Bleach turned a white shirt pink - suggestions?

[fat al]

Had an accident recently with my favourite Dunhill shirt: a new brand of sunscreen (P20 - an alcohol based apply-once-a-day) stained it. Where the shirt rubbed left yellow stains. Pretty ugly. Shirt is ruined as it is (standard stain treatment did very little to improve), so I decided to soak it in a solution of bleach.

Problem is, as soon as I put the shirt in, all the stained areas turned bright pink! Sink was clean, no idea where the pink pigment came from. Anyone have any suggestion? Was planning to continue to soak the shirt, then wash it hot with lots of soap. Any other ideas? Pretty sad to lose my favourite shirt otherwise...

 

[AndrewRogers]

Originally Posted by fat al

Had an accident recently with my favourite Dunhill shirt: a new brand of sunscreen (P20 - an alcohol based apply-once-a-day) stained it. Where the shirt rubbed left yellow stains. Pretty ugly. Shirt is ruined as it is (standard stain treatment did very little to improve), so I decided to soak it in a solution of bleach. Problem is, as soon as I put the shirt in, all the stained areas turned bright pink! Sink was clean, no idea where the pink pigment came from. Anyone have any suggestion? Was planning to continue to soak the shirt, then wash it hot with lots of soap. Any other ideas? Pretty sad to lose my favourite shirt otherwise...
It would be a chemical reaction between the chlorine and whatever is in the sunscreen. A Google of pink chlorine compounds comes up with hydrated cobalt chloride.

 

[fat al]

Thanks. And hmmmm. Riemann P20 site say "Avoid any use of chlorine as this may worsen the stains." Seems I screwed that one up...

 

[ter1413]

Ue the shirt as pj's for a ladyfriend when she spends the night...

 

[fat al]

Prolonged soaking in fresh, stronger bleach seems to be bringing the stain out. Which is lucky - had I been forced to follow ter1413's suggested solution my wife would have cut my balls off. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[jojocayman]

Has this worked? I've got exactly the same problem with a linen shirt! Tried bleach - turned pink. And you are just soaking in a cold bleach rinse? Or are you using bleach in the wash?

 

[RSS]

I say give the shirt a decent funeral.

But cut the buttons off first ... especially if you have other shirts with the same or similar buttons ... shirts that may one day need a replacement button.

 

[JamesX]

Completely dunk the shirt in bleach to turn it uniformally pink, then decide if you like the new color?

One of my shirt was mishandled by dry cleaner and the pink gained a purple tint. I actually liked it better.

 

[Nicola]

Originally Posted by ter1413

Ue the shirt as pj's for a ladyfriend when she spends the night...

Ya cause nothing makes a gir'ls heart jump like giving her a stained piece of clothing.

Did you used to date somebody named Monica?

 

[fat al]

Old post but yes, prolonged soaking (like 12 hours) in a bleach solution completely removed the pink hue. Wouldn't have worked to leave it as the pink was only on areas where the suncream had rubbed in: seams, collar, armpits. Not really a good look. All sorted fortunately, thanks for the advice

 

[SpallaCamiccia]

Use it to leave the gym, as I do with my dated shirts.

 

[Linda G]

Its happened to me on numerous occasions. I keep it in bleach it eventually goes white.

 

[suitedcboy]

I have used bluing to restore white shirts to white. I am not sure if you can find bluing. I have also put in a piece of denim from torn denim jeans in with some bleach and effectively created bluing in the wash basin.

 

[Charna Duchanov]

I had the same thing happen to me. I wear sunscreen every day in the summer and when I went to wash my shirt, I thought maybe some bleach would get it whiter where the sunscreen turned the collar yellow. As soon as the bleach hit the fabric, it turned bright pink and no amount of further bleaching or washing helped.

 

[Maggie W]

Its like magic. The pink came and went.

I had the same issue with a white shirt and shorts. I did everything after the bright pink appeared including soaking in vinegar with bicarbonate of soda and vanish. I gave up and put I them on the washing line in the bright sun and miraculously the pink disappeared leaving nothing but brilliant white. I am not sure if it would have worked had the weather been cloudy.

I have photos if anyone would like to see them.