How To Get Grease Stains Out Of Clothes
Though few of us like to admit it, we eat a fair share of greasy foods. And almost everyone has had an accident while eating, dropping little bits of food on their shirt or their pants. Whether you’ve got some grease from a delicious, juicy burger that dripped on your clothes or some remnants from a taco rolling down your blouse, those stains can seem impossible to remove.
But don’t lose heart – your favorite shirt doesn’t need to be relegated to house-wearing only. Just follow these easy steps to eliminate those unseemly grease stains in no time!
The key: Dish soap
Out of all the cleaning and specially-designed stain-removing products on supermarket shelves, the thing that fights grease stains the best is common dish soap! Though you might be skeptical that something so ordinary could work on an extraordinarily difficult stain, trust us – it has a great chance of working. If you think about it, it isn’t so far-fetched; after all, dish detergent is designed to break down food and oils to keep your dishes clean, so why shouldn’t it also work on clothes?
Step 1: Get petroleum-based dish soap
These soaps work best for grease stains, so if you only use natural dish detergents, you will want to run to the store to get something like Dawn.
Step 2: Test it out
Though you shouldn’t have any trouble, it is best to test out your soap first to make sure it won’t discolor the fabric. Some have suggested selecting clear dish soaps, since you may have a color problem with blue or green detergents.
Step 3: Apply to stain
Rub in your dish soap on the stain, scrubbing hard, and let it sit for several minutes.
Step 4: Toss in the washer
The item is now ready to go in the washer. But, if your soap makes a lot of suds, you will want to rinse out the majority of the dish soap to protect your washing machine.
Step 5: Check before placing in dryer
After the cycle is over, pull out the item of clothing to see if the stain is gone. If not, repeat this process until you don’t see the grease. If it is especially persistent, soak the clothes for up to an hour after step 3 before throwing them back in the washer.