A Guide to Removing Stains From Clothing and Fabric!

Stains on your clothes usually happen without warning, whether it’s a drip from a sloppy sandwich or an accident when you’re getting ready in the morning. Kids also have a way of finding all of the messiest situations that often end with stains on their clothing. But as long as you treat stains promptly and correctly, it’s likely that you’ll be able to remove them.

• Adhesives: Apply an ice cube to the sticky area to harden it. Once it’s hardened, use a butter knife to scrape off the adhesive. Apply a standard stain remover to the area, and then launder the item.
• Baby Formula: Apply a stain remover that contains active enzymes. Soak the stain for at least 30 minutes, and then wash it in the washing machine.
• Baby Stain Removal Guide: How to Do it Right
• Baked Beans: Turn the clothing item inside out and rinse under cold water. Turn the item back right side out and brush on liquid laundry detergent. Rinse off the detergent and apply white vinegar to the stain with a sponge. Rinse again, and repeat the steps several times if necessary. Then, wash the clothing item normally.
• Barbecue Sauce: Use the same process as for baked beans. If you still see the stain after laundering, do not machine-dry the item. Apply more laundry detergent, soak the item for 30 minutes, and launder again.
• Stain-Buster: Barbecue Sauce
• Beverages: Soak the clothing item in cool water, and apply liquid laundry detergent as a pretreatment. If the fabric type allows for machine washing, wash the item with sodium hypochlorite or oxygen bleach.
• Blood: Soak fresh bloodstains in cool water and launder. Soak dried bloodstains in warm water with a laundry product that contains enzymes, and then launder the item.
• How to Remove Bloodstains
• Bodily Fluids: Soak the clothing item in a pretreating product that contains enzymes. Launder with sodium hypochlorite or oxygen bleach.
• Brown/Yellow Discoloration: Apply a rust removal laundry product, and then launder as usual.
• Butter: Apply a stain removal product, and then launder using the hottest water that’s safe for the type of fabric.
• Candle Wax: Allow the wax to cool and harden, and then remove as much as possible by scraping it off with a butter knife. Place a paper towel under the fabric at the location of the stain and over the fabric, and then apply a warm iron. Continue to swap out the paper towel as the wax transfers from the fabric to the paper towel. Wash the item with sodium hypochlorite or oxygen bleach.
• Stain Solutions: Candle Wax
• Chocolate: Remove as much excess chocolate as possible, and then soak the stain in cool water. Apply a stain remover, and then launder using the hottest water that’s safe for the fabric type.
• How to Remove Chocolate Stains
• Collar and Cuff Soil: Pretreat the stained area with a stain remover and then launder normally.
• Collar and Cuff Stains
• Coffee or Tea: Apply cool water to the stained area with a sponge. For an older stain, apply a stain remover containing enzymes; if the stain is fresh, use a standard stain remover. Launder the item with sodium hypochlorite or oxygen bleach.
• How to Remove Tea Stains
• Cosmetics (Including Lipstick): Pretreat the stain with a stain remover or rub a bar of bath soap over the stain. Launder as usual.
• Crayon: Use the same removal technique as for candle wax, or dampen the stain slightly and rub a bar of bath soap over it. Launder in the hottest water that’s safe for the fabric.
• Remove Stains From Crayon
• Dairy Products: Apply a laundry product containing enzymes and soak the stain in warm water for 30 minutes. Older stains may need to soak longer. Launder as usual.
• Deodorant: Apply a stain remover to light stains and launder as usual. Wash with an oxygen bleach for heavier stains.
• Dye Transfer: Use a product designed for color removal, following the product instructions. Launder as usual and assess the fabric. If stains persist, try washing again with sodium hypochlorite or oxygen bleach.
• Egg: Remove as much debris as possible, and then soak the item for at least 30 minutes in a stain removal product that contains enzymes. Wash the item normally.
• How to Remove Egg Stains
• Fabric Softener: Apply water to moisten the fabric, rub a bar of bath soap over the stain, rinse out the soap, and launder as usual.
• Fruit Juice: Launder using a color-safe bleach or oxygen bleach.
• Grass: Soak the stain for at least 30 minutes in a stain removal product containing enzymes. Launder the item with sodium hypochlorite or oxygen bleach according to the care label.
• Guide: Getting Grass Stains Out of Clothing, Sports Uniforms, and Everything Else
• Grease and Oil: Apply a stain remover for light stains, and then launder with the hottest water that’s safe for the fabric. To treat heavy stains, place the item with the stain facing down on a layer of paper towels. Apply laundry soap to the fabric on the back of the stain. Switch out the paper towels as they become soiled. Rise the item in warm water, and then launder in the hottest water recommended for the fabric.
• How to Remove Grease Stains From Clothes
• Ice Cream: Soak the stain for at least 30 minutes in a stain remover containing enzymes. Launder the item in the warmest water recommended for the type of fabric.
• Ink: Pretreat the stain with stain remover and launder as usual. If the ink stain is extreme, stretch the stained area over a wide-mouth canning jar, and then apply denatured alcohol to the stained area and watch the ink drip down into the jar. When the stain is gone, rinse the fabric and launder as usual.
• Ketchup: Remove as much excess ketchup as possible. Turn the item over and run cool water over it from the back of the stain to remove it. Launder as usual.
• How to Remove Ketchup Stains
• Lipstick: Place the stain upside down on several stacked paper towels. Dab isopropyl alcohol on the back of the stain to dissolve the lipstick and transfer it to the paper towels. Switch out the paper towels as necessary.
• How to Get Lipstick Stains Out of Clothes
• Maple Syrup: Allow the syrup to harden, and then scrape off as much as possible with a butter knife. Turn the stain upside down and run it under cool water. Slowly increase the water temperature to warm. Apply a stain remover, rinse it out, and launder as usual.
• Mayonnaise: Apply a stain remover, and then launder the item in the hottest water recommended for the fabric.
• Mildew: Launder the item with sodium hypochlorite or oxygen bleach in the hottest water recommended for the fabric.
• How to Remove Mold and Mildew From Clothes
• Mud: Allow the mud to dry completely, and then scrape off as much as possible with a butter knife. Treat a light mud stain with liquid detergent, and then launder as usual. Treat a heavy mud stain by presoaking it in an enzyme stain remover, and then launder as usual.
• Mustard: Rinse out the mustard with cold water, and then apply a stain remover. Launder using the hottest water recommended for the fabric. Try chlorine bleach if it’s safe for the fabric type.
• How to Remove a Mustard Stain
• Nail Polish: Apply nail polish remover to the stain unless the fabric is acetate or triacetate. To do so, turn the stain over and place it on a stack of paper towels. Apply the nail polish remover to the back of the stain, switching out the paper towels as the stain transfers. Rinse the fabric, and then launder as usual.
• Paint: Rinse water-based paint in warm water, and then launder as usual. Treat oil-based paint with paint thinner, rinse, rub a bar of soap over the stain, rinse, and launder as usual.
• How to Remove Paint From Clothes
• Perfume: Apply liquid laundry detergent to the stain, and then launder as usual.
• Perspiration: Rub a bar of bath soap over the stain, and then launder in the hottest water recommended for the fabric type.
• How to Get Rid of Sweat Stains
• Pine Resin: Apply dry-cleaning solution to the stain with a sponge. After the dry-cleaning solution is dry, mix one cup of liquid laundry detergent with several drops of ammonia and soak the stained area in this mixture for 30 minutes. Launder as usual with liquid laundry detergent.
• Scorch Mark: Launder bleach-safe fabrics as usual with sodium hypochlorite bleach. For non-bleach-safe fabrics, mix oxygen bleach with hot water and soak before washing.
• Shoe Polish: Remove as much dry debris as possible. Mix powdered laundry detergent and water to make a paste. Apply the paste, allow it to sit on the fabric for several minutes, and then launder with liquid laundry detergent and fabric-safe bleach.
• How to Remove Shoe Polish Stains From Clothes
• Soft Drink: Soak the stained area in cool water for at least 30 minutes. Apply a stain remover, and then launder as usual with bleach if recommended for the fabric type.
• Tar: Remove as much tar as possible from the fabric, and then stack paper towels and place the stained area upside down on the paper towels. Apply stain remover to the back of the stain with a sponge, switching out the paper towels as they become soiled. Launder the item in the hottest water recommended for the fabric type.
• How to Remove Tar Stains
• Tobacco: Moisten the stained area with water and rub a bar of bath soap over the stain. Soak the stain in an enzyme stain remover, and then launder as usual.
• Typewriter Correction Fluid: Allow the stain to dry completely, and then brush away as much debris as possible. Take the item to a dry cleaner, indicating the type of stain.
• Watermelon: Launder the item as usual in the hottest water recommended for the fabric type.
• Wine: Sponge cool water onto the stain. Apply a stain remover, and then launder as usual. If the fabric can be bleached, add chlorine bleach to the wash cycle.
• How to Remove a Red Wine Stain
• Wood Stain: Turn a stain involving water-based wood stain upside down on a stack of paper towels. Blot the back of the stain with a rag saturated in acetone. Follow the same process for an oil-based stain, except use mineral spirits instead of acetone. Rinse the fabric, and then launder as usual.

Additional Information on Fabric Care

• Quick Stain Removal Guide: Always examine clothing for stains before laundering so you can treat the stains promptly.
• Stain Removal Guide: Test stain removers on an inconspicuous area of fabric before using them freely on a garment.
• Spot and Stain Removal for Washable Fabrics: Confine stain removal tactics to the washing recommendations from the manufacturer to ensure that you don’t damage clothing.
• Stain Removal Guide: Treating laundry stains involves promptness, patience, and persistence.
• Removing Stains at Home: Read the care label for a garment before trying to get a stain out, and pretest removal products to ensure that a color change doesn’t occur.
• Stain Removal From Washable Fabrics: Follow the procedures outlined in this stain removal guide, finding the applicable stain in the list.
• Spot Treatment Technique (Sponging) for Apparel: Sponging a stain is an effective way to prevent the stain from spreading.
• Stain Removal for Washable Fabrics: Most stains can be removed if you treat them while they are fresh.
• Removing Clothing Stains: The first step in stain removal is to determine what the stain is, since this determines how you should treat it.
• The Chemistry of Stain Removal: Coffee, lipstick, red wine, and tea are examples of oxidizable stains, which means that these stains can be removed with chemical reactions involving oxidation.
• How to Remove Clothing Stains: Fast action is key to successfully removing a stain. If you can’t treat a stain promptly, blot it with cold water.
• Stain Removal for Washable Fabrics: Follow these guidelines for removing common stains from washable fabrics.
• Remove Stains From Mustard: Pretreating a mustard stain is important for effective removal.
• Laundry Basics: True or False About Treating Tough Stains: Take this quiz to see how much you know about doing laundry.
• To Remove Stains: Approach stains based on their chemical makeup to remove them effectively.
• How Do Stain Removers Work? Stain removers dissolve stains with a solvent or use a surfactant to remove the stain effectively.
• Professional Wet Cleaning Implementation Guide: Professional garment cleaners have changed the chemicals used for wet cleaning due to health and environmental concerns.
• Restore Vintage Fabrics to Life: Vintage fabrics from a favorite 70s-style jumpsuit or well-loved sweater, often have set-in stains, and it’s important to use careful stain removal techniques to avoid damaging fragile fabrics.
• Coming Clean With Enzymes: Enzymes in laundry detergents make the products work more effectively on some stains.
• Removing Stains From Fabrics: Home stain removal might involve a bar of soap, bleach, detergents, dry-cleaning solvents, or enzyme presoaks.

Now that you know how to remove stains from every type of clothing, shop new must-haves to add to your closet!