Salvageable, or time to recycle it / throw it out?

[mamalatte]

Friends, any thoughts on the following?

1. Shirts that have gotten kind of brown under the armpits. This seems to happen long before the shirt actually "wears out." It seems like deodorant is the culprit as it doesn't really wash out all the way but just "builds up." Is there some way to avoid this or get rid of it once it happens? I've tried bleach on the white items to no avail.

2. Cookie sheets that are a little bit rusty. For certain things it works to put foil over them. Is it even okay to bake directly on a cookie sheet with rusty spots? I believe these may have started out as "non-stick" so I'm reluctant to have at them with steel wool or something, thinking I'll just be flaking off more of the poisonous "non-stick" surface (these were a gift, I'm not a fan of non-stick) . . . Do I have permission to buy some gleaming new cookie sheets? Am I doing something wrong that they are getting rusty, or is the life of a cookie sheet just much shorter than 10 or 15 years, which is probably how long I've had these.

Thanks!

[SteveinMN]

Friends, any thoughts on the following?

1. Shirts that have gotten kind of brown under the armpits.
I've seen a number of "home remedies" on the Internet involving stuff like baking-powder paste or cream of tartar; I'm sure a Web search would turn up a few treatments which wouldn't take a whole lot of time or money. But you'll have to decide how much time you want to put into them before they're repurposed. You might also want to consider changing deodorant....

2. Cookie sheets that are a little bit rusty.
I would just use foil and keep on keepin' on. I would not cook directly on rusty spots, and, frankly, there likely will be some people concerned that the non-stick coating has come off. I've never had a non-stick cookie sheet last for 10-15 years, myself. I'm not sure why (I've had non-stick skillets that long). But I'd say use foil or use new ones.

[Mrs-M]

Talk about impeccable timing of this thread!

My mom and sister and I, were discussing this very thing a few evenings ago, and we brought up the fact of how we tend to change as we age. When we're younger, we tend to hang onto stuff/things, whereas when we get older, things with holes, stains, and generally plain old worn out, get cashed-in for new.

Old shirts and pants make for great work-garb. Inside or out, having a set of grubbies/work-clothes makes good sense, so I say hang onto a couple of shirts for whenever you need something old to get into. No worries over ruining them, making for a restful mind.

Re: the pans, whenever Teflon or Non-Stick treatment begins to wear and peel, my advice is, bye-bye! I watched a program on television (20/20, or something along those lines), and it interviewed people who ingested Teflon/Non-Stick coating/particles, making them very sick.

I use plastic flippers/spatulas (only) with my baking pans, but occasionally if I'm using one of my old all-aluminum sheets, a little SOS pad treatment is required after, however, being all-aluminum, they've lasted for years, so no worries, but getting 10-15 years out of baking sheets/pans is nothing to sneeze at, so I say spoil yourself, Mamalatte, because you're worth it!

[try2bfrugal]

When our cast iron pots get rust I make a paste of Canola oil and salt and the rust rubs off. For cookie sheets and muffin tins I bought new ones made of stainless steel on Amazon and these are lasting quite well. For me they were the most long term economical choice since so far I have never had to replace any.

I use stain stick for stubborn stains. It probably has all sorts of cancer causing chemicals, but it really works great. If you can't find a way to get the shorts clean, can you make cloth napkins or hankies from the fabric?

[Rosemary]

shirt stains: wash normally and then line dry outside in the sun for a week or so. Just leave it outside where it will get a lot of sun. This will take out incredibly stubborn stains. Usually 3 days is enough.

old cookie sheets: when they are beyond a usable state in the kitchen I put them in the garage. Lots of uses for them out there, whenever you need a solid surface to work on. Could also be used by kids as a magnetic play surface, if not made of aluminum. Or put in the bottom of the undersink kitchen or bathroom cabinet to protect the surface from water spills/leaks.