Pit stains
Also: armpit stains · sweat stains · yellow underarm stains
Pit stains are the yellow, crusty discoloration under the arms of shirts, formed when sweat reacts with antiperspirant aluminum and body oils. Over months they stiffen the fabric, resist ordinary washing, and often spread to the collar — counting against both odor-and-cleanliness and fabric-condition on the grade.
How to detect it
- Turn the shirt inside out and check the underarm panel for yellowing
- Feel for stiffness — set-in stains harden the fabric
- Look along the inner collar, where the same residue tends to migrate
Grade impact
Pit stains hit Odor & Cleanliness (10%) and Fabric Condition (30%). Faint, washable shadowing keeps an item in Good (6); crusted, stiffened yellowing that won't lift caps it at Fair (5) or Poor (3–4), especially on light dress shirts.
Fixability
Sometimes improvable. Fresh marks respond to oxygen soaks or enzyme presoaks; set-in aluminum staining that has stiffened the weave is usually permanent. Treat before photographing, and never bleach — chlorine locks the yellow in.
How to disclose it
State it directly ('light underarm shadowing, does not lift fully') and show an inside-out close-up. It's the number-one hidden shirt flaw, so a surprise pit stain almost always triggers a return.
Pit stains — frequently asked
- Can pit stains be removed before selling?
- Fresh underarm stains often lift with an oxygen or enzyme presoak, but set-in yellowing that has stiffened the fabric is usually permanent. Never use chlorine bleach — it reacts with the residue and locks the yellow color in.
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