How to Clean Oil Stains From Polyester

{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }

Lynn December 1, 2007 at 4:04 pm

Dawn dishwashing liquid will wash makeup right out of a polyester blouse and it won’t damage the fabric. Just wet the stain, gently work a little Dawn into the fabric, then rinse the spot out.

Lynn December 1, 2007 at 5:38 pm

Don’t mess around with homemade stain remedies when there are a dozen different kinds of pre-treatment stain remover products in the laundry aisle at the store – and most of them are safe for polyester and blends. Be careful not to use a stain remover that contains bleach on colored clothes.

Lynn December 1, 2007 at 5:38 pm

If you have a home dry cleaning kit, the kind that works in your dryer, you can use some of the dry cleaning spot solution that came with the kit to get out an oily stain without damaging the fabric. Read the kit’s directions before you use it, but normally you just have to thoroughly work the solution into the stain and then blot it off with an absorbent pad from the kit.

Lynn December 1, 2007 at 5:38 pm

If you have oily skin or hair that leaves stains on your shirt collars, you can wash the oil stains out with a little of your regular hair shampoo. Just work the shampoo into the stain and then wash it out. If the stains are really bad, you may have to shampoo the collar more than once.

Lynn December 1, 2007 at 5:39 pm

I used this to get a splatter of oil based paint out of my favorite polyester jacket. Pour the alcohol on the paint and then start picking as much paint as you can off of the fabric. It may take a while, but you’ll eventually get all the paint off.

ferro February 3, 2008 at 2:07 pm

first you will need to go to your local hardware store and get some wd-40.then get some dawn dish soap.first spray wd-40 on stain let sit for a bit (5mins) then rub dawn into stain use a scrub brush .you will see imediate change then throw in washer(note do not ad landry soap or you will have bubbles everywere.this worked for me so i am passing it on to you …

shweeta February 26, 2009 at 11:41 pm

You can put any powder (baby powder) on the oil let it be there for some time, and then wash it in laundry…………….

Anneatica April 18, 2009 at 3:05 pm

Help please

Why do stains get off better on polyester rather than other fabrics? Also why hot water rather than cold water?

CleanStuff May 2, 2009 at 11:50 pm

Why polyester is easy to clean

Hi Anneatica,

Stains are easier to remove from polyester because it is a synthetic fiber and therefore does not absorb the stain as easily or quickly as a natural fiber would. Natural fibers, such as cotton, swell and absorb moisture, including dyes and stain molecules. When removing the stain, it first requires a method to pull these dyes and stain molecules back out of the fiber. Since the synthetic fibers found in polyester do not absorb in this same fashion, the stains are not as deeply set. They simply need to be removed from the surface of the fibers.

Hot water is usually not recommended in stain removal as it can set the stain. In some cases, polyester fibers can tolerate the extra heat and it can be beneficial to “break up” the stain, such as oil, so that it can be removed.

Aletta Stone June 28, 2009 at 12:57 pm

Nail polish stain removal

hoiw do i remove a nail polish stain from a shirt that has polyester in it?

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