Hafrez said, “How to remove shoe polish stain?”
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You took great care of your shoes, giving them a nice polish, but now you have to get the shoe polish stain out of your clothes or even out of the polishing cloth. It’s not the easiest stain to remove, but it can be done regardless of the color of shoe polish that you have. Use the information below to remove the stain.
Removing Paste Shoe Polish Stains
You Will Need:
- Petroleum jelly
- Vegetable oil
- WD-40
- Ammonia
- Water
- A cloth
- Dish liquid
- Rubbing alcohol
- Turpentine
- Bleach or all-fabric bleach
Steps to Remove the Stain:
- If the stain is thick, apply some petroleum jelly to it and rub the jelly into the polish. Let the garment sit for about an hour for the jelly to loosen the polish. When the polish has softened, scrape it off the fabric.¹
- Instead of petroleum jelly, WD-40 or vegetable oil can be used to soften the polish. Put some on the polish, wait for about 15 minutes, then scrape off the polish.²
- Once you have removed as much polish as possible, treat the remaining stain. Combine equal amounts of ammonia and cool water. Blot the solution on the stain,³ starting with the outside edges and then working inwards to prevent the stain from spreading.⁴
- If you don’t have ammonia, you can try skipping the above step as most dish liquids contain ammonia and even if they don’t, they still could work to remove the stain. If you do have ammonia, use this step after the previous step. Rub some dish liquid into the stain, then rinse with water. Use caution for light-colored clothes, as some dish liquids that contain dyes can leave a dye stain.¹
- Another option is rubbing alcohol. For whites and light-colored clothes, blot the alcohol onto the stain until it is gone. For darker colors of clothes, dilute the alcohol with water (1 part rubbing alcohol in 2 parts cool water), then blot the solution onto the stain until it is gone.²
- If the rubbing alcohol isn’t working, rinse the area to remove the alcohol, then try turpentine. Test the turpentine on a small, hidden spot on the fabric first to look for any damage and, if safe, blot the turpentine on the stain until it is gone.²
- If the stain remains, launder the garment as usual with either all-fabric bleach or, if the fabric permits, chlorine bleach.⁵
Removing Liquid Shoe Polish Stains
You Will Need:
- Paper towels
- Powdered laundry detergent
- Water
- Rubbing alcohol
- A cloth
- Turpentine
- Bleach or all-fabric bleach
Steps to Remove the Stain:
- Use paper towels to blot the stain repeatedly to remove as much of the liquid polish as possible.²
- Stir some powdered laundry detergent with water to make a paste and rub the paste onto the stain before laundering the garment as usual.⁶
- If you don’t have powdered detergent, use rubbing alcohol. For whites and light-colored clothes, blot the alcohol onto the stain until it is gone. For darker colors of clothes, dilute the alcohol with water (1 part rubbing alcohol in 2 parts cool water), then blot the solution onto the stain until it is gone.²
- If the rubbing alcohol isn’t working, rinse the area to remove the alcohol, then try turpentine. Test the turpentine on a small, hidden spot on the fabric first to look for any damage and, if safe, blot the turpentine on the stain until it is gone.²
- If the stain remains, launder the garment as usual with either all-fabric bleach or, if the fabric permits, chlorine bleach.⁵
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Additional Tips and Advice
- Do not try to rinse a dye stain before applying a stain remover as water can cause the dye in shoe polish to spread.⁷
- Do not dry the garment in the dryer until you are positive that the stain is removed as heat can cause shoe polish stains to set. Keep in mind that some oily stains can appear gone while a garment is wet, so it is best to air dry the garment to be sure.²
- Always use caution and ventilate the area when working with ammonia. For more ammonia safety information, see Wikipedia.
Sources
- Joey Green’s Cleaning Magic
- How the Queen Cleans Everything! by Linda Cobb
- Haley’s Cleaning Hints by Graham and Rosemary Haley
- Stain Removal by Stephanie Zia
- Home Comforts: The Art & Science of Keeping House by Cheryl Mendelson
- Cleaning Plain & Simple by Donna Smallin
- Don Aslett’s Stainbuster’s Bible by Don Aslett
The suggestions have not worked. I have dark cotton pants stained with liquid white shoe polish. I have been afraid of using oxyclean or anything with bleach. So far it has just faded a little, but is still there. Any other suggestions?
JoAnn,
If you are worried about the bleach fading the color of the jeans, keep in mind that you can always re-dye them. There are fabric dyes sold in the laundry aisle of most supermarkets. Good luck!