Have you ever found oil or grease stains on your favorite garment? Even if they are long-standing and difficult to eliminate, there are still ways to restore their original shine.
Start by dabbing the spot with a dry paper towel to absorb as much oil and grease as possible. Next, gently rub some dish soap or laundry detergent on the stain for quick relief.
Dish Soap
Grease stains on clothes can be particularly challenging to eliminate if they have set in.
Fortunately, dish soap can help. It contains a unique surfactant mixture that breaks down oily and grease-like substances such as motor oil or cooking oils.
Unlike stain-fighting soaps, this one isn’t made with harmful chemicals that could harm aquatic life or irritate skin and eyes. Furthermore, it doesn’t contain phosphates – toxic to lakes and streams – which are common contaminants.
Oil stains can be effectively treated with liquid dish soap without needing detergent. Use the warmest water recommended on your clothing’s care label before washing.
Another way to tackle oil stains is to mix baking soda with dish soap and rub it into the paint. You may also use a small scrub brush to penetrate this solution into the fabric. Combining baking soda and dish soap offers greater cleaning power than alone.
Hydrogen Peroxide
It’s not uncommon to spill something oily on your clothes, such as coconut oil, and then have to remove the stain. You can try using several different stain-removing products to eliminate the fat.
Hydrogen peroxide is an effective solution if you’re having difficulty eliminating oil stains from clothing. Simply pour enough onto the color to hydrate it, let it sit for a few minutes, and then wash your garment.
Hydrogen peroxide can also be used in bright-colored clothing. It’s less damaging to colors than chlorine bleach and doesn’t break down in the water like bleach does, making it safer for the environment.
When using hydrogen peroxide, it’s essential to use a weak concentration such as 3%. Higher concentrations can irritate the eyes, lungs, stomach, and skin.
Baking Soda
Baking soda is an ingredient commonly used in baking recipes, and it also has natural cleaning properties due to its granular texture and alkaline nature.
You can use Dawn dish detergent to effectively remove grease stains on clothing by sprinkling a small amount onto the color and then gently massaging with your toothbrush. Repeat this process until all traces of oil have been eliminated from the fabric.
Finally, sprinkle a few drops of dish soap onto the baking soda and work it in with your fingers. Doing this should break up any remaining oil residue, making it easier to wash away.
Before using your washing machine, it is essential to blot the baking soda and garment thoroughly. Doing this helps guarantee that there isn’t too much dish soap and that your clothes can be washed through multiple cycles.
WD-40
To remove oil stains from clothing, spray them with a water displacement lubricant like WD-40. It’s best to treat these spots as soon as you notice them, or else the stain may set in.
WD-40 can be a helpful solution when dealing with oil stains as it contains solvents that break down oils and greases. Plus, it lubricates stains so you can more easily remove them.
However, make sure only to apply WD-40 directly onto the stain. Using too much may spread it around and create new spots.
In 1953, Norm Larsen developed the original formula of WD-40 at his lab in San Diego, California. It took him 40 attempts to perfect it, but ultimately, his efforts paid off – eventually leading to success!
