Laundry Care
# How to Remove Sunscreen Stains from Towels and Linen
With spring arriving on the Northern Beaches and the weather warming up, the sunscreen is finally coming out of the bathroom cabinet. But as any local resident or Airbnb host knows, keeping your skin safe often comes at the cost of your white towels and linen turning a patchy, rusty yellow.
The quick answer: Sunscreen stains are oil-based and reactive. To remove them, pre-treat the dry stain with a heavy-duty liquid detergent or dish soap to break down the oils. Let it sit for 15 to 30 minutes, then wash in warm water. Never use chlorine bleach, as it reacts with the sunscreen ingredients and makes the yellow stains worse.
If you are dealing with a pile of stained beach towels or white sheets, here is our practical guide to getting them clean.
Most chemical sunscreens contain an ingredient called *avobenzone*. When avobenzone mixes with sweat and the natural minerals found in our tap water (like iron), it creates a chemical reaction that looks very similar to rust.
Because it’s an oil-based formula designed to be water-resistant on your skin, it is also highly resistant to a standard cold-water machine wash.
For the best chance at saving your white towels or favourite t-shirt, tackle the stain as soon as possible before it sets.
Before the item goes into the washing machine, tackle the oil base of the sunscreen. Apply a high-quality liquid laundry detergent directly to the stained area. If you don't have that, a good grease-cutting dishwashing liquid works well. Gently rub it in with your fingers or a soft brush and let it sit for at least 15 to 30 minutes.
Wash the item on a warm cycle. Cold water won't shift the grease, and water that is too hot can sometimes bake the stain into the fibres. A standard 40°C wash is usually the sweet spot.
When the wash finishes, check the stained area before you throw it in the dryer. The heat of a tumble dryer will set the stain permanently. If the yellow mark is still visible, repeat the pre-treatment process, or hang it on the line in direct Sydney sunshine—the sun is a fantastic natural bleaching agent for light lingering marks.
The most common mistake we see people make is reaching for the chlorine bleach as soon as they spot a yellow stain on a white towel.
Chlorine bleach actually reacts with the avobenzone in the sunscreen, oxidising it and setting the stain into a permanent, bright orange-yellow mark. If you need to use a brightening agent, stick to an oxygen-based bleach (like Napisan or OxiClean) mixed with warm water.
If you run an Airbnb or holiday rental in Dee Why, Manly, or anywhere along the peninsula, sunscreen on white bath towels and bed sheets is a constant headache from September through to April. Trying to spot-treat every individual towel takes a massive amount of time during a tight turnover window.
Providing darker-coloured beach towels for your guests specifically for beach use is the easiest way to prevent them from ruining your premium white bath towels.
If the summer laundry pile is getting out of hand, it might be time to outsource. We handle commercial wash, dry, and fold services for local holiday rentals, saving hosts hours of pre-treating and washing.
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Tired of dealing with piles of sandy, sunscreen-stained towels?
Soak Laundry offers convenient pickup and delivery across the Northern Beaches. Book a pickup today and let us handle the summer laundry load. For more tips on keeping your linen fresh, browse our Laundry Advice hub.
No, chlorine bleach reacts with sunscreen ingredients (like avobenzone) and will turn the stain a permanent, dark yellow or rusty orange. Use an oxygen-based stain remover instead.
Cold water struggles to break down the water-resistant oils in sunscreen. A warm wash (around 40°C) is much more effective after pre-treating the stain with detergent.
Because sunscreens are designed to be water and sweat-resistant, they have a heavy oil base. If you don't pre-treat the oil, standard washing machines often can't penetrate the barrier to wash the stain away.
Advice from SOAK Laundry, Dee Why NSW. Book a laundry pickup or call 0460 120 120.