Removing Fresh Stains

STEP 1

Try dish detergent. The best and simplest way to remove anything oily or greasy from any fabric is by generously applying a concentrated dish detergent directly to the stain. It contains no harsh chemicals so you don’t have to worry about it damaging the fabric. Dish detergent is formulated to cut through grease plain and simple. Using a small brush (old toothbrushes work great!) scrub the stain in a circular motion for several minutes. Keep pouring on the detergent if needed. Allow the fabric to rest for 30 minutes or so at least before placing it in the washing machine. Wash in warm water on a heavy-duty cycle. This method uses only one ingredient and works wonderfully!

STEP 2

Pour on some baby powder. As soon as you’re able, pour a small amount of baby powder all over the fresh grease stains on your clothing. The baby powder is fine enough that it will fill in the crevices between the fibers, and absorb the grease. Leave the baby powder to ‘soak’ for 10-15 minutes, and then brush it off. If the grease is still faintly visible, toss it in the washing machine under cold water. The combination should do the trick, and by the time the clothing has dried, there should be no trace of grease left!

STEP 3

Rub some chalk on it. Because chalk is such a fine powder, it easily absorbs the grease in your clothes and makes it easy to remove. Fill in your grease stain with plain white chalk, or scrape some of the powder over the stain. Allow it to set for 10-15 minutes and then rub it off. If the stain is still visible, you can wash it with cold water. The rinse/dry cycle will finish the task and should fully remove the stain.

STEP 4

Cover it up with cornstarch. Yes, another one of the fine powders (just like baby powder and chalk), cornstarch works wonders at soaking up fresh grease and oil stains. Pour a small amount of the powder on the stain and allow it to set for a quarter of an hour. You can brush off the cornstarch afterwards, or leave it on and put it in the washing machine. Wash your clothes on ‘cold’, and your grease stain should be gone!

STEP 5

Pour on some talcum powder. Don’t have any of the aforementioned powders on hand? Try using talcum powder to remove the stains. Follow the same process as explained above by pouring a small amount of the powder onto the grease stain, and allowing it to soak for 10-15 minutes. When it’s had a bit of time to soak up the grease, throw the clothing into the washing machine and wash it on ‘cold’.

STEP 6

Make a salt and rubbing alcohol solution. This solution works best for stains on thicker fabrics, such as denim or linen. Mix one part salt with three parts rubbing alcohol, and then pour it onto the grease stain. Use a soft cloth to rub the mixture into the stain, working it into the fibres. Allow the solution to soak for 10-15 minutes, and then wash your clothing as you normally would. By the time the clothing has been washed and dried, there should be a missing grease spot!

STEP 7

Use some dish soap. There’s a reason they use dish soap to clean up oil spills – they are great at dissolving tough oil stains. Find a dish soap that is used to dissolve the oil (these often have a special type of oil-eating bacteria as an ingredient). Cover the grease stain with the dish soap, and rub it in gently with a soft cloth. Then, throw your clothing into the washing machine and run it under the normal settings. Your clothing should be grease-free after a single wash, but you can repeat the process if it’s not.

STEP 8

Use a dry cleaning solvent. If you’re up for spending a few bucks, pick up a speciality dry cleaning solution used for cleaning up grease stains. These are typically spray-on or iron-on liquids that are applied directly to the stain before washing. Because they are dry-cleaning grade, they should work out the stains almost immediately, making your clothes look good as new.