stained white coat

[rockdoc]

Alright, I don't know what else to do. The sleeve cuffs on my white coat gets dirty all the time, and today I finally used bleach on it. All of a sudden, the stains turned orangey and wouldn't go away even with vigorous scrubbing! It looks pretty nasty, and it has no signs of fading. Put on more bleach, and nothing happened. I only have two white coats, and I'm not about to fork out another 45 bucks to get another one, so I'm going to try to salvage this as best as I can.

Anyone got tricks on removing stains from white coats besides bleach?

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[pinkfrosting]

Aside from bleach and the regular stain removers, I don't know what to tell you. However, if you must get another white coat, there's no reason to spend $45. There are plenty of online retailers that sell white coats for $15 or so. Just FYI.

 

[colbgw02]

Alright, I don't know what else to do. The sleeve cuffs on my white coat gets dirty all the time, and today I finally used bleach on it. All of a sudden, the stains turned orangey and wouldn't go away even with vigorous scrubbing! It looks pretty nasty, and it has no signs of fading. Put on more bleach, and nothing happened. I only have two white coats, and I'm not about to fork out another 45 bucks to get another one, so I'm going to try to salvage this as best as I can.

Anyone got tricks on removing stains from white coats besides bleach?

These fabulous mystery stains, do you also get them along the pockets?

They're some sort of hospital amalgamation, whose ingredients are too numerous to list here, that is completely resistant to any known detergent. The good news is that the next class of antibiotics is probably growing in these stains. The bad news is that the resistant strain of bacteria is also there.

My mother, of course, got the stains out when I no longer needed my coat, but she refused to divulge her process - some sort of secret motherhood clearning cult, I guess.

Seriously though, this happens to everyone and you shouldn't get too upset about it unless you're going on an away elective and don't want them to think you're a slob. And definitely don't pay $45; at most you should pay $25, and that should include having your name stitched.

 

[katrinadams9]

I stain-sticked mine and left it sitting for a few hours. Then washed in hot water with detergent and bleach. The stains didn't come out on the first try, so I repeated the whole process and it was good as new. Much to my dismay, the stains are back after just a few short weeks. Grrr....

 

[Dr JPH]

www.allheart.com

You can get 2 coats for $45.00

 

[fang]

Anyone got tricks on removing stains from white coats besides bleach?

Oxyclean -- good for pen stains and discoloration from sweat.

 

[njbmd]

Alright, I don't know what else to do. The sleeve cuffs on my white coat gets dirty all the time, and today I finally used bleach on it. All of a sudden, the stains turned orangey and wouldn't go away even with vigorous scrubbing! It looks pretty nasty, and it has no signs of fading. Put on more bleach, and nothing happened. I only have two white coats, and I'm not about to fork out another 45 bucks to get another one, so I'm going to try to salvage this as best as I can.

Anyone got tricks on removing stains from white coats besides bleach?

Take the coat to the cleaners. Let the professionals get rid of the stains. My white coat were always professionally laundered and even today, four years after I graduated from medical school, my short white coat is still in plastic and white.

njbmd

 

[wiscbadger]

Take the coat to the cleaners. Let the professionals get rid of the stains. My white coat were always professionally laundered and even today, four years after I graduated from medical school, my short white coat is still in plastic and white.

njbmd

Out of curiosity, why are you saving your shorty white coat? Pristine condition or not, it'll never come out of your closet again unless you hand it down to a med student. I enjoyed ceremoniously tossing that bad boy in the garbage once I got my long coat. May it RIP.

 

[babyruth]

I found a recipe for mixing dish washer detergent, vinegar, and diluted bleach together and then rubbing it on the stain, letting it sit for 5-10 minutes, and then washing it. It worked with blood stains but I don't know about whatever you have there. I agree also with the above statement, Oxy clean is awesome and you should try that as well.

 

[that dr. jack]

first of all you need to get at least 2 coats. and $45 is a rip-off, so definitely look online.

coat cleaning essentials:
1. a washer full of super hot water
2. like 3 big scoops of oxyclean
3. liquid detergent

add oxyclean and detergent to water, put yer stinky coat in and pause the cycle to let it soak for at least 20 minutes. then restart the cycle and dry the coat. good as new, unless you got ballpoint stains which will never come out evar and you'll just need to buy another coat.

 

[sdnetrocks]

I believe the proper procedure for a stained white coat is to ceremoniously destroy it, like a torn American flag.

 

[ericdamiansean]

I believe the proper procedure for a stained white coat is to ceremoniously destroy it, like a torn American flag.

Amen to that..I can't wait to get rid of mine!

 

[Catalystik]

I get ball-point pen stains out by rubbing it with the alcohol wipes that also sanitize the stethoscope between uses. It takes three wipes, used sequentially. Be persistent.

 

[mommy2three]

pardon the barge but i could not help but give some time honored "mom" cleaning tips
this is the method i use to get almost any stain out:
fill wash tub with warmesty water item can be washed in and the following:
1 cup tide
1 cup clorox2
1 cup cascade
all of the above must be in powdered form. let swish a few times then let soak overnight
also for stains from running items (it you accidentally tossed in the red sock with your white coat) i have had success using a product called spot shot (designed for carpets) that works wonders on removing the colors

 

[ImaMedStud]

The mystery stain that scares me the most are the ones you don't even see but are told you have from behind... what the hell did I sit in/rub up against?
I second the comment of having a spare or two, ask around and you'll probably find a cheap medical supply store locally. Also, yes, Oxy-Clean is the bomb
My secret is to find an annonymous coin-op laundry (no way I'd expose that coat to my prisitne washing machine), add coat, 3 scoops of oxyclean, 1 cup of bleach and 1 cup of laundry detergent of your choice, set it on hot and then break out the rosary and pray for the bacteria who's lives I've taken.

 

[caffeinefree08]

For bloodstains on white, I hydrogen peroxide those babies right out. It's not perfect but good in a hurry.

 

[snapdad]

This is anecdotal, but on my last rotation the attending and I were talking about this. She said Zout (it's available at Target) does the trick really well, and doesn't fade colors the way bleach does. Apparently it works both as a spot remover and as a whitener when you add ~1/8 cup to a load of whites. I haven't tried it yet, but she said she swears by it.