Mustard or wine spill on your favorite pants? Oil or grease splatter on your top while cooking? Luckily, you don’t need to throw out your clothes — not with our handy stain removal tips, which use simple household items you probably already have on hand.
No matter what type of stain you want to remove, from blood and grass to wine, oil and more, there’s hope beyond resigning yourself to finding a new favorite clothing item.
In fact, with this guide, you can remove just about any stain if you act quickly enough. The trick is all in the process and the items you use. We’ve got a comprehensive list of stain removal tips and tricks you can follow below.
For more cleaning tips, explore how to clean workout clothes and how to clean your running shoes.
How to remove oil and grease stains from clothes
A splatter of cooking oil on your favorite outfit is no problem. Grab some corn starch. The powder will absorb the grease.
Soccer parents are all too familiar with the toughness of grass stains.
Grass stains are almost inevitable on kids’ clothing, and can be stubborn to remove. You may be able to machine wash them out or use a stain remover, but if that doesn’t do the trick, you can find a go-to solution here:
- Soak the garment in a stain-fighting mixture for 30 minutes. You can use a solution of 2 cups white vinegar or a mixture of dish soap and hydrogen peroxide.
- Gently scrub the spot with a soft brush.
- Thoroughly rinse the mixture from the clothing with cool water.
- Machine wash according to the tag.
How to remove blood stains from clothes
Sweat stains can be tackled with a quarter-cup of white vinegar with one cup of water.
It’s unfortunate, but it happens. Even in the hottest climates, though, you don’t have to let sweat ruin your clothes with this method:
- Make a solution of a quarter-cup of white vinegar with one cup of water.
- Drench the sweat stain with the mixture or fully submerge the garment.
- Allow the garment to soak for 30 full minutes.
- Rinse with cool water and machine wash.
How to remove coffee stains
A glass of cabernet sauvignon is a great pleasure in life… until it ends up on your favorite dress shirt.
After a night out, you might be shocked by the sight of red wine on your favorite blouse or collared shirt. While it may look dramatic, you can easily and effectively remove red wine stains:
- Blot the stain with a paper towel to remove any excess.
- Mix an equal parts solution of hydrogen peroxide and dish soap and lightly work the mixture into the stain with your fingers.
- Allow the solution to sit for 20 minutes to an hour before rinsing.
If you prefer not to use hydrogen peroxide, you can instead apply white vinegar and dish detergent, and follow the above steps as listed.
Bottom line
With any case, a little effort and some time will go a long way to making your clothes look brand new. Just remember to refrain from putting the garment in the dryer until the stain is completely gone (so the stain doesn’t set) and feel free to repeat any of the above processes as needed to get the stains out.
For more laundry tips, explore why it may be time to ditch your favorite laundry project and the most energy-efficient way to do your laundry.
FAQs
Yes. If you want to scrub a stain out of one of your favorite pieces of clothing, you want to act fast — especially if you’re fighting a grease or blood stain. Though the tips included within this article are effective at fighting these stains, that effectiveness drops off the longer a stain is able to settle into the fabric of your clothing.
