It only takes one spill or splattering that you weren’t expecting to leave your clothes left with a stain that will seem to refuse to come out in the wash.
Don’t get too frustrated though, because there’s a simple way to get even the worst grease stain out without too much hassle with items you have stocked in your house
What Is A Grease Stain?
Grease-based stains don’t look much different than regular stains, but they are caused by certain greasy items like butter, oils, suntan lotion, animal fats, or face creams and moisturizers.
These stains can be a pain, as they’re not water soluble and as such won’t dissolve like other stains with a normal wash. As with pretty much all stains, the quicker you address the issue the easier, it will be to get rid of.
How To Remove A Grease Stain
To begin removing the grease stains off your clothes, look for where the item of clothing has been stained. Be sure to check all over your clothes that are stained, as there might be more stains that you missed.
Now that you’ve located the stain, get some baking soda and apply it generously to any and all stained areas.
Then you should rub the baking soda in with a small brush or a toothbrush until the baking soda begins to gather up in clumps. If you don’t have any baking soda, you can use any other powder that is similar.
Check to see if you don’t have any cornstarch, baby powder, talcum powder, or chalk. Once the baking soda is in clumps, you can brush it off and throw it away.
With a bit of luck, this will deal with the stain, but if it’s still sticking around then you can still do something about it.
Apply a little bit of liquid dishwasher detergent to the stained area, and rub it in with a toothbrush in the same way as above.
This helps to break down all the oils in the stain and should absorb any oil left that wasn’t taken care of by the baking soda.
Pretty much all dishwasher detergents should do the job, but any eco-friendly ones may be less effective due to having softer chemicals in them.
This just means you might have to repeat this process a few times, so don’t worry too much!
Be Aware! This method can be a bit riskier since applying detergent in this manner could discolor your clothes depending on what they’re made of.
It’s best to try dabbing a bit onto a part of the clothes that aren’t visible before you resort to this.
Another thing to remember is that certain, tougher fabrics like denim or rough linens may need a stronger mixture of alcohol and salt instead.
No matter which method you use, after rubbing it in, leave it to soak for 15 or so minutes, then put it in a standard wash.
The longer you wait, though, the better, and waiting upwards of an hour will make the wash much more effective in getting rid of those extra tough stains.
Be aware that when we say ‘standard wash’ we mean a wash that suits the clothes you’re washing.
Remember to check the label on your clothes to see what the optimal wash is for them, as going outside of these guidelines can lead you to dirty clothes and even more stains!
Once the wash has finished look over your stained clothes again to see if the stain is still present. If it is, then just repeat rubbing dish detergent onto the stain, letting it sit, then washing it until it comes out.
Hopefully though, when you take your clothes out of the wash you’ll find them stainless and looking as good as new! If so you can leave them out to dry as per their labels instructions.
If, after it’s dry, you end up noticing the shadow of the stain is still there, you can just repeat the dish detergent step and it should come out after another wash. Congratulations on your stain-free clothing!
Frequently Asked Questions
While it’s not the method we use, vinegar can still work for getting stains out of clothes.
Mix vinegar with some water (to avoid damaging the clothes too much) and pour it onto the stained area, then leave to soak for as long as possible.
You’ll likely still need sound laundry detergent to rub it off with, but it should get rid of the worst of the stains quite well!
Baking soda shouldn’t bleach any of your clothes unless they are particularly vulnerable to chemicals.
Things that can’t be put in the washing machine, or specifically advise against using detergent to wash them, might be bleached by baking soda.
This is the minority of clothes though, so you’re probably safe as long as your clothes aren’t too high-maintenance.
If this is the case, though, your best option will likely be to take it to a dry cleaner so it can be professionally cleaned and any stains removed without damaging your clothes.
Hydrogen peroxide is an extremely effective stain remover and can get pretty much any stain out of your clothes.
However, it is also extremely caustic, and by using it you will run a high risk of damaging your clothes by bleaching them.
If you’re going to use hydrogen peroxide to get stains out of your clothes, check they’re safe from heavy chemical treatments like bleach, and mix it with baking soda to dilute it at least a little.
We hope you’re enjoying your new, freshly clean clothes without any grease stain.
We hope you’re enjoying your new, freshly clean clothes without any grease stains!