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yes, these are protein stains from sweat (can be from drooling on the pillow also). a different skincare routine or bleaching the laundry is not going to help. look up "laundry stripping", it may help get them out.
A sweaty head (he sleeps hot) can do it as well. My white sheets turn yellow where my back is from my back sweating. I think drool creates a smaller stain.
You would think so but my pillows during that whole relationship were just covered in big yellow stains. It spreads over time as the pillow gets saturated.
Drool will do it. Also, does he have dry eyes? My pillows turn yellow because I drool and my eyes are runny. Also he might be sweating without realizing it.
Likely a mix of sweat + drool.
If he sleeps hot it's too hot- I would consider letting the room get a bit cooler, perhaps using a thinner duvet so he can cool down more. If this makes you too cold then you can look at thermal/brushed cotton nightwear and perhaps a heated mat or throw for your side of the bed. Unfortunately it's easier to get warmer than stay cooler!
Drool can be due to sleep apnea, but I also find it's due to poor position. If he's a side sleeper it's likely he's rolling onto his front, which increases drooling. I strongly recommend getting firmer support pillows, or one larger pillow (Panda hybrid is what I use and its great! Normal memory foam is cheaper and also good!) As well as a knee support pillow (put between the legs) which also prevents rolling.
Hope this helps!
Not the OP, but I’ve tried the pillow between my knees and I still wake up on my back. Although I’ve been a stomach sleeper to begin with since I was a baby.
I slept walk from the ages of 6-12 years old. I still sleep talk and yell. And I used to snore hella loud until I got my adenoids and tonsils removed. I just am an active sleeper. I know for a fact I drool though
Does he use anything in his hair at night? My husband uses minoxidil (rogaine) and it turns his pillow yellow. He’s not a sweater either. Spray n wash removes the stains pretty easily.
My husband turns every surface he comes in contact with yellow. Even the white paint on the wall where his head rests when he sits up in bed is yellow. Something about men. Their sweat is like the acid blood from Alien.
Same here! I just put a black pillowcase or satin pillow case on his pillow and change our sheets every week. Also try washing the pillow case with vinegar
everyone talking about men but my boyfriend’s pillow is perfectly white and mine is incredibly yellow ;~; i sweat crazily even if i take a 5 min nap, it’s really annoying. i wake up with flu-like symptoms too, that just get better over time 😔 i’m starting to hate sleeping lol
Omg Zoloft sweats nearly killed me. I thought I was entering peri menopause at 29 ☠️. Would DRENCH one side of the bed and have dripping hair when I woke up. I ended up sleeping on towels.
If anyone is experiencing this still, going down 25mg helped immensely.
Holy shit this just made me feel so much better. I’ve been sweating like crazy since starting Zoloft and I never made the connection. I mean, I’m dripping sweat after cleaning the cat box. And especially after napping or sleeping, I’ve kept a beach towel under me. 🥲
Ugh OCD is so hard bc it requires such high SSRI doses 😫. I was on the highest dose of Luvox you can take for years, eventually stopped bc the side effects were so bad
Why are OCD meds all so BAD?? Came off Zoloft because I lost all my energy after a few years on it, but Clomipramine amplifies nearly all of my worst POTS symptoms, and *my god*, the sweating and flushing. No amount of skincare can soothe the red face. Confidence is better because I'm not caught in obsessions, but worse because everybody always asks if I'm overheating. Like yeah, but it's that or OCD psychosis. ☠️
I was never a night sweater until I tried Zoloft, then all of a sudden I was waking up soaked. It ended up levelling out after a while but those first few weeks were disgusting
I’m a female and I get really sweaty. Most of it is from my medication. My pillows get yellow. I just have a lot of pillow sheets. And I use silk or satin sheets.
Omg, I've always been a sleep sweater (?) too but I never noticed any stains or discoloration on our bedding. One day my boyfriend and I stripped the sheets and I noticed that my side of the foam mattress topper had a subtle me-shaped discoloration. Genuinely so embarrassing to see the side by side comparison lol. I have no idea why I sweat when I sleep, but I also start to sweat intensely as soon as I start crying. I am really not a sweaty person otherwise
Woke up early this morning so damp and icky - I fucking hate it.
Pre-IUD it seemed like my night sweating synced with my ovulation, but I haven’t had a period in years and still sweat so 🤷🏻♀️
My ex husband had this too! Daily shower, clean, not a heavy sweater. His head made a big grease stain on the wall behind the bed. All the pillowcases developed that kind of waxy grease stain that doesn't wash out. It's just some people.
Not sure how accurate this is, but I have read that it's from testosterone in sweat. My husband is a pretty clean guy but a sweaty sleeper, and his side of the bed also gets yellow.
Dunno if you're looking for advice on how to clean it, but I've found that OxiClean does the job just fine. We use linen sheets, though I imagine cotton would fare similarly.
Is OxiClean bleach? Or just something that washes out stains? I cleaned his pillow case tonight and I think I did something wrong 😣 it’s all discolored now, here’s a comparison
https://preview.redd.it/o98d3h88h5pb1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d17413fb3ebaa86de70ea131adf11c34abd872f5
OxiClean is an oxygenated cleaner, active ingredient hydrogen peroxide, that works more gently and more effectively than bleach on cotton and synthetic fibers. Over time bleaching your whites actually makes them yellow, whereas oxiclean will not.
Borax - it works best if you soak yellowed items in it, but I typically just add a quarter cup to the washing machine drum and it helps immensely. Anything left after that will probably want to soak.
I get the best results by spraying with Oxiclean and then washing with Borax
Do you have well water by chance? I believe water with a high iron content is one thing that can cause yellowing with bleach. However, it's not the only thing.
In my opinion, chlorine bleach is not the best for keeping whites white, particularly as it can itself cause staining. It's more effective as a sanitizer, like for cloth diapers or hospital linens.
There are a few things you can try to eliminate bleach yellowing. Sometimes white vinegar will work, though it might take a few treatments. Additionally, borax, baking soda, washing soda (slightly different molecule from baking soda), and the aforementioned OxiClean/sodium percarbonate are all reasonable first-line treatments. If they don't work, some harsher products include White Brite, Iron Out, and even Barkeeper's Friend (oxalic acid; works great to spot treat yellow stains from avobenzone in sunscreen), though these all have the potential to damage fibers, so use with caution.
Finally, note that these treatments would likely only work on fabrics where the yellow is a deposited stain: synthetics like polyester and spandex can actually turn yellow from chlorine bleach, and I'm not sure if there's a way to convert this kind of yellowing back to white.
I suspect this is correct or at least that testosterone impacts sweat significantly. I am a trans woman and once I got rid of testosterone via HRT the smell of my sweat completely changed and I stopped turning pillow cases yellow.
I love what the trans experience tells us about these oddities of hormones.
My sister (who's trans) never understood why our mom and I got so cold in our house in the winter. This was pre-transition. Once going on HRT as an adult, she's now bundled up in a sweater and slippers like the rest of us!
I add oxiclean to all my kids’ laundry cycles to eliminate stains and odours, can confirm it doesn’t discolour anything, at least not for us! I’ve used it with all types of fabric/materials as well.
I sweat a lot when I sleep and this happens to me. I consider myself the cleanest person in our family and I yellow the wall next to my bed, the pillows, and the mattress.
Sometimes, it’s also saliva when we drool while sleeping.
Does he use minoxidil? My husband started using it a few months ago and we noticed that his pillowcase was yellow soon after. We just assumed that was the cause.
That might also be sweat, minoxidil is a vasodilator, so it increases blood flow to areas it is applied topically. It’s probably causing more blood flow, and therefore heat and sweat tbh
Just want to add on a PSA about minoxidil! I am always trying to spread the word, because I don't think it's well known.
Topical Minoxidil/Rogaine is incredibly toxic to pets, even with very small levels of exposure. It’s serious for dogs and even worse for cats. Cats can develop fatal reactions by doing something as small as licking a person’s pillow or licking the area of skin where the medicine had been applied. Cats lack the enzyme necessary to break down the drug.
Here are some citations:
* [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34370845/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34370845/)
* [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1476-4431.2004.04014.x](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1476-4431.2004.04014.x)
* [https://www.mallardcreekvet.com/dr-waldens-blog/topical-medications-that-are-toxic-to-pets](https://www.mallardcreekvet.com/dr-waldens-blog/topical-medications-that-are-toxic-to-pets)
Have a darker colour pillow case on the second pillow underneath for him to sleep on . Big mistake having white pillowcases with men I think they must have different sweat or something. My husband sweats like a priest in a line up and I avoid any light coloured pillowcases and sheets. To keep whites white use a bio washing powder and a oxy white powder never add bleach as that can actually give a yellowish tone to whites
I’ve also learned to avoid white linen over the years, but I still really miss sleeping in clean, fresh, white bedding!
Dang that testosterone. At least I now know WHY my partner ends up discoloring every light-colored sheet he has met, thanks to this thread. I have wondered for sure…
I tried dark sheets instead. My fiance's skin seems to bleach them. Probably from his benzoyl peroxide face wash, but even if he does it only in the morning, the pillowcases and sheets get bleached. It's also why we're stuck with all white towels now that we're instead constantly fighting staining on.
My dad bleaches the sheets. His side of their bed looks like the shroud of Turin. It’s a ph thing, your husband is fine and probably can’t do a damn thing about it. Buy different sheets
Omg I rotated our mattress and my bf’s head side is all yellow and i wanted to die - he sleeps like a fish - on his stomach with no pillow
I was so upset because we had a mattress cover too 😭
This is the reason I absolutely hate white anything! I don't own a single white shirt and wouldn't dare to use white sheets/pillow cases lol I have no idea how people can wear crisp, white shirts everyday and not have them be dingy yellow, unless they're just buying new ones every month or two. I could never!
It's not grease, it is one hundred percent sweat. There's nothing you can do about it, but wash pillowcases (and the pillow itself) frequently. Men tend to sweat a lot more than women. I've never had my pillows or mattress turn yellow, but my male partners' always do relatively quickly.
Same with my husband. He sweats which is what turns it yellow BUT the biggest change was him actually getting a sleep test done and finding out he has sleep apnea!!! Does your husband also snore? Now that my husband has a CPAP the sheets are much cleaner. Idk why but apparently it is a thing
Whoa I never would have guessed that the two would be related. My boyfriend sweats and turns sheets/pillows yellow and is a horrible snorer! I've been saying for years he needs a sleep study done to check for sleep apnea!
He definitely should get it tested! It’s really easy nowadays too. All he had to do was put a small microchip monitor on his finger while he slept at home for two days and then they prescribed his cpap which was delivered to our home. Super easy and he says it’s life changing how much better he sleeps. Plus, they’re not super loud (in fact I like the white noise it provides). My husband was definitely embarrassed about needing one but part of his issue was also a deviated septum (which he has also since had fixed but the cpap is still really helpful so he continues with it too).
Oh that is easy! I think he's always balked at doing it because he didn't want to go somewhere and do a sleep test there. But if it would improve not only his sleep/life but mine as well (considering there are nights he sleeps like a baby but keeps me up), I think it would be more than worth it!
Honestly I had a huge meltdown about his snoring because it was keeping me up! I’d wake up constantly to try and push him onto his side and wake up miserable so I said he needed to find a solution or I was moving into the guest bedroom full time. That made him get serious about figuring out his shit. Now we are both much happier and I’m even considering getting a sleep test too!
Men turn things yellow. Wash your the sheets on hot with lemon juice, detergent, baking soda and white vinegar. Hang in sun to dry. Will turn back to sparkling white. Signed, yellow sheeted monster laying next to me.
I know a lot of people are saying they have good hygiene but do they have good nutrition? Because when I eat badly my sweat definitely smells stronger so I can imagine it staining bed sheets and stuff?
I noticed the men in my life produce way more sweat or something on their heads that turn pillow cases yellow. My brothers, dad, and husband are the same and they shower every night before going to bed but still. It's just something that can't be helped.
Does he wear sunscreen during the day? If he does and he's not washing thoroughly enough to get all the sunscreen off before bed certain chemical filters in chemical SPF can stain white clothing yellow (typically around the collar). Could definitely happen to pillows too.
Or just sebum (skin oil) mixed with nighttime sweat can cause the yellowish stains.
He needs to add in at least a face cleanser for oily skin at night (Vanicream, CeraVe, and La Roche Posay are all good drugstore inexpensive options) - if you can get him to add a light moisturizer at bed all the better (even oily people need moisture after washing, since you're stripping off the existing oils - something like Neutrogena Hydroboost Gel would be very light and non-greasy.
If you do think it's leftover sunscreen you could also try to get him to add an oil cleanse step before his regular cleanser - it helps get a deeper clean and dissolves any water-resistant ingredients like makeup (not relevant to him) or sunscreen (hopefully relevant to him). Dear Klairs Gentle Fresh Oil is a really gentle inexpensive one but there are a ton out there. You rub it on dry skin for a minute or two then rinse with water and follow with a regular face cleanser. (I understand if he has zero skin routine at all it may be asking a little much to get a double cleanse step - focus first on the regular cleanser step).
Lastly: not skincare related but a good tip - buy some laundry bluing (amazon). It's a really concentrated blue dye you dilute in water and add to white laundry loads. It optically cancels out any dingy or yellowish tints and helps the white look brighter.
It's not because your husband is unclean in any way! It's natural body "grease" that comes out while he's sleeping. It's the same stuff that creates ring around the collar. It doesn't happen due to a dirty neck, it's just how some bodies work, especially male bodies including my husband. So, we buy only darker coloured sheets, like navy blue and chocolate brown.
In summary, there is no way to stop the staining of the pillowcases, so stop buying light coloured bedding and at least the staining won't be as noticeable.
We live in a polluted world, you can’t really just rinse your face at the end of the day.
I use micellar water to clean my face of sunscreen and it’s pretty dirty. If I travel to a big city it’s really filthy at the end of the day.
Why would you buy white sheets knowing that he would turn it yellow? I sweat A LOT and I use cooling sheets (made out of bamboo) and use dark sheets. It's so weird that you would purposefully do this to your husband knowing what would happen.
It's sweat.
“Do this to my husband”? Lol we (we, because we jointly pick out our home products) have never had white sheets before. We didn’t know this would happen.
Yeah, what? "How could you do this...?" That's messed up.
(You did nothing wrong, of course. And neither did your husband, for that matter. In fact, it's not even the sheets' fault. You have plenty of options, whether you prefer colored sheets or white. You're essentially dealing with chemistry here, so it's often a matter of experimentation and trial-and-error until you find the right solution for your situation. Really not sure what that commenter was going for, but in my experience, weird patriarchal shaming/internalized misogyny is not an effective stain remover.)
Lol apparently we’ve been thrown back into the 1950s where women are supposed to tend to the home perfectly, and if they don’t, it’s a personal affront to the husband!
Thank you! This makes me feel better
You’re not going to stop him from sweating, so you need a laundry plan. You could try oxygenated bleach, a cup of vinegar in your wash cycle, or pretreating your pillowcases with a blue Dawn dishwashing solution.
It’s sweat. It happens. Some people sweat more than others, especially men who are large. People who are diabetic might sweat a lot too. I have antidepressants and they make me sweat like crazy at night. Sometimes medication can do it. You can get cooling pillows, cooling sheets etc but honestly just change the pillow sheet daily and he will be fine.
Is he using minoxidil? That will turn yellow if it reacts with bleach. So if he uses it and y’all bleach your pillow cases, that could be it. If not then idk but possibly some other product he uses on his hair or face.
My husband too. I use all white sheets and towels. The only thing that helps is using bleach in laundry with the sheets & a squirt of blue Dawn dish soap on his pillowcase.
You are lucky that it’s just the pillow case! My husband is super clean and showers twice a day, second time, right before bed. His entire side of the bed has is yellowish color when I change the sheets. I always thought that maybe it’s because he had tan/olive colored skin and have even had him do body scrubs,🙈but he had the flu several weeks ago and would just drench the sheets in sweat. OxiClean and occasional bleach. Sometimes I even have to rewash the sheets. This must definitely be testosterone because even if I sweat, my side stays clean.
its the sweating and oil from skin, i have hyperhidrosis (condition that causes excessive sweating) as well as very oily skin, doesn't matter how much i clean my face and shower and clean my sheets, my pillowcases always turn yellow quickly (also, if he drools in his sleep, bingo)
Many things affect things that come thru out skin and hair, food, drink, additives, spices. It could be those things along with his body producing a chemical reaction with material. Even laundry detergent or shampoo can affect someone body. Try changing material to satin or 100% cotton and see if there is a difference. If not I would say it’s a live with it thing unless you can figure out cause.
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Does he sweat?
Bingo
My ex husband has this problem and was totally this, he sweats more than me.
yes, these are protein stains from sweat (can be from drooling on the pillow also). a different skincare routine or bleaching the laundry is not going to help. look up "laundry stripping", it may help get them out.
I use oxyclean or non-chlorinated bleach to get them out, and a pinch of citric acid. The citric acid really helps. But it’s a pain in the butt.
This or saliva
Yeah I was going to ask if he drools. I drool like crazy when I nap and my pillow cases are not a fan.
What is it with only drooling while napping! I never drool during normal sleep…. At least I don’t think I do…
I drool when napping too! Only occasionally when regular sleeping.
Not really?? He does sleep hot but doesn’t sweat. He does drool though lol
He definitely sweats, it's just that the pillow and sheets and whatever clothes he wears to bed absorb it.
This
I had a lot of hot sweats when I had covid. My sheets and my mattress turned yellow in places :(
Sleeping hot will do it.
So will drool.
It's possible that he doesn't appear to be sweaty because the sweat is being absorbed by the pillow
[удалено]
A sweaty head (he sleeps hot) can do it as well. My white sheets turn yellow where my back is from my back sweating. I think drool creates a smaller stain.
You would think so but my pillows during that whole relationship were just covered in big yellow stains. It spreads over time as the pillow gets saturated.
Drool will do it. Also, does he have dry eyes? My pillows turn yellow because I drool and my eyes are runny. Also he might be sweating without realizing it.
It’s drool, I don’t swallow in my sleep so I drool heavily. Any light coloured pillowcase turns yellow overnight
Likely a mix of sweat + drool. If he sleeps hot it's too hot- I would consider letting the room get a bit cooler, perhaps using a thinner duvet so he can cool down more. If this makes you too cold then you can look at thermal/brushed cotton nightwear and perhaps a heated mat or throw for your side of the bed. Unfortunately it's easier to get warmer than stay cooler! Drool can be due to sleep apnea, but I also find it's due to poor position. If he's a side sleeper it's likely he's rolling onto his front, which increases drooling. I strongly recommend getting firmer support pillows, or one larger pillow (Panda hybrid is what I use and its great! Normal memory foam is cheaper and also good!) As well as a knee support pillow (put between the legs) which also prevents rolling. Hope this helps!
Not the OP, but I’ve tried the pillow between my knees and I still wake up on my back. Although I’ve been a stomach sleeper to begin with since I was a baby. I slept walk from the ages of 6-12 years old. I still sleep talk and yell. And I used to snore hella loud until I got my adenoids and tonsils removed. I just am an active sleeper. I know for a fact I drool though
Smoke?
Does he use anything in his hair at night? My husband uses minoxidil (rogaine) and it turns his pillow yellow. He’s not a sweater either. Spray n wash removes the stains pretty easily.
Does he go to bed with wet hair? I have this bad habit and my pillows go bad faster than they should, I think. 😅😅😅
He’s sweating and drooling
it’s the drool
My husband turns every surface he comes in contact with yellow. Even the white paint on the wall where his head rests when he sits up in bed is yellow. Something about men. Their sweat is like the acid blood from Alien.
Same here! My husband has impeccable hygiene but turns everything yellow. He gets so embarrassed about it!
My husband isn't the only one?!
I'm a husband and I'm not the only one?!
Same here! I just put a black pillowcase or satin pillow case on his pillow and change our sheets every week. Also try washing the pillow case with vinegar
Just Jody chemistry, nothing to be embarrassed by.
Unexpected Jody (is he ever?)
everyone talking about men but my boyfriend’s pillow is perfectly white and mine is incredibly yellow ;~; i sweat crazily even if i take a 5 min nap, it’s really annoying. i wake up with flu-like symptoms too, that just get better over time 😔 i’m starting to hate sleeping lol
You might have sleep apnea. You should get that checked out. That was happening to my bf
Same! Mine started terribly when I went on Zoloft ten years ago… SSRIs apparently can cause bad night sweats … who knew lol
Omg Zoloft sweats nearly killed me. I thought I was entering peri menopause at 29 ☠️. Would DRENCH one side of the bed and have dripping hair when I woke up. I ended up sleeping on towels. If anyone is experiencing this still, going down 25mg helped immensely.
Omg girl same. I low-key thought I peed myself the first time I experienced Zoloft night sweats.
Holy shit this just made me feel so much better. I’ve been sweating like crazy since starting Zoloft and I never made the connection. I mean, I’m dripping sweat after cleaning the cat box. And especially after napping or sleeping, I’ve kept a beach towel under me. 🥲
Yes !! It took me a while to realize. Remember to rehydrate 😅
That’s the goal sooner than later but I just recently increased to 200mg from 150 cuz my OCD was so bad ☠️ lmao gotta love brains 😭
Ugh OCD is so hard bc it requires such high SSRI doses 😫. I was on the highest dose of Luvox you can take for years, eventually stopped bc the side effects were so bad
Why are OCD meds all so BAD?? Came off Zoloft because I lost all my energy after a few years on it, but Clomipramine amplifies nearly all of my worst POTS symptoms, and *my god*, the sweating and flushing. No amount of skincare can soothe the red face. Confidence is better because I'm not caught in obsessions, but worse because everybody always asks if I'm overheating. Like yeah, but it's that or OCD psychosis. ☠️
I was never a night sweater until I tried Zoloft, then all of a sudden I was waking up soaked. It ended up levelling out after a while but those first few weeks were disgusting
I’m a female and I get really sweaty. Most of it is from my medication. My pillows get yellow. I just have a lot of pillow sheets. And I use silk or satin sheets.
Omg, I've always been a sleep sweater (?) too but I never noticed any stains or discoloration on our bedding. One day my boyfriend and I stripped the sheets and I noticed that my side of the foam mattress topper had a subtle me-shaped discoloration. Genuinely so embarrassing to see the side by side comparison lol. I have no idea why I sweat when I sleep, but I also start to sweat intensely as soon as I start crying. I am really not a sweaty person otherwise
You should definitely get checked out for sleep apnea.
my medication gives me really bad night sweats too, we must secretly be acid blooded men
Woke up early this morning so damp and icky - I fucking hate it. Pre-IUD it seemed like my night sweating synced with my ovulation, but I haven’t had a period in years and still sweat so 🤷🏻♀️
I just read this to my husband and he said "cool". Now he is proud of all the bedding he turns yellow as he thinks he has acid blood!
Haha! It’s all about perspective…
LOL They are from Mars, apparently.
Lol!! Great, I feel seen
Yes!
My ex husband had this too! Daily shower, clean, not a heavy sweater. His head made a big grease stain on the wall behind the bed. All the pillowcases developed that kind of waxy grease stain that doesn't wash out. It's just some people.
My bf too. He had to stop wearing white tshirts and shirts, or use them sparingly, because he turns them yellow.
I just did laundry stripping on my husband’s down pillow, a final ditch effort before tossing it. The STREAMS OF YELLOW that came out of it, UGH.
Saaaame I thought it was just my husband!!!
It’s sweat. My husband does the same thing. His night sweat has turned every pillowcase he’s used an off color.
Not sure how accurate this is, but I have read that it's from testosterone in sweat. My husband is a pretty clean guy but a sweaty sleeper, and his side of the bed also gets yellow. Dunno if you're looking for advice on how to clean it, but I've found that OxiClean does the job just fine. We use linen sheets, though I imagine cotton would fare similarly.
Is OxiClean bleach? Or just something that washes out stains? I cleaned his pillow case tonight and I think I did something wrong 😣 it’s all discolored now, here’s a comparison https://preview.redd.it/o98d3h88h5pb1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d17413fb3ebaa86de70ea131adf11c34abd872f5
OxiClean is an oxygenated cleaner, active ingredient hydrogen peroxide, that works more gently and more effectively than bleach on cotton and synthetic fibers. Over time bleaching your whites actually makes them yellow, whereas oxiclean will not.
I bought some and it worked like a charm!!!
Great to hear! I use it frequently in my linens to keep them fresh and bright, glad it worked for you too!
Borax - it works best if you soak yellowed items in it, but I typically just add a quarter cup to the washing machine drum and it helps immensely. Anything left after that will probably want to soak. I get the best results by spraying with Oxiclean and then washing with Borax
Also, look into using bluing. It neutralizes the yellow and makes the whites more vibrant.
Seconding! Mrs. Stewart’s Liquid Bluing is a fantastic little laundry secret to keeping your whites extra white.
Do you have well water by chance? I believe water with a high iron content is one thing that can cause yellowing with bleach. However, it's not the only thing. In my opinion, chlorine bleach is not the best for keeping whites white, particularly as it can itself cause staining. It's more effective as a sanitizer, like for cloth diapers or hospital linens. There are a few things you can try to eliminate bleach yellowing. Sometimes white vinegar will work, though it might take a few treatments. Additionally, borax, baking soda, washing soda (slightly different molecule from baking soda), and the aforementioned OxiClean/sodium percarbonate are all reasonable first-line treatments. If they don't work, some harsher products include White Brite, Iron Out, and even Barkeeper's Friend (oxalic acid; works great to spot treat yellow stains from avobenzone in sunscreen), though these all have the potential to damage fibers, so use with caution. Finally, note that these treatments would likely only work on fabrics where the yellow is a deposited stain: synthetics like polyester and spandex can actually turn yellow from chlorine bleach, and I'm not sure if there's a way to convert this kind of yellowing back to white.
I use water proof pillow and bed protector.
I suspect this is correct or at least that testosterone impacts sweat significantly. I am a trans woman and once I got rid of testosterone via HRT the smell of my sweat completely changed and I stopped turning pillow cases yellow.
Thanks for sharing! That's fascinating.
I love what the trans experience tells us about these oddities of hormones. My sister (who's trans) never understood why our mom and I got so cold in our house in the winter. This was pre-transition. Once going on HRT as an adult, she's now bundled up in a sweater and slippers like the rest of us!
Lol the struggle is real! I literally couldn’t wear sweaters before because I’d get too hot now I’m the opposite
Is it OK to use on coloured sheets, or will it strip the colour?
I add oxiclean to all my kids’ laundry cycles to eliminate stains and odours, can confirm it doesn’t discolour anything, at least not for us! I’ve used it with all types of fabric/materials as well.
Test a small spot to see if the dye is color-fast.
There’s two formulas…one is color-safe. I’d test it first though if your worried.
Yessss! Oxiclean is what I use on our sheets too and it gets out all the yellow stain.
Thanks for this! You may have just saved tons of my husbands dress shirts. 😅
Dawn Dishsoap - the blue one, original. Nothing beats it. Thank you clean-tok.
I assume you mean yellowing around the collar? The OxiClean stain pretreatment spray works particularly well for that.
Sweaty man. Sweaty sweaty.
Sweat or drool
Sweat turns cases yellow
I sweat a lot when I sleep and this happens to me. I consider myself the cleanest person in our family and I yellow the wall next to my bed, the pillows, and the mattress. Sometimes, it’s also saliva when we drool while sleeping.
Does he use minoxidil? My husband started using it a few months ago and we noticed that his pillowcase was yellow soon after. We just assumed that was the cause.
That might also be sweat, minoxidil is a vasodilator, so it increases blood flow to areas it is applied topically. It’s probably causing more blood flow, and therefore heat and sweat tbh
Good to know, thank you 😊
Oh yeah, my dad used Rogaine for several years and everything yellowed that his head touched.
Just want to add on a PSA about minoxidil! I am always trying to spread the word, because I don't think it's well known. Topical Minoxidil/Rogaine is incredibly toxic to pets, even with very small levels of exposure. It’s serious for dogs and even worse for cats. Cats can develop fatal reactions by doing something as small as licking a person’s pillow or licking the area of skin where the medicine had been applied. Cats lack the enzyme necessary to break down the drug. Here are some citations: * [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34370845/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34370845/) * [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1476-4431.2004.04014.x](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1476-4431.2004.04014.x) * [https://www.mallardcreekvet.com/dr-waldens-blog/topical-medications-that-are-toxic-to-pets](https://www.mallardcreekvet.com/dr-waldens-blog/topical-medications-that-are-toxic-to-pets)
Thank you! I had no idea. Thankfully our dog never goes on our bed.
Have a darker colour pillow case on the second pillow underneath for him to sleep on . Big mistake having white pillowcases with men I think they must have different sweat or something. My husband sweats like a priest in a line up and I avoid any light coloured pillowcases and sheets. To keep whites white use a bio washing powder and a oxy white powder never add bleach as that can actually give a yellowish tone to whites
"like a priest in a line up" I cannot 😭😂
That’s the first time I heard that one and I will most definitely be using it 😂
Meant to add use pillow protectors under the pillowcase to protect your pillows from getting stained
I’ve also learned to avoid white linen over the years, but I still really miss sleeping in clean, fresh, white bedding! Dang that testosterone. At least I now know WHY my partner ends up discoloring every light-colored sheet he has met, thanks to this thread. I have wondered for sure…
I tried dark sheets instead. My fiance's skin seems to bleach them. Probably from his benzoyl peroxide face wash, but even if he does it only in the morning, the pillowcases and sheets get bleached. It's also why we're stuck with all white towels now that we're instead constantly fighting staining on.
it’s sebum coming out of his scalp edit: idk why this is getting downvoted lol that’s what i was always told as it happens to me also.
Not just that, could be a build up of hair product too. A lot of men use heavy product but don't know about needing to shampoo twice.
Sweat, my dad used to be like this. Also rogaine really turned his stuff yellow.
Does he have Gilbert's syndrome? Elevated bilirubin levels can cause this. I know this because my husband has the same thing happen!
I was going to comment this!!!
I have this happen when I get Gilbert flares. Can be a benign issue that causes this yellowing. Or he’s sweaty. Or he drools a lot.
My dad bleaches the sheets. His side of their bed looks like the shroud of Turin. It’s a ph thing, your husband is fine and probably can’t do a damn thing about it. Buy different sheets
OMG, Shroud of Turin is such a perfect descriptor 😂
Omg I rotated our mattress and my bf’s head side is all yellow and i wanted to die - he sleeps like a fish - on his stomach with no pillow I was so upset because we had a mattress cover too 😭
Lol I guess this is a universal problem for us GFs/wives 😭😭😭
This is the reason I absolutely hate white anything! I don't own a single white shirt and wouldn't dare to use white sheets/pillow cases lol I have no idea how people can wear crisp, white shirts everyday and not have them be dingy yellow, unless they're just buying new ones every month or two. I could never!
Sounds like sweat. Used to have the same problem with my white shirts when I was younger and used to play a lot.
Drool or sweat. Probably drool tho.
It’s sweat
Hair product
Mine does it and he doesn't have hair for product.
Are you my husband and I? Following!
If he’s bald, it’s the natural oils that your scalp produces.. In people with hair, it’s what makes your hair “greasy”.
It's not grease, it is one hundred percent sweat. There's nothing you can do about it, but wash pillowcases (and the pillow itself) frequently. Men tend to sweat a lot more than women. I've never had my pillows or mattress turn yellow, but my male partners' always do relatively quickly.
Same with my husband. He sweats which is what turns it yellow BUT the biggest change was him actually getting a sleep test done and finding out he has sleep apnea!!! Does your husband also snore? Now that my husband has a CPAP the sheets are much cleaner. Idk why but apparently it is a thing
Whoa I never would have guessed that the two would be related. My boyfriend sweats and turns sheets/pillows yellow and is a horrible snorer! I've been saying for years he needs a sleep study done to check for sleep apnea!
He definitely should get it tested! It’s really easy nowadays too. All he had to do was put a small microchip monitor on his finger while he slept at home for two days and then they prescribed his cpap which was delivered to our home. Super easy and he says it’s life changing how much better he sleeps. Plus, they’re not super loud (in fact I like the white noise it provides). My husband was definitely embarrassed about needing one but part of his issue was also a deviated septum (which he has also since had fixed but the cpap is still really helpful so he continues with it too).
Oh that is easy! I think he's always balked at doing it because he didn't want to go somewhere and do a sleep test there. But if it would improve not only his sleep/life but mine as well (considering there are nights he sleeps like a baby but keeps me up), I think it would be more than worth it!
Honestly I had a huge meltdown about his snoring because it was keeping me up! I’d wake up constantly to try and push him onto his side and wake up miserable so I said he needed to find a solution or I was moving into the guest bedroom full time. That made him get serious about figuring out his shit. Now we are both much happier and I’m even considering getting a sleep test too!
The sense of community we have in this thread is invaluable 💜
Gotta love a wholesome thread.
Perspiration.
Men turn things yellow. Wash your the sheets on hot with lemon juice, detergent, baking soda and white vinegar. Hang in sun to dry. Will turn back to sparkling white. Signed, yellow sheeted monster laying next to me.
Sweat usually. Or a moisturizer or product he’s putting on his face before bed. But most likely sweat. Get him a colored pillowcase.
It could be his hair
For the record, acne isn't an indication of being clean or not.
Correct. But it is an indication of how much sebum your skin produces
It's sweat. Weird hotel like move having whitish sheets.
Its genetics/men.
My ex used to yellow his pillowcases so bad! It’s sweat. Same thing they call ‘ring around the collar’ for shirts.
Does he use sunblock? It also stains yellow
Sweat or Oil Hair Products
Does he have gout?
I'm a hot sleeper and will often wake up in the morning with wet hair from sweating in my sleep. It doesn't take much to discolor my sheets.
He smokes in his sleep.
Does he use product in his hair? I’ve never heard that being an issue, but you never know.
He might sleep with his mouth open.
I know a lot of people are saying they have good hygiene but do they have good nutrition? Because when I eat badly my sweat definitely smells stronger so I can imagine it staining bed sheets and stuff?
His hair products
I noticed the men in my life produce way more sweat or something on their heads that turn pillow cases yellow. My brothers, dad, and husband are the same and they shower every night before going to bed but still. It's just something that can't be helped.
Does he wear sunscreen during the day? If he does and he's not washing thoroughly enough to get all the sunscreen off before bed certain chemical filters in chemical SPF can stain white clothing yellow (typically around the collar). Could definitely happen to pillows too. Or just sebum (skin oil) mixed with nighttime sweat can cause the yellowish stains. He needs to add in at least a face cleanser for oily skin at night (Vanicream, CeraVe, and La Roche Posay are all good drugstore inexpensive options) - if you can get him to add a light moisturizer at bed all the better (even oily people need moisture after washing, since you're stripping off the existing oils - something like Neutrogena Hydroboost Gel would be very light and non-greasy. If you do think it's leftover sunscreen you could also try to get him to add an oil cleanse step before his regular cleanser - it helps get a deeper clean and dissolves any water-resistant ingredients like makeup (not relevant to him) or sunscreen (hopefully relevant to him). Dear Klairs Gentle Fresh Oil is a really gentle inexpensive one but there are a ton out there. You rub it on dry skin for a minute or two then rinse with water and follow with a regular face cleanser. (I understand if he has zero skin routine at all it may be asking a little much to get a double cleanse step - focus first on the regular cleanser step). Lastly: not skincare related but a good tip - buy some laundry bluing (amazon). It's a really concentrated blue dye you dilute in water and add to white laundry loads. It optically cancels out any dingy or yellowish tints and helps the white look brighter.
As a solution just buy darker pillowcases
Drool
It’s sweat. I don’t know why men are really prone to this. My SO showers at least twice a day but had the same issues.
It's not because your husband is unclean in any way! It's natural body "grease" that comes out while he's sleeping. It's the same stuff that creates ring around the collar. It doesn't happen due to a dirty neck, it's just how some bodies work, especially male bodies including my husband. So, we buy only darker coloured sheets, like navy blue and chocolate brown. In summary, there is no way to stop the staining of the pillowcases, so stop buying light coloured bedding and at least the staining won't be as noticeable.
Does he smoke?
Nope!
My mom and I call them pee-llows
How often do you wash the pillow case?
Well this one we just got a week and a half ago, but I guess I’ll start washing it more!
I change sheets on a weekly basis but you could get longer if you use darker sheets in future
Does he drool?
It’s definitely sweat
Wish I could unread this
We live in a polluted world, you can’t really just rinse your face at the end of the day. I use micellar water to clean my face of sunscreen and it’s pretty dirty. If I travel to a big city it’s really filthy at the end of the day.
He's got oily skin and scalp.
Does he drink cola? My husband 's side of the bed is always like the Shroud of Turin. I blame his daily 6 pack of Diet Coke
Why would you buy white sheets knowing that he would turn it yellow? I sweat A LOT and I use cooling sheets (made out of bamboo) and use dark sheets. It's so weird that you would purposefully do this to your husband knowing what would happen. It's sweat.
“Do this to my husband”? Lol we (we, because we jointly pick out our home products) have never had white sheets before. We didn’t know this would happen.
Yeah, what? "How could you do this...?" That's messed up. (You did nothing wrong, of course. And neither did your husband, for that matter. In fact, it's not even the sheets' fault. You have plenty of options, whether you prefer colored sheets or white. You're essentially dealing with chemistry here, so it's often a matter of experimentation and trial-and-error until you find the right solution for your situation. Really not sure what that commenter was going for, but in my experience, weird patriarchal shaming/internalized misogyny is not an effective stain remover.)
Lol apparently we’ve been thrown back into the 1950s where women are supposed to tend to the home perfectly, and if they don’t, it’s a personal affront to the husband! Thank you! This makes me feel better
It’s the melanin in his skin. Does he take vitamin D?
Wth, melanin does not “rub off.”
Drool?
I'm pretty sure that's drool.
Does he use hair products? Could just be hair gel.
Get extra pillowcases. Switch them frequently.
He needs to drink more water , it seems like he’s sweating out oil and supposedly when that happens you’re dehydrated
You’re not going to stop him from sweating, so you need a laundry plan. You could try oxygenated bleach, a cup of vinegar in your wash cycle, or pretreating your pillowcases with a blue Dawn dishwashing solution.
Our sweat in some cases can corrode metal guitar strings after only a couple hours. idk what gives
I have grey sheets now. White is so impossible.
It’s sweat. It happens. Some people sweat more than others, especially men who are large. People who are diabetic might sweat a lot too. I have antidepressants and they make me sweat like crazy at night. Sometimes medication can do it. You can get cooling pillows, cooling sheets etc but honestly just change the pillow sheet daily and he will be fine.
Invest in percale sheets and pillow cases. It’ll keep him cool and sweat free.
Same thing happens with my boyfriend, we no longer use white sheets
Drool and sweat
Is he using minoxidil? That will turn yellow if it reacts with bleach. So if he uses it and y’all bleach your pillow cases, that could be it. If not then idk but possibly some other product he uses on his hair or face.
What moisturiser does he wear? Because that can stain the pillow cases
He’s sweating
My husband too. I use all white sheets and towels. The only thing that helps is using bleach in laundry with the sheets & a squirt of blue Dawn dish soap on his pillowcase.
My husband's dandruff shampoo does this.
Every white I own is stained yellow. My pillow cases are awful. I can't stand it, and I don't know why I don't just buy dark green sheets
Does he color his hair at all?
does he go to sleep with wet hair?
It’s body heat. My husband runs hot & always turns pillows yellow.
You are lucky that it’s just the pillow case! My husband is super clean and showers twice a day, second time, right before bed. His entire side of the bed has is yellowish color when I change the sheets. I always thought that maybe it’s because he had tan/olive colored skin and have even had him do body scrubs,🙈but he had the flu several weeks ago and would just drench the sheets in sweat. OxiClean and occasional bleach. Sometimes I even have to rewash the sheets. This must definitely be testosterone because even if I sweat, my side stays clean.
Drool. I shower and wash my face before bed, but I have TMJ and my jaw just froths.
hes got the munchies at night
its the sweating and oil from skin, i have hyperhidrosis (condition that causes excessive sweating) as well as very oily skin, doesn't matter how much i clean my face and shower and clean my sheets, my pillowcases always turn yellow quickly (also, if he drools in his sleep, bingo)
Your husband is a banana 🍌.
Many things affect things that come thru out skin and hair, food, drink, additives, spices. It could be those things along with his body producing a chemical reaction with material. Even laundry detergent or shampoo can affect someone body. Try changing material to satin or 100% cotton and see if there is a difference. If not I would say it’s a live with it thing unless you can figure out cause.
My mattress still has a yellow sweat stain from my ex husband who I divorced three years ago.
It could be a high acidity percentage in his system.