How to Get Oil Stains Out of Clothes
There you are, minding your own business when all of a sudden… PLOP! Something – a delicious drop of dressing, a delightful homemade sauce, or even your dutiful facial toner spills on your clothing. It feels like your day – and your outfit – are ruined. We’ve all been there–and it stinks. But there’s good news! We can help you defeat even the oiliest foe. The key is to know exactly how to remove oil stains from clothes.
Work Quickly
While we know it’s not always possible, tending to an oily stain as soon as it happens goes a long way in getting your garment fully clean and spot-free. The sooner you can get into stain-remover mode, the better chance you will have a positive outcome.
Get Creative [and Be Patient!]
Sometimes, even the most powerful laundry detergent can’t defeat stains alone. But knowing how to get oil stains out of clothes is half the battle. Our Sheets Laundry Club hack can help you remove oil stains with the help of some unexpected household items. Here’s a step-by-step tutorial:
- Scoop a generous portion of cornmeal onto your stained garment and spread it around to cover the entire oil spot. (Yes, you read that correctly. We said cornmeal!) Once covered, allow the cornmeal to sit on the stain for at least 15 minutes. This gives the cornmeal time to pull as much oil out of the clothing as possible.
- Using a spoon, scoop the cornmeal off the stain. Use a soft brush, like a toothbrush, to remove any lingering bits.
- Make a paste using three simple ingredients: warm water, a toothbrush, and a Sheets laundry detergent sheet. Simply wet the toothbrush and scrub it on the laundry detergent sheet until a paste begins to form.
- Use the paste to thoroughly scrub the stain, making sure to get the edges so that the stain doesn’t spread.
- Rinse out the stain with warm water.
While this may work for fresh stains oil, set-in oil stains can be challenging, even for the best laundry detergent sheets on the market. But we’ve got more tricks up our sleeve (or in our arsenal or products) that can help.
How to Get Oil Stains Out of Clothes: Additional Methods
If you’ve tried this hack, but are still left with an unsightly stain, here are two more methods that might be successful.
Call in Reinforcements
For tough stains, especially on white items, you need a dedicated stain remover for clothes to return your clothes to their unstained glory. Try washing your oil-stained clothes with our EcoBoost Stain Fighter. Not only are they tough on stains, but they also keep your whites bright and beautiful.
Try Other Cleaning Products
It may seem odd to clean clothes with dish soap, but when you think about it, it makes sense! Dish soaps must be tough on grease and oil to keep your plates and utensils clean. If they can remove oily messes from dishes, why not from your clothes? If your stains are especially stubborn, and the previous two methods haven’t worked, try this combo to rid your duds of oil once and for all.
- Wet our handcrafted solid dish soap until it begins to lather.
- Rub the soap bar directly onto the oil stain. This should help draw out some of the oil.
- While the stain is still wet and sudsy, pour some baking soda onto it. Using a toothbrush, mix it around until the dish soap and baking soda combine.
- Let this mixture sit for 30-60 minutes. It will harden to a crumbly paste, but that’s okay. Allow it time to draw the oil out of the fabric and into the paste.
- Rinse the garment in hot water, ensuring that you remove all of the soap and baking soda from the clothing. For extra tough stains, fill a basin or pot with hot water and allow it to soak.
- Finally, throw your item and a laundry detergent sheet in the washing machine, and wash as usual. (We recommend letting your newly cleaned item air dry, rather than going into the dryer, so any lingering stains don’t get locked in.)
With swift action, a little luck, and the right laundry supplies, these cleaning hacks should help save your oil-stained clothes from a date with the dry cleaner. Browse and shop today for all of your stain-fighting, clean laundry needs!
@sheetslaundryclub Try this stain removal hack for oil and grease stains. Remove oil from clothes with this stain fighting trick. This laundry hack will keep your clothes clean and your whites bright. #stainremover #stainremovalhacks #stainremoval #laundryhackthatworks #laundrytipsandtricks #laundrytrick #ecoconsciousbrands ♬ Lain - 秉节
Jamie Dorman
Jamie Dorman is the Social Media and Content Manager at Sheets Laundry Club. She has been in advertising for 11 years and is passionate about keeping our clothes and planet clean with eco-conscious products. She is also an avid reader, recreational guitarist and her favorite Sheets Laundry Club scent is Sea Breeze.