The best time to treat oily, greasy stains in fabrics is when they’re fresh. If you don’t get to them until your regular laundry day, most will present a challenge. And if you notice them after they’ve been through the dryer? You might be looking at a permanent addition to your wardrobe, but before you resign yourself to that grease spot, give this method a try.
Table of Contents:
You Will Need:
- WD-40
- Hot water
- Heavy duty liquid laundry detergent
- Washing machine
Steps to Remove the Stain:
- Spray the stain with a generous amount of WD-40. The lubricant from the WD-40 will help to make the oil stain like a fresh stain again.
- Allow it to sit for 30 minutes so the stained area can become fully absorbed with the WD-40.
- Rinse the area with hot water to remove the excess oil.
- Cover the spot with liquid laundry detergent. Rub gently with your fingers to ensure the spot is saturated.
- Allow the laundry detergent to set on the stained area for 30 minutes.
- Wash the piece in the hottest water recommended for the fabric.
- Check to ensure the stain is gone before drying. Repeat as needed, or until you no longer see an improvement.
Additional Tips and Advice
- You can try grease cutting dish soap such as Dawn in place of laundry detergent. Avoid using one with citrus additives (lemon or orange scented, for example) or one with bleach.
- Be careful to keep the WD-40 on the stain only. Overspray may cause the stain to appear to spread in some fabrics.
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Small grease stains can be ironed out by sprinkling talcum powder on the stain and then ironing.
Wick up as much of the grease (such as butter, salad dressing or cooking oil) with baking soda, even if it as an old stain. Then, if the stain remains AND the fabric is colorfast, spray with Dawn Power Dissolver designed for greasy pots and pans, let sit for a few minutes and launder as usual. Try not to put in dryer until the stain is gone.
Thank You!
My daughter sat on a tube of lip gloss and got bad grease marks over her brand new school uniform. I washed it straight away after applying a good quality stain removing spray, but it did nothing. After a number of attempts, which didn’t do a thing, in desperation I looked up your website and tried the talcum powder. The first time didn’t work, so I left the powder on overnight, and washed the dress this morning – and now the marks are gone. I can’t thank you enough.
Removing grease spot after laundered
I found that Goo B Gone works great for removing old grease spots. I buy the spray but the liquid version works well too. Just apply to the spot, rub slightly and launder and swhish, it’s gone! Hope this works for you.