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How to Remove Oil Stain on Clothes?

by Shunzhi Nie 25 Sep 2024

Everyone has the risk of planting a stain on their jacket or suit. Stains from oil or some greasy food are among the most persistent. When we cook in the kitchen at home, our clothes can accidentally get stained with grease. Even regular lip balm can leave marks on your favorite clothes. By the time we notice it, it is too late. Not even an apron can save us from this nuisance! Or sometimes, even if you don't cook at home, you eat a piece of juicy steak in your favorite restaurant, but suddenly the meat juice drips on your favorite clothes. What to do? Is it possible to save the outfit? And then you notice that oil stains have already appeared on your clothes. Traces of oil to remove from the fabric are quite difficult, especially if you do not do it immediately after their appearance.

Often they can be overlooked, sending clothes to the laundry, and then finding on the dried thing unstained contaminants. What should you do if you can not put aside all the cases to wash a thing spoiled by greasy splashes? It is not easy to get rid of a grease stain on clothes, especially if the dirt is old and deeply embedded. In this blog, we are going to tell you how to get rid of a grease stain in different ways.

Why Is Oil so Hard to Remove?

Grease molecules in oil, when it hits the fabric, penetrates and embeds the fibers and forms a film. The fat molecules easily penetrate the fibers and over time become embedded in the fibers. If the process is not stopped, it will be almost impossible to remove the grease stain. Over time, dust and lint will adhere to the oily surface. The longer the stain is on the clothes, the harder it is to get rid of.

It turns out that not all grease stains are washed off in the same way: it is most difficult to cope with blotches from vegetables and any other oil, as well as from seafood. When washing, you need to take into account that there are different types of oil.

Saturated - These are found in coconut, palm, butter, and meat products. Such contamination is easier to launder: you can use ordinary detergents.

Unsaturated - found in vegetable oils, fish, and seafood. If they get on the fabric, they form a film, which is difficult to get rid of with the help of improvised means.

The most important thing in the fight against stains is to detect and launder in time!
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Pre-Treatment Steps to Remove Oil Stains from Clothes

Like any other stain, grease is easiest to launder while the stain is fresh. To remove oil stains more effectively, you can follow a few timely preparatory steps that will make the process easier. If you accidentally plant an oil stain on your clothes in a restaurant, outdoors, at the office, or anywhere else outside the home, blot it immediately with a dry cloth or paper napkin. Your task is to remove as much grease as possible, no matter if it is machine oil, kebab, or fried fish stain. The main thing - is do not rub, so that the stain does not become bigger and does not go deep into the fibers. If there are no napkins - use salt: it should be sprinkled on the pollution, and when the oil is absorbed, gently shake off the clothes. Immediately after returning home, send the thing to the laundry.

If you are at home, it is better to wash the soiled item at once: this way there is a better chance that the stains will go away without any problems.
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Different Methods on How to Get Oil Stains out of Clothes

How to remove a grease stain from clothes? Here are the main rules you could consider. Before we consider different options than to remove a grease stain, we should mention a few important points. It is better to take them into account before you start fighting with contamination.

If you have such an opportunity, it is better to deal with the stain as soon as it is put. The earlier you start removing it, the easier it will be. On the contrary, the longer the grease is on the clothes, the more difficult it will then be to launder it. But don't get frustrated: there are ways to remove such old stains, and we will tell you about them below.

Do not put the stain immediately underwater. First, you need to properly blot the contamination (soda, cloth, paper napkin) to remove the maximum amount of grease from the material, and only then wash. Use a detergent or powder booster with enzymes: these substances help to dissolve organic dirt, which is grease.

If after washing you notice that the stain has not come off, or you find it only after you have washed the clothes, do not dry the item at high temperatures and do not iron, otherwise the dirt will become more persistent. Try one of the methods again and expose the item to high temperatures only when the stain is completely gone.

1. How to remove a fresh grease stain with baking soda?
Baking soda absorbs grease, so treating a relatively fresh grease stain is the best way to start.

Step 1
Place a folded piece of clean cloth, a piece of cardboard, or a few paper napkins under the item's material so as not to stain other parts. Using a spoon or the blunt side of a knife, remove as much dirt as you can. If the dirt is liquid, you can try blotting it easily with a clean paper napkin without pressing it down too hard.

Step 2
Then sprinkle baking soda liberally on the stain and leave it for 30-40 minutes. By the way, instead of baking soda, you can use starch, salt, or even ordinary chalk: they also absorb grease quite well.

Step 3
After 30-40 minutes, brush off the powder with a brush. For example, an old toothbrush will do. Repeat the process one or two more times to absorb the grease properly. You can then wash the item as usual, preferably with an enzyme laundry detergent, or use the following method before washing.

2. How do I remove a grease stain with dishwashing detergent?
Dishwashing detergents contain components that are designed to break down grease as effectively as possible. That's why you can try to apply such a remedy to remove a grease stain from clothes at home.

Step 1
Place a folded clean cloth, a piece of cardboard, or a napkin under the stain. This is necessary to avoid staining other parts of the item. For best results, first, soak up the grease with a paper napkin and baking soda as described in the method above.

Step 2
Apply undiluted dishwashing liquid to the stain. Rub the liquid in with a brush or your fingers and leave it on for 5-10 minutes.

Step 3
Rinse the material under warm water. If it is very dirty, you can repeat the treatment. Then wash the item as usual, preferably with an enzyme detergent.

3. How to remove grease stains from clothes: laundry soap
Ordinary laundry soap often turns out to be surprisingly effective in fighting a variety of contaminants. If you don't know how to remove grease stains from clothes at home, try laundry soap - it's quite possible that this method will be effective!

Step 1
Before using the soap, soak up the grease as described above with wipes, baking soda, salt, or chalk.

Step 2
Wet the stain with water and soap the area of the stain properly with laundry soap. You can apply the soap on both the front and back sides of the material for best results. Leave the item for 30-40 minutes and then rinse the fabric with water. If the stain has not disappeared, you can try this treatment again.

Step 3
Then wash the item as usual, preferably using a laundry detergent with enzymes.

How to remove old grease stains?
A fresh grease stain can be removed with ordinary laundry soap in 20 minutes, but removing a stale grease stain will take from two hours to a day.

To get rid of a stale grease stain, you will have to fill it with sorbent several times. However, more often to remove such stains use a special bleach. Among the active components of such a bleach should be oxygen, so that its molecules can push the fat particles out of the fibers of the fabric.

How to remove grease stains from different types of fabric?
Today, clothes are made of natural and synthetic materials, it is difficult to remember all the names and features of fabrics. The most famous are cotton, linen, synthetics, silk, velvet, and wool. To understand how to handle the fabric, it is better to keep the tags, which indicate the conditions of storage and the rules of care for the thing.

Synthetics
Artificial fibers consist of polymer compounds, they can easily enter into chemical reactions with other substances. Alcohol or turpentine will act aggressively, but you can use ammonia: moisten a cloth napkin with it and wipe the area with a grease stain. Often to remove stains from synthetic fabrics use laundry soap or dishwashing detergent. You can also use a special stain remover for synthetics.

Cotton
With a grease stain on cotton fabric copes well and special detergents, and homemade compositions for removing grease stains. The temperature during washing mustn't be higher than specified on the label.

Linen
Linen products can be cleaned from grease stains with the help of mustard powder. It should be mixed with water, the mixture should resemble sour cream in consistency. Apply the remedy to the stain and leave it for 50 minutes, then the product can be washed in warm water. Stale stains on linen fabric soak in a salt solution.

Satin and silk
For delicate fabrics, you can use talcum powder and dishwashing detergent or mix water, alcohol, and glycerin in equal proportions. Moisten a cotton disk with the solution and apply the mixture to the dirty spot, then rinse with water.

Velvet
If a greasy stain appears on the velvet fabric, it can not be intensively rubbed during treatment, because because of this the texture of the fabric can suffer. You can put bread crumbs or sprinkle cornstarch on the stain. After two hours, wash the thing in warm water with detergent for delicate fabrics.

Wool
To eliminate a grease stain from the surface of woolen fabric, you can use a mixture of hot water and ammonia alcohol. They should be mixed in equal proportions, then moisten a cotton pad with this mixture and treat the stain from the edge to the center. Fresh stains can be removed with the help of an iron and napkins. Woolen fabrics are also suitable “compresses” from table salt, potato starch, or chalk.
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