot the stain with a clean white cloth that has been dipped in S.T. until the stain either begins to disappear or the fabric becomes saturated. Rinse with cold water and repeat until the desired effect is achieved or no more progress is made. I won't kid you; it isn't easy to find.

If you're trying to remove or repair a bleach stain without the use of labratory grade chemicals, the first thing I would try is white vinegar. Go get yourself some heinz white vinegar or even the generic stuff; it doesn't matter which. Soak a clean white cloth with the vinegar and start dabbing/blotting the stain. Keep doing this until the fabric won't hold anymore vinegar in the immediate vicinity of the bleach stain. Rinse with cold water and repeat. Vinegar has been used traditionally as a color restoration solution for a very long time. Not only does it immediate neutalize any bleach agents left in the fabric, but the acids in vinegar (acetic acid) will help to dissolve or peel away any damaged fabric that may be causing a bleach stain to stand out. Vinegar will eventually damage cotton fabrics with enough exposure, so use white vinegar conservatively when treating bleach stains.

If vinegar or sodium thiosulfate aren't getting rid of your bleach stain you should consider Marvy Fabric Markers to cover up the discoloration. The alternative to the Marvy Fabric Marker is the Sharpie permanent marker; really, both options are just as effective at covering up the bleach stain. You can find Marvy Fabric Markers in almost any craft store or fabric store, and they're made in a variety of colors. If you're lucky you may just find the color that works for whatever it is you've bleached. Fabric Markers are usually safe to wash, but I wouldn't use a bleaching agent on that fabric again--if you get my meaning. Test the marker on a clean white rag before applying it to your fabric, to make sure it's the right shade for your needs. Oh, Crayola makes fabric markers too!

This might sound a little kooky, but try drying your clothes in direct sunlight to lighten the color surrounding the bleach stain. I know this doesn't sound very practical, but at this point, we're running out of options. Sunlight has a very powerful bleaching effect--ask any piece of driftwood what I'm talking about and I'm sure they'll tell you the same. According to Ellen Sandbeck, author of Organic Housekeeping, laying a bleach stained piece of fabric over a bush or a grass lawn in direct sunlight will increase the bleaching effects of the sun because of the oxygen (another powerful bleaching agent) produced by the vegetation beneath. Make certain you shake those clothes out before bringing them inside.

The last resort in your battle to remove bleach stains is what we call a color stripper. Color stripper, otherwise known as color remover, is what we use to take color out of a garment or fabric before redying it a new color. I guess if you can't get that bleach stain out, and you can't possibly stand to wear your clothes as they are in public, then you may want to consider stripping the color and starting fresh. Sodium Hydrosulfite, the most common color remover on the market, is cool stuff too because it's an environmentally sound way to bleach fabrics. Some people swear it's even more effective than bleach when it comes to whitening fabrics, but I wouldn't use it all the time.

Preventing Bleach Stains

Like I mentioned in the introduction, if you want to prevent bleach stains you should stop using bleach; it's simply too powerful and too damaging to risk its use in your home or in the commercial sector. So I've provided a list of alternatives to your right. But, aside from alternatives, there are a few things you can do to prevent bleach stains from showing up when you least expect them to.

If you have a bleach dispenser built in to your washing machine, make sure to rinse that out before you put any colors in the wash. Sometimes a little extra bleach gets left behind, and it ends up on the colors you were planning to wash after your whites.
If you know you're not washing any colors that will bleed, or if you're just not worried about, start washing your colors first. That way you won't have to deal with the hypothetical situation I described above.
If you're skeptical about either of those two options, you can always run a rinse cycle real quick before putting in your next load of laundry. Make sure you rinse the bleach dispenser, too.

Disclaimer: By following any advice given on this site you hereby waive the author of any responsibility for any injury or damage that you may cause to yourself, others, or property.