How to Remove a Curry Stain from Clothing

Steff asked, “Anyone know how to get a curry stain out of fabric? I got one in my mum’s new puffer.”

Follow the steps below. If one solution does not work, select another and continue working through the steps until the stain is removed.

You Will Need:

• Dishwashing liquid
• Vegetable glycerin
• Ammonia
• White vinegar
• Borax
• Enzyme detergent

Steps to Remove the Curry Stain:

1. Rinse stain immediately with cold water.¹
2. Rub stain with dishwashing liquid.¹
3. Rinse well with cold water.
4. Combine 3 tablespoons vegetable glycerin (in liquid form), 4 tablespoons water, and 1 tablespoon household ammonia.² If you don’t have any ammonia, just use plain glycerin instead.¹
5. Rub the glycerin mixture into stain and let sit for 1 hour.² Rinse the mixture with a solution of equal parts white vinegar and water.¹
6. Launder according to label, preferably with borax added to the wash in addition to your regular detergent.³
7. As an alternative to the above solutions, you can use an enzyme detergent. Rub the stain with the enzyme detergent and wash in hot water, if the garment will allow, with the detergent.⁴ Launder according to label.
8. If stain is not gone, do not dry garment; proceed with suggestions for old or stubborn stains.

You Will Need:

• All-fabric bleach
• 3% hydrogen peroxide
• Chlorine bleach

Steps to Remove the Curry Stain:

1. Soak the garment for 15 minutes in an all-fabric bleach solution prepared according to manufacture’s guidelines.⁴ Launder according to label.
2. Apply a few drops of hydrogen peroxide to garment.³ Rinse with cold water, then launder as normal. Do not apply hydrogen peroxide to a dark color of fabric, as it can have a bleaching effect.
3. If the garment will allow, apply a mixture of chlorine bleach directly to the stain or soak the entire garment in the bleach solution. Allow to sit for 15 minutes.⁴ Launder according to label.

• Hand sanitizer can sometimes be effective for removing a curry stain. If nothing else is working, try it!²
• Non-washable garments should be taken to the dry cleaner or treated with a home dry cleaning kit as immediately as possible.⁴
• Use proper ventilation when working with ammonia and do not mix with products containing bleach, as toxic fumes could develop. See Wikipedia for more ammonia safety information.
• Caution should be used when storing and using hydrogen peroxide; see Wikipedia for more information.

1. Green Clean by Linda Mason Hunter and Mikki Halpin
2. Haley’s Cleaning Hints by Graham and Rosemary Haley
3. Natural Stain Removal Secrets by Deborah L. Martin
4. Stain Removal by Stephanie Zia