Remove Grease or Oil Stains from Clothing
Grease stains on clothing can be unsightly, but luckily, it is possible to remove them. This article will show you several different ways of doing so.
Contents
10 Second Summary
1. Blot the grease away with a paper towel.
2. Cover the stain with baby powder.
3. Scrape the baby powder away with a spoon.
4. Work some liquid soap into the stain with your thumb.
5. Rub the stain with an old toothbrush on both sides of the fabric.
6. Wash the garment separately, then let it hang dry.
Steps
Baby Powder
- Blot away any excess grease or oil with a paper towel. Try to get as much grease or oil away from the clothing as possible before you move on to the next step.
- Cover grease or oil stain generously with baby powder. You can use generic baby powder if you like. If you don't have baby powder, try using these other absorbents:
- Cornstarch
- Salt
- Remove the baby powder from the clothing with a paper towel or spoon. Do this carefully, avoiding any spillage onto other parts of the clothing.
- Work a small amount of hand dishwashing detergent and water into stain with your thumb. Once the detergent begins to foam up, take an old toothbrush and begin rubbing the stain using circular motions.
- Be sure to attack the stain from both sides of the fabric (inside the shirt and outside the shirt, for example).
- Wash the clothing, alone, with laundry detergent. Follow washing instructions on clothing label exactly.
- When ready to dry, allow the clothing to air-dry. Drying in the extremely hot mechanical dryer may cause any lingering oil or grease to set into the clothing.
Dish Detergent or Shampoo or Bar Soap
- Cover the entire grease spot with liquid dish detergent. Grease-fighting detergents may be helpful, but are not necessary. You can use shampoo in this manner, as well, it's designed for body oils, so should work effectively in this application. Alternatively, use bar soap, any hand or body bar soap will do (make sure it hasn't got any additives that may hinder its cleaning, i.e. one like Dove would not be suitable), or for very tough grease, look for bars labeled Laundry Soap. Dampen with water (or ammonia for extra grease removal), then rub the bar onto the stain until sufficient soap has transferred to foam up amply. You can also grate the bar soap and apply the resulting powder/pieces onto the stain after wetting.
- If using colored detergent, be sure to dilute it or the detergent may stain the clothing.
- For stubborn stains, using an old toothbrush will help you attack the stain better than you'd be able to with your hand. Old foot brushes or nail brushes can also serve, as well as small scrub brushes available for cleaning.
- Work foam from the soap or detergent or shampoo into the stain. You should see it dissolve. Dish detergents and laundry bar soaps have special agents that fight grease, so does shampoo.
- Rinse the area with water first, then optionally, follow with a vinegar rinse. Vinegar is a natural cleaning agent used in a wide variety of applications, however, it reduces the alkalinity of soaps or detergents, making them less effective, so do not use detergents or soaps along with any vinegar. If you wish, mix one part vinegar with two parts water and soak the article of clothing in the water and vinegar, then rinse out the vinegar and use the detergent/shampoo/soap method as above.
- Wash the clothing, alone, with laundry detergent. Follow washing instructions on clothing label exactly.
- When ready to dry, allow the clothing to air-dry. Drying in the extremely hot mechanical dryer may cause any lingering oil or grease to set into the clothing.
- Repeat steps for a persistent grease stain.
Spot Remover and Hot Water
- Use a spot remover such as Shout to hit any grease and/or oil stains. Spray the spot remover liberally onto the area and scrub with a toothbrush.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Allow the spot remover to set while you start this step.
- Remove the boiling water from the burner and carefully pour the water onto the stains from up high. A couple things to remember as you perform this step:
- Place your garment in a tub, washbasin, or other safe area. It's not recommended to place the garment on the floor and splatter extremely hot water all over it (and potentially your feet)
- Try to lift up the pot of water as high as possible. This method works for two reasons:
- The water is really hot, helping to break the grease and/or oil bonds.
- The water forcefully hits the grease/oil stain. The higher up the water is when you pour it over the stain, the more force it will generate as it hits the clothing.
- Be careful! You're using scalding hot water. Be sure to aim the water onto the garment. Try to avoid any splatter than might come back and hit you.
- Repeat steps for each area of grease/oil. Turn the garment inside out and attack the stain with another round of spot remover/boiling water if method doesn't work first time.
- Wash the clothing, alone, with laundry detergent. Follow washing instructions on clothing label exactly.
- When ready to dry, allow the clothing to air-dry. Drying in the extremely hot mechanical dryer may cause any lingering oil or grease to set into the clothing.
WD-40 or Lighter Fluid
- Instead of detergent, spray a little WD-40 or lighter fluid onto the clothing. WD-40 is effective in removing grease from some surfaces, as are some lighter fluids.
- Perform a spot test on an inconspicuous area of your clothing before attacking the stain with the WD-40 or lighter fluid. It's better to be safe than sorry.
- Let the WD-40 or lighter fluid set into the clothing for 20 minutes.
- Wash out the WD-40 or lighter fluid by thoroughly soaking the clothing in warm water.
- Wash the clothing, alone, with laundry detergent. Follow washing instructions on clothing label exactly.
- When ready to dry, allow the clothing to air-dry. Drying in the extremely hot mechanical dryer may cause any lingering oil or grease to set into the clothing.
- Finished.
Things You'll Need
- liquid hand dishwashing detergent (preferably clear)
- white vinegar.
- old toothbrush (optional)
