How to get rid of dirty stains / marks on white Lycra shorts

[san0]

Help, I think I set the dirty marks even more in the white panels of the Morvelo Unity Bib shorts.
After a long sportive (Mega-Meon), and stopping to help fix punture, I noticed very long brown marks across the front of the thighs, not quite tyre marks, more like mucky dusty brown, maybe leaning over the frame tubes.

When I got home I soaked them for 30 mins with non-bio in warm/hot water (which I think I shouldn't have done). Then after rubbing with a brillo pad, it still didnt come off. At this point I placed in washing mashine rather than hand washing, added more non bio powder, and sprayed on 'Shout' stain remover. 30 degree wash on delicates cycle, drain, spin, but still there. I can now see the fabric is worse (scrubbing damaged), and now looking for answers on removal of the stains which I think have permanantly settled in?

Any ideas? I know - why would you buy white shorts, well they were on sale to save £20.

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80% Polyamide(Nylon)
20% Elastane(Spandex)
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Machine wash at 30 degrees with a liquid detergent (we recommend non-bio detergents) using only a small amount of detergent.
Do not use powder detergents or any products that contain fabric softeners, conditioners, stain removers or bleach as they will affect garment performance.
Rinse twice and minimize spinning to reduce creasing
Rinse any heavy soiling prior to washing
Close all zips and turn the garment inside out
Use mild detergent
Drip dry in shade
Do not iron
Do not tumble dry
Do not bleach
Do not dry clean
Do NOT use a fabric softener on any cycling clothing! This can destroy the wicking treatments, membranes, water repellent treatments, antibacterial properties etc
Avoid washing with any velcro, or do up the velcro to avoid snagging and pulling threads

[Pneumant]

To be honest removing brake grime ingrained into white lycra will be difficult. You could try a hand-degreaser such as 'Swarfega'. Rub it on, leave for a few minutes and then tease it out using your nail, & then rinse with cold water. On the other hand when you are on the bike pedalling away, who is going to notice these marks? As long as the shorts are fresh after washing keep with them and maybe relegate them for under-tights winter duty?

[Heltor Chasca]

Whilst wearing said clothing, try...

...Harvesting 2-3kg of beetroot. Boil for 30mins. To get ready for the pickle, remove from heat and peel. You'll find you won't be able to see the original stains at all.

Don't thank me, thank Mother Nature...b

[profpointy]

white shorts? are you mad?

[Vorpal]

Ecover stain remover gets lots of things out. So does washing up liquid. Otherwise you could try Napisan or bleach? It's not good for elastic, though, so don't soak it.

[maxcherry]

Take it to a Dry Cleaners and ask them (saves damaging your garment)

[TonyR]

Soak them, for several days if necessary, in biological powder (I use Persil), giving a fabric to fabric rub occasionally. Then give a machine wash. The enzymes will digest most stains eventually but they need time on many bike stains. Also use fresh powder - they don't tell you but the enzymes decay away over time so if the powder is six months old it will be much less effective at getting the stains out.

[robgul]

When I rule the world there will be a law that ALL cycling shorts are black.

.. to answer the question ... I think you are flogging a dead horse - just buy another pair (in black!)

Rob

[Ray]

OK, here comes what is probably a daft idea but, you could try dyeing them black

Like robgul, I think it's dead horse time anyway.

[Heltor Chasca]

But black ones are £21! At least they come in any colour black you could wish for...b

[TonyR]

OK, here comes what is probably a daft idea but, you could try dyeing them black

Very difficult material to dye. The polyamide needs acid dyes and boiling to make it take and even then it may not but the elastane is very heat sensitive and will deform at well below those temperatures.

[Ray]

OK, here comes what is probably a daft idea but, you could try dyeing them black

Very difficult material to dye. The polyamide needs acid dyes and boiling to make it take and even then it may not but the elastane is very heat sensitive and will deform at well below those temperatures.

Well, OK, it was a daft idea. Isn't it irritating, though, that the fabric won't take a dye, but it hangs on like the very devil to unwanted colour stains !?

Actually, it turns out that buying white shorts in the first place was an even dafter idea. Save them to wear under tights in the winter, take a deep breath, and lash out for some black ones

[atoz]

Soak them, for several days if necessary, in biological powder (I use Persil), giving a fabric to fabric rub occasionally. Then give a machine wash. The enzymes will digest most stains eventually but they need time on many bike stains. Also use fresh powder - they don't tell you but the enzymes decay away over time so if the powder is six months old it will be much less effective at getting the stains out.

I felt like saying "gets your whites whiter than white"- it's not what you expect on a cycling forum.

However- it's not quite the problem you would think,

The reason you get this problem in my experience is transfer of dye from the saddle. I have Brooks saddles and I've always had problems with this. In the noughties I went through a phase of coloured shorts. I discovered stain remover worked reasonably well. The liquid formulations are OK but best is to do what the ads suggest and mix up some powder with a small amount of water and rub the affected area and leave for a few minutes, then rinse and wash as normal. With coloured shorts you have to be careful with how long but with shorts with a white stained area you can leave for a bit longer- but also you can use the stronger formulations such as the Vanish ones (sorry the cheapo ones are best just to use in the wash as an additive in the detergent drawer with this). The strongest Vanish gold one uses a peroxide compound but as my skin is sensitive I don't risk this- but this is unusual, most of them use a compound containing an oxygen bleach compound called sodium carbonate peroxyhydrate. You get this in ordinary wash powders but not as much.

Best is to treat immediately you take the shorts off, but it will still work if you leave them.

The best solution is not to have a dark coloured saddle, and if you ride a racing bike, it's likely your saddle will be white or off white anyway. Notice that on the Tour the FDJ team wore white shorts but there was no evidence I saw of dye marks in the crucial area. If you have to use a dark saddle the problem is liveable, just a pain.

Something else you might want to consider is using a light cleaning compound on your Brooks saddle to get rid of sweat deposits, another source of discolouration. You can get this from specialist tack shops/outlets for horsey people. It won't cure the problem, but at least your saddle won't have too much engrained gunge.

Another source of staining is Proofide, if you apply on the top of the saddle occasionally- the above compound will help to remove excess ingrained staining, but use with care.

The stain remover technique works with jerseys as well, esp white areas. Also with these you can use whitenener compounds to keep the white bits white- use the colour formulations only (unless it's a white only jersey). You might worry about fading in the wash, but in my experience your jerseys will fade faster from the effects of sunlight. Most jerseys are now sourced in countries where costs are cheaper, including the dyes used, so they don't last as long- unless you can afford Assos (I wish- lol)

Stain remover also works well with sun cream stains- I am fair skinned so have to be careful about sun exposure, so inevitably you get a bit of transfer eg on jersey necks and the necks of base layers. It's either that or looking like Team Sky- great Tour results but I can't stand how dismal the kit looks!

If you accidentally stain clothing eg at the cafe with food, use concentrated detergent straight away on the area- it will do until you get back home.

Something else you might want to think about. Modern washing machines can work at temperatures lower than 40 degrees. Don't be tempted- stick to 40.For starters, you need this temperature to ensure your clothes are clean (research has shown this- Google it and see). Also many modern machines actually only work at 40 degrees for part of the wash cycle in order to save energy, so if you wash at lower temperatures than this, your wash is further compromised. "Colour" detergents should be avoided like the plague as they lack the important oxygen bleach compound which gets your clothes clean and also helps to keep you machine clean. If your cycle clothing really can't cope with 40, why buy it anyway? What if you ride off-road esp if you are a mountainbiker. The black shorts will still have stains, it's just you can't see them. I would also recommend using Dettol laundry cleanser for all your wash as it will help keep the bacteria count down- important when you wear lycra next to the skin.

IMHO, the worst to remove is oil and tar, but stain remover doesn't always work- sorry. As for getting tar off your legs after a summer ride including a heavy downpour- not fun if you don't shave your legs- one one occasion I had to shave the affected area, it was just too painful to scrub it off! Is that why the racing types shave..

Hope this is useful.

[LollyKat]

As for getting tar off your legs after a summer ride including a heavy downpour- not fun if you don't shave your legs- one one occasion I had to shave the affected area, it was just too painful to scrub it off! Is that why the racing types shave..

As children we could never resist pudging our fingers into melting tar on a hot summer's day. My mother's remedy was a mix of cooking oil, granulated sugar and soap flakes (Lux), all used together at once.. The oil dissolved the tar, the sugar acted as scrubbing medium, and the soap cleaned the mess off. It never failed.

[san0]

Thanks for your options. I have bought Vanish Gold (for whites version). Normal price is £5.75 from Robert Dyers/Wilkinson, but I found out you can get it for £4 a tub in Sainsbury's. I'll try doing the 6hr pre soak and hand rinse in non-bio persil liquid and see how that goes.