- 1). Keep yourself as clean as possible. It's very important that you shower shortly before putting on your collared shirt. This is because the shower will clean off any dirt or grime sitting on your neck that could cause or contribute to ring around the collar. Even taking a shower before you go to bed the previous night isn't really sufficient because while you are asleep oil and dirt can accumulate around your neck, so make sure to be as clean as possible prior to getting dressed.
- 2). Apply a stain repellent to your shirt collars. There are many types of stain repellent formulations that are very effective in preventing ring around the collar. These should be applied to a clean, freshly laundered shirt.
- 3). Avoid activities that cause excessive sweating. Any type of perspiration will have a significant effect on the cleanliness of your collar. Make sure to use the air conditioning inside your car and change into athletic clothes if you know that you'll be doing any type of strenuous activity. Sometimes it's tempting to carry out certain activities in your dress clothes and collared shirts to save time changing, but in order to completely prevent ring around the collar you'll need to minimize the amount of sweat that your collar is subjected to.
- 4). Wash your shirts immediately after you are done wearing them. The longer that you allow them to sit after they have been worn the easier it is for ring around the collar to set in. Even though it may seem troublesome to wash them right away, it will go a long way towards keeping your shirts looking their best.
- 5). Pre-treat the collar with a special penetrant detergent designed to dissolve ring around the collar. Specialty stain fighting soaps and gels work great to break up the beginning stages of collar stains much better than plain laundry detergent alone and they are very simple to use. Many of them come in gel or stick forms and are simply applied directly to the collar prior to laundering in order to deep clean collar stains.
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