The state of your bed sheets will guarantee if you will have a dream or a nightmare or even a bright day.
Sleeping on stained bed sheets can affect your sleep pattern just as terrible perfumes affect the mood.
In addition, it can affect your skin and make sleeping less appealing, and a few guesses come to mind when thinking of the causes of brown stains on bed sheets.
Brown Stains on bed sheets are a regular sight for people who sweat a lot. While excessive sweating isn’t the only cause of having brown stains on your bed sheets, they’re the best guess, especially if you do not menstruate or nose bleed. Also, because dried sweat leaves a brownish stain on fabrics, it is easier to guess that you sweat heavily at night.
Why Are There Brown Stains on My Bed Sheets?
There can be different reasons you keep seeing brown stains on your bed sheets, and while it’ll be more profitable for you to observe by yourself to know why there are brown stains on your bed sheets, here are some suggestions for the causes of brown stains on bed sheets.
#1. Sweating While Sleeping
It is impossible not to sweat as a human being, especially during heat seasons; however, excessive sweating is a thing for some people, and no matter the weather, they sweat in their sleep.
While it is easy not to notice the color change on your clothes as you sweat during the day, probably because you frequently change your clothes, it is easy to spot the brown stains on your sheet.
In addition, dried sweat alongside stains from your hair products can change the color of your sheets into yellow, orange, or brown, depending on the situation.
Not everyone who sweats excessively has their sheets change color, but those whose sweat changes color suffer from Chromhidrosis, a condition that makes the sweat turn brown when dried.
You can see the color change in their underarms, and apart from the discomfort it causes, it is not life-threatening except in cases where the sheets are not washed regularly, and they end up breeding bacteria.
#2. Drooling While Sleeping
Dried saliva can also leave a brownish stain on your sheets. On exposure to air, the enzymes in your saliva can change color; they are not visible.
However, their presence on your bed sheets can never be mistaken because they leave both stains and odor, none of which is pleasant.
Fortunately, saliva stains may be unpleasant and challenging to deal with, but they’re surely not permanent, and all it takes is properly washing your bed sheets with a friendly scenting detergent to get rid of the smell.
The familiar places where you can see saliva stains are on your pillow cases where you rest your head, and brown stains on other parts of the bed may mean something different.
But seeing them on your pillow cases indicates dried saliva. There are other stains you could wake up on your bed sheets alongside their causes and how to remove them;
| Stains | Solutions |
|---|---|
| Dark brown stains from blood. | Scrub with vinegar and baking soda |
| Black mold spots | If you sweat heavily, air-dry your bed sheets regularly and ensure they’re always dry before fixing them on. |
| Blue stains from sweat | Soak in hot water and use vinegar or bleach for white bed sheets. |
Blood stains should be a familiar sight if you’re a lady within your menstruation age or you bleed through your nose regularly.
Blood stains on your bed sheets appear dark brown when dried and can be tough if you don’t clean Them immediately.
If you sweat excessively without air-drying your bed sheets or mattress, apart from the brown stains, you’d have mold growing on both the mattress and bed sheets.
These are all common stains that you’ll likely come across at some point, alongside how to remove them when they occur.
How Do I Get Brown Stains Out of My Bed Sheets?
One thing about sweat stains is that you’ll have trouble getting them out with regular detergent.
Therefore, you may have to use better tactics when handling sweat stains after identifying that what you’re dealing with is genuinely sweat, not saliva or other stains.
#1. Wash With Normal Detergent
Use your regular detergent to wash out some of the stains to reduce their appearance of the stains.
Of course, it’ll not eliminate the stains, but it’ll reduce how obvious it appears and make it easier for the fabric to absorb other cleaning agents.
#2. Soak The Sheets
Soaking fabrics in hot water to remove dried stains is a common practice; it may appear cliché, but it indeed works. This may not remove all the stains, but it’ll also reduce them.
#3. Use Vinegar
You can add this alongside the hot water before soaking or pouring it directly on the stains; whichever way you choose, it’ll work.
The work of vinegar as a cleaning agent has been a lifesaver for many people, it is usually the last resort for stubborn stains, and it always works.
How to Prevent Sweat Stains On Bed Sheets?
You can avoid washing sweat stains from your bed sheets by sleeping, reducing how much you sweat at night, or at least preventing the sweat from getting to your bed sheets.
Here are the tips on preventing sweat stains on your bed sheets; Wash or change your bed sheets regularly immediately after waking up.
Then, depending on the degree of stains, you can decide to scrub out the stains without deep washing them if the stains aren’t much.
But remember to take care of the stains after waking up before they dry because sweat stains are easier to wash when it is yet to dry up.
Use sheets made from natural fibers. Research shows that sheets from 100 percent organic fibers retain less sweat than synthetic fibers.
They may cost a little higher than synthetic fibers, but they’re worth it and cheaper than constantly buying bed sheets and washing agents because of sweat stains.
#1. Use Mackintosh
A mackintosh is like a cover cloth usually made of waterproof materials and does not absorb sweat.
Therefore, it will protect your bed sheets not just from sweat stains but also from saliva, hair products, and other stains that your bed sheets will likely attract.
It may not be the most comfortable for many people, but it will indeed prevent sweat stains.
#2. Use Thick Towels
You can place thick towels over your bed sheets before going to bed to absorb all the sweat while you sleep.
#3. Wear Free Clothes
The clothes you wear to bed can increase how much you sweat. If you sweat excessively, avoid wearing thick or heavy clothes that can increase how much you sweat while sleeping.
This will not automatically stop your sweat from turning brown, but it will reduce the amount of sweating.
How Do I Remove Stains From Bed Sheets Without Washing?
For people who barely have the time to do proper laundry, you can afford to remove sweat stains without going through the long process of soaking and washing.
In the methods suggested below, you can eliminate sweat stains without soaking the entire bed sheet in water.
#1. Use Baking Soda and Vinegar
Mix ¼ tablespoon of baking soda in vinegar, use a sponge to dip into the mixture, scrub the stains out, and air dry after scrubbing.
Baking soda and vinegar are everyday household items that double as cooking items and cleaning agents. They take care of all the stubborn stains that ordinary liquid soaps cannot tackle.
#2. Use Lemon Juice
Lemon juice is specifically for removing sweat smells, it also removes stains, but it is more suitable for white sheets because it acts as a bleach. Squeeze lemon juice directly on the stained areas and leave it for a few hours.
#3. Use Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide also acts as bleach on colored clothes, so it is better to use it on white clothes. Mix ¼ tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide in clean water and use it to scrub the stains and air-dry
Add vodka to water and use it to scrub the stains; leave it for at least an hour before rinsing it out and drying.
In all the above suggestions, since you’re applying chemicals or potent agents to the fabric, you’d have to rinse it out after some time so that they don’t turn into another stain themselves.
However, with a few suggestions, you can take care of the sweat stains without necessarily washing them.
Conclusion
Seeing brown stains on your bed sheets can be embarrassing and may tackle your confidence.
Thinking of another person perceiving the awful smell of dry sweat can be pretty embarrassing, and not just that, sweat stains on your bed sheets can affect the texture of your skin.
It’ll trap bacteria and other microorganisms that can cause acne.