How to Remove Stains From Swimwear - Without Fading Your Neon

How to Remove Stains From Neon Swimwear - Without Fading It

Posté par HiViz Swimwear on pmAR

Neon is bold for a reason. It stands out so that you can see your kids when it matters most. But that means when stains happen, they show more visibly. And when the fabric is neon, the wrong cleaning method can cause color loss. At HiViz Swimwear, we know you want high visibility and long-lasting wear.

Here's how to treat the most common stains in swimwear and keep your neon swim looking its brightest and best.

How to Get Sunscreen Stains Out of Neon Swimwear

Why Sunscreen Stains Swimwear

Sunscreens, especially mineral-based ones, leave behind oil and residue. These create a dull or patchy appearance on neon fabric and can discolor if left untreated.

To prevent sunscreen stains and discoloration, rinse your neon swimwear after each use and lay it flat or hang it to dry.

If you already have sunscreen stains on your neon swimwear:

Rinse the suit in warm water as soon as possible after swimming.
Apply a small amount of mild liquid detergent to the stain.
Let it sit for about 10 minutes in warm water.
Rinse thoroughly and proceed with a gentle full wash.

Avoid scrubbing unless it is necessary. Vigorous scrubbing can weaken the fibers and alter pigment structure, so if you do need to scrub the stain, we recommend doing so gently and WITH the grain of the fabric.

Nylon caveat:
Nylon traps oils more easily than polyester swimwear and fades faster from sunscreen contact. It also shows stains more quickly.

How to Get Food Stains Out of Neon Swimwear

Let’s be real, kids are messy! There is practically no chance they won’t be getting food on their neon swimwear. Here’s how to clean food stains out of neon swimwear:

Rinse the area with warm water.
Soak the swimsuit in a bowl of water with a teaspoon of mild detergent for 15 minutes.
Gently dab with a clean cloth. If more vigorous scrubbing is required, use a plastic scrub brush and scrub in one direction with the grain of the fabric.
Rinse and wash normally.

For oily foods like chocolate or ice cream, apply a drop of dish soap before soaking.

Body Oils and Sweat

Body oils mix with sunblock, chlorine, or salt and can cause discoloration on your kids’ neon swimwear. We see this in my house most commonly around the collar.

How to get sweat stains out of neon swimwear:

Saturate the neon swimwear with warm water.
Spot treat the discolored portion of the neon swimwear with mild detergent; we often also treat it with dish soap.
Soak in warm water for 10 minutes.
Rinse and follow with a regular cold wash.
Lay flat to dry.

How to Get Mildew Stains Out of Neon Swimwear

Despite our best efforts, we have all forgotten to empty the beach bag with the wet swimsuits in it. Depending on how long it’s been, it might mean that your neon swimwear has a musty smell or spots of mildew. Mildew is more likely to appear in areas where food and saliva have touched, like cuffs and collars.

How to get mildew out of swimwear:

Soak the suit in a solution of 1 part white vinegar to 4 parts warm water for 30 minutes.

Rinse thoroughly.
For mildew spots, you can use a plastic bristle brush like a tooth brush or scrub brush to gently scrub the fabric WITH the grain. We hate to say it, but this may take a little bit of time and a lot of scrubbing!
Wash with cold water.
Lay flat to air dry.

How to Get Grease Stains Out of Neon Swimwear

Aside from body oils, sunblocks, and foods, sometimes our kids get straight-up grease stains on their neon swimwear from who knows what! Cleaning grease stains from swimwear is similar to cleaning body oil, sunblocks, and fatty foods.

Saturate the area with warm water.
Apply dish soap to the grease stain and let it sit for 5 minutes.
Gently scrub in one direction with a plastic scrub brush-scrub with the grain of the fabric.
Rinse and wash normally.
Lay flat to dry.

How to Get Ink Stains Out of Neon Swimwear

Our kids' neon rash guards are worn all the time, even for non-water-related activities. This means that sometimes my kids are in them when they are doing things like coloring and writing. This means we’re often getting ink on them! Getting ink stains out of fabrics can be tricky. This tip is one my grandmother taught me and one I’ve used many times on my kids’ neon swimwear! [and the 1,000 other things they've gotten ink on!]

Saturate the area with warm water.
Apply dish soap to the ink stain and let it sit for 5-10 minutes.
Saturate the ink stain with rubbing alcohol.
Rub the fabric together between your fingers for 30-60 seconds, and then, while holding it under warm water, continue to rub. The stain should wash out. If not, gently scrub in one direction with a plastic scrub brush-scrub with the grain of the fabric.
Rinse and wash normally.
Lay flat to dry.

A tried and true tip for cleaning stains out of swimwear.

At HiViz Swimwear, we chose polyester neon fabric for one major reason: it performs better. Especially when it comes to color retention, durability, and stain resistance. If you’ve ever owned a neon suit that faded or turned patchy, you’ve likely experienced the downside of neon nylon. Polyester neon swimwear is hydrophobic, meaning it repels water. It also means that stains generally stay on the SURFACE of the fibers and do not penetrate them.

From many stains and much trial and error, we have found that a short soak in warm water, or saturating a stained area in warm water, tends to work better than the generally recommended ‘cold water’ for stain treatment. This is because it gently loosens the fibers and which enables better, easier stain removal! Please avoid long soaks and the use of hot water.

Always finish any treatment with a full rinse and a cold wash. Never use bleach, hot water, or harsh cleaners.

A note about nylon swimwear stain removal:

Nylon neon swimwear is much more prone to discoloration and color loss from treating stains. Nylon swimwear does not have the same durable dyeing process as polyester swimwear does. Nylon neon swimwear will lose color with every wear, and with detergents and scrubbing. Warm and hot water will cause color to leech out of nylon swimwear more rapidly.

Teach safety before fun.

Teach Safety First - The water is like the road.

We teach our kids not to go near the road without an adult. Not to chase toys into the road-and they listen. We teach them that it is dangerous. So we can teach our kids that water is the same. You do not go near it without an adult. You never go into it chasing your toys. It is dangerous.

There is plenty of time to teach them how to have fun after we teach them safety.

In-Water Water Safety:

Make sure to engage your children in conversations about appropriate actions when they witness another swimmer in distress.

Things to make sure you let them know:

Do not enter the water themselves, even if it's their sibling
Instead, scream for help, attract the attention of adults
Call emergency services if they are capable.

This knowledge empowers children to take the right actions while staying safe and potentially avoid an even more serious situation.

FAQs

WHY THE SAFEST SWIMSUIT COLOR IS NEON

Neon swimwear has been proven to be the most visible color when submerged, making neon the best swimsuit color for visibility. Dressing your kids in our neon rash guards will make them stand out at the beach, pool, or splash pad! You can rest easy knowing you'll easily be able to keep an eye on them.

WHY HIVZ NEON SWIMWEAR STAY SO BRIGHT

When we started HiViz and were searching for 'the right' material for our suits we were looking for high-quality material with great colorfastness-that is how well the material retains color. Most swimwear companies use nylon spandex blends, we don't. The way color is bound to polyester fibers is in a much more permanent way than how nylon is dyed. This means that polyester will hold onto the color while nylon swimwear bleeds color every time it gets wet causing recurring colorloss and bleacing out the color. When you're buying swimwear for it's bright neon color, bleeding color and lightening is not what you want-this is why HiViz customer's love our polyester blend!