Dye family: alcohol or a long oxygen soak
How to get self-tanner out
DHA reacts with skin and fabric proteins to make brown. On sheets and white tops it acts like a dye.
Do this first
Rinse cold
Fresh stain
- Rinse cold
- Gently work in detergent
- Oxygen soak
- Wash
Dried or old
- Overnight oxygen soak
- Whites: diluted chlorine after test
- Fabric care
- Dark sheets on tanning nights.
- Time
- 1 h to overnight
- How to tell
- Look: orange-brown smudges; Feel: none; Smell: biscuity
Where this fix comes from
We check every fix against these published guides. We do not run a test lab of our own.
Before you start
- Test on a hidden seam first.
- Never mix cleaners.
- Keep it out of the dryer until the stain is gone.