I have many solutions for pre-wash cleaning, that's not what I want. I want something that I can apply to the shirt when I take it off and throw it in the hamper. It might sit there for a week before washing. I don't want to treat anything at wash time.
Does anyone know of a product or home-spun remedy that will help?
I use regular detergent and oxy clean prewash as my laundry soap.
Well, I don't know if this applies to you or not, but I can guarantee it WILL apply to people who will choose to view this question in the future.
That said, might I suggest a completely tangential approach?
Forget trying to protect the shirt, regardless of remedies abound, I have never found any of them to work for me. Perhaps this is because I have hyperhydrosis (excessive sweating) and as a result, for many, MANY years I would ruin shirts continually and no advice anywhere was ever to avail me of the awful situation.
About ten years ago, I found a product online called "Maxim Anti-Perspirant" and honestly, it was an amazing life-saver in so many ways. I don't use this product anymore as it is fairly expensive for the type of product that it is and I found a similar enough product that I can buy at Walgreen's, pretty much any other drug store as well or grocery stores. The brand I've been using now for the last 6 years or so is Certain-Dri. It comes in a stick or roll-on. You do have to make sure that you don't get the "A.M." one though as that does not work the same and intended for "refreshing." You have to put it on at night before bed, but after a few weeks, you only need to apply it every other day to every couple days depending... some people still have to use it every day, but that is less common. There are other brands out there as well such as "DrySol" and a few more that I cannot think of at the moment.
If in fact, the reason you're having trouble with stains is excessive sweating, you really should try something like this! You will even feel much more self-confident with not having to be worrying about the sweat while out in public after a few days of use even.
If this doesn't apply to you, I'm sorry, I wish I had a tried and true method, but as I mentioned, nothing ever worked for me and I sincerely hope that if not you, that at least someone in the future will find this information so that they will discover that it is not only invaluable, but utterly life-transforming!
I recommend a spray bottle with vinegar (straight or diluted with water). It should help with deodorizing and act as a very mild anti-microbial.
Or a paste of baking soda and water may be helpful.
Both will not stain the clothing and can stay on for days. You can also put vinegar into your wash cycle to amp up the deodorizing effects.
Just stop using anti-perspirant which is the most common cause of this.
