How to Get Oil out of Clothes

Today we will go over how to get oil out of clothes. Oil stains on your clothes can frustrate you to no extent, especially because these happen in those nanoseconds when you let your guard down! While it is a universal truth that oily stains are difficult to get out of clothes, it is also true that you can get rid of them quicker than you thought, if you act on them quickly.

According to laundry experts, oil stains can be removed easily if you act on them as soon as the stains are formed. Oil marks that have dried up or settled in your clothes for a long time may require a lot of time and effort from your side when cleaning them. Listed below are some tried and tested tricks you can employ when you want to get rid of oil stains from your clothes completely.

Using baking soda and hot water

• Before proceeding to use any method to get rid of oily stains from clothes, you should remember to first blot the stains properly with a paper towel or napkin. Scrubbing the stains or rubbing them too hard may cause them to spread on the cloth. Hence, you should avoid doing this.
• Pour a few drops of liquid soap, dish soap, or shampoo on the stains. Use a soft-bristled toothbrush to rub the soap over the marks. This will break down the oil stains, and allow it to be cleaned easily.
• Usually, the fresh oil stains will start to disappear when you rinse the garment after rubbing it with liquid soap. However, sometimes, you might need one more step to get rid of the stubborn stains that remain in the garment.
• Pour a few drops of dish soap on the oil marks, and sprinkle some baking soda generously over these marks. Use a toothbrush to rub over the marks. Leave it on for a while until the baking soda dries up well.
• After an hour, rinse the garment in hot water before you soak it in a tub for hot water for another 60 minutes.
• After 60 minutes, take out the garment and wash it as per its regular wash cycle. All the oil stains would have completely disappeared from the clothes by now. If some marks still remain, you can repeat the steps as many times as you want until you notice that the stains have gone.

Using a spot remover

• You will find many good brands of spot removers in the stores to get rid of oil & grease stains from clothes. Buy any brand of spot remover, and spray over the oil stains generously. Scrub with a toothbrush, and allow the spot remover to sit on the garment for a while (maybe about 15 to 30 minutes).
• The next thing you need for this method is a pot of boiling water.
• Keep the stained cloth in a bucket or washbasin, and pour the boiling water on the stains directly from a reasonable height. When you pour hot water from a good height, it falls on the garment with great pressure. This helps to break down the stains easily (and they are already loosened, thanks to the spot remover).
• You can repeat these steps for other oil stains that you may find on your clothes.
• Wash the clothes with the usual detergent as per their normal wash cycle. You will be thrilled to notice that the oily stains have gone forever from your favorite clothes!

Using baby powder/cornstarch/kosher salt

• As you notice the oil stains on the clothes, blot them well with a paper towel. Keep blotting until you can remove as many excess oil stains from the clothes as possible.
• Spray baby powder, cornstarch, or kosher salt generously over the oil marks. These products have great absorbing qualities; hence, they work well with oily marks. Leave it on the clothes for about 10 minutes.
• After 10 minutes, carefully remove traces of the baby powder, cornstarch, or kosher salt from the clothes using a spoon or napkin. You shouldn’t spread these ingredients to the cleaner parts of the garment. So, you should remove these powders carefully.
• Pour some water and a drop of liquid detergent over the stains. Rub the solution well on the stains with your fingers or a toothbrush. Repeat this process at the back of the garment as well, so that you can work on the other part of the stains.
• Rinse the clothes well as per their usual washing cycle.
• Allow them to air-dry thoroughly to notice that all the oil and grease stains have completely vanished.

Using WD40

• Always test a little bit of WD40 on a small bit of the stained garment to see if it causes any adverse reactions. If it is safe to use this, spray WD40 directly on the oily marks.
• If you don’t have WD40, you can use other lighter fluids as well. Let the solution remain on the stains for about 20 to 30 minutes.
• Soak the clothes in warm or lukewarm water for 10 minutes.
• Rinse the clothes using your normal detergent, as per their usual washing cycle.
• Allow the clothes to air-dry thoroughly.

Using baking soda with vinegar

• Blot the excess oil or grease marks from the clothes using a paper towel.
• Sprinkle a generous quantity of baking soda on the stains. Observe it to notice that the baking soda becomes damp as it absorbs the oil.
• Scrape off the baking soda using the blunt edge of a knife, and apply some more baking soda on the stains. Keep repeating the process until you notice that the baking soda doesn’t absorb any more oil.
• For large and well-settled stains, allow the baking soda to remain in the stones throughout the night. For fresh or small stains, you can allow the garment in soak in baking soda for an hour.
• Scrape off the baking soda after it has soaked for a few hours.
• Pour one entire capful of distilled vinegar on the stains directly. You can use more vinegar for large and dry stains. Let it sit on the clothes for about 10 minutes.
• Now, scrape off the vinegar with a toothbrush.
• Soak the clothes in a solution of water and detergent for 15 minutes, before rinsing them as per their usual wash cycle to get rid of all oil marks completely.
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