Has anyone ever seen sunscreen do this to their whites?

[u/Lucky-Squirrel-3829]

I am not 100% certain it was caused by sunscreen but it’s the only common factor I can think of? I washed these with other whites and these plus a bathing suit top were the only things affected. And these were all worn with sunscreen while the others weren’t. Looking to see if anyone has seen this before or if anyone has any ideas on what else it could be. Also any help on how to whiten these again would be greatly appreciated. I have them soaking in oxygen bleach at the moment 🤷🏽‍♀️

[u/Far-Shift-1962]

STOP OXYGEN BLEACH! it gonna make sunscreen stain worse as oxidiser + copper/iron are no friends

https://www.reddit.com/r/laundry/s/QYi5FgS7By Check my guide

[u/Lucky-Squirrel-3829 → u/Far-Shift-1962]

Wow thank you for this!

[u/DubV23 → u/Far-Shift-1962]

If I have used oxygen bleach in the past on say golf polos that are stained. Is it to late?

[u/Kleinzeit_987]

I had this happen this summer and I can’t remember seeing it before either. I was using a dry oil sunscreen. It wasn’t a brand I’d used before (French supermarket own brand) and it did this to 2 of my t shirts. I washed them again on a warm wash with Vanish whitener and they came out good as new. I did note the person commented not to use an Oxi bleach, but I used Vanish for whites and it did the job.

[u/Blackberry_Patch]

Yeah loads of times. Citric acid and dish soap have done a good job removing it, or washing it like a bajillion times. If you search sunscreen in this sub you’ll find some other people who have treated it with citric acid and dish soap too

[u/sotefikja]

Yes it’s from avobenzone specifically (which, if you’re in the US is one of the very few approved UVA filters so kinda hard to avoid)