# I got literal shit on my black sweatshirt.. How do I disinfect it and not bleed out the color? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 24, 2013, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-literal-shit-on-my-black-sweatshirt-how-do-i-disinfect-it-and-not-bleed-out-the-color/672088 "2013-10-24T05:05:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2013, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-literal-shit-on-my-black-sweatshirt-how-do-i-disinfect-it-and-not-bleed-out-the-color/672088/21 "2013-10-24T23:52:07Z")
I agree with the ‘Just wash it!’ crowd. Unless you only wear disposable underwear and live in a sterile facility, you are already surviving this plague quite well whether you realize it or not. ---
**Author:** ![Tante\_Dillie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Tante\_Dillie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tante_Dillie)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-literal-shit-on-my-black-sweatshirt-how-do-i-disinfect-it-and-not-bleed-out-the-color/672088/22 "2013-10-25T03:24:46Z")
Add a cup of white vinegar to the wash cycle and a second cup to the rinse cycle. Honest to Pete, vinegar is an excellent cleaning agent. When I was in the Army, vinegar is what we used to clean the sinks and toilets in the barracks. I still use it at home and my plumbing is the cleanest in the neighborhood. White vinegar not only cleans, it won’t bleach colors and it removes odors. ---
**Author:** ![Cerealbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Cerealbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerealbox)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-literal-shit-on-my-black-sweatshirt-how-do-i-disinfect-it-and-not-bleed-out-the-color/672088/23 "2013-10-25T03:30:46Z")
Edit: apparently sweatshirt can also mean hoodie, so my comment is mute. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-literal-shit-on-my-black-sweatshirt-how-do-i-disinfect-it-and-not-bleed-out-the-color/672088/24 "2013-10-25T11:36:06Z")
> [@Tante\_Dillie](#): > > Add a cup of white vinegar to the wash cycle and a second cup to the rinse cycle. Honest to Pete, vinegar is an excellent cleaning agent. When I was in the Army, vinegar is what we used to clean the sinks and toilets in the barracks. I still use it at home and my plumbing is the cleanest in the neighborhood. White vinegar not only cleans, it won’t bleach colors and it removes odors. Vinegar is good for cleaning sinks etc because, being acidic, it dissolves limescale. I can’t see that it would do much good for removing organic matter from clothes, though. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-literal-shit-on-my-black-sweatshirt-how-do-i-disinfect-it-and-not-bleed-out-the-color/672088/25 "2013-10-25T11:57:53Z")
Wear it as is. When someone asks, “Hey, what’s that shit on your shirt” you can chuckle, knowingly. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-literal-shit-on-my-black-sweatshirt-how-do-i-disinfect-it-and-not-bleed-out-the-color/672088/26 "2013-10-25T12:04:11Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Vinegar is good for cleaning sinks etc because, being acidic, it dissolves limescale. I can’t see that it would do much good for removing organic matter from clothes, though. It’s got to be either vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda or salt, hasn’t it? I mean, it’s always one of those things. OK, if not that, try rubbing it with a cut potato, or wash it with pennies, or eggshells. Or just wash it. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-literal-shit-on-my-black-sweatshirt-how-do-i-disinfect-it-and-not-bleed-out-the-color/672088/27 "2013-10-25T12:45:23Z")
Isn’t “Shit on a sweatshirt!” a catchphrase on The Big Bang Theory? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-literal-shit-on-my-black-sweatshirt-how-do-i-disinfect-it-and-not-bleed-out-the-color/672088/28 "2013-10-25T12:53:36Z")
If it had been a [ShiteShirt](http://www.shiteshirts.com/), I don’t know what I’d have suggested. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-literal-shit-on-my-black-sweatshirt-how-do-i-disinfect-it-and-not-bleed-out-the-color/672088/29 "2013-10-25T14:47:36Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > It’s got to be either vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda or salt, hasn’t it? I mean, it’s always one of those things. > > OK, if not that, try rubbing it with a cut potato, or wash it with pennies, or eggshells. > > Or just wash it. Shades of Lisa Simpson gum-in-hair. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-literal-shit-on-my-black-sweatshirt-how-do-i-disinfect-it-and-not-bleed-out-the-color/672088.md?page=1)