Once I went to a pizzeria with my children, and children are like that: noisy, agile, restless, and they don’t know how to eat neatly, especially if there is a lot of other entertainment around. The mouth is open, the head is spinning, and the hand with the pizza decides to make a turn towards the jacket. When she came home, tired, she did not see that her son, having undressed, threw his jacket behind the sofa, and not in the laundry. So it lay for a couple of weeks until the next general cleaning. The fat dried up and finally got into the fabric, but I managed. And now I will tell you a simple way to remove an old greasy stain on clothes, which helped me. Well, at the same time, I will share a few more life hacks.
In many “internet tips” it annoys me that they advise to use means to remove old stains, which are called “at hand”, although most of them are not in every house or the nearest store. For example, glycerin, turpentine, gasoline, ammonia, etc. (we will talk about them below, as the means are very effective for removing stains, although they are not as affordable as life hackers write). My advice will touch only what you will definitely find in the kitchen and in the first aid kit:
- Vegetable oil. There is no vegetable oil, take any oil-based medicine without dye in the first-aid kit. Even machine oil is suitable for the edge, especially if the greasy stain is also placed on it.
- Cotton wool or an unnecessary white cloth (you can do without it, just use your hands, we will not use aggressive means).
- Salt, soda, starch, talc (any of these).
- Dishwashing liquid or laundry soap.
Important ! Do not try to wash the thing with embedded fat in the usual way (it doesn’t matter if you wash it in a washing machine or by hand). Attempts to soak the fabric in water with ordinary powder, gel or soap will only aggravate the problem, and a dark mark will remain on the clothes.
A little about the basics of spot removal
What do we do when we just dripped fat on our favorite blouse or pants? That’s right, we look for salt on the table and sprinkle it on the contaminated place. They also use soda, starch or talc for this. These agents absorb fat, pulling it out of the tissue. After that, it is enough to wash the clothes with “Antipyatin” laundry soap or with a dishwashing detergent that breaks down fatty compounds. Ideally, it is good if you have a special gel for removing oily spots.
Why am I writing this? After all, your problem is an old stain, not a fresh one. It’s simple – my method helps to “turn back time”. There is no need to torment the fabric with aggressive stain removers, smelly gasoline or turpentine. It is enough to dissolve the stain until it is freshly applied.
A fresh greasy stain is many times easier to remove than an old one.
Remove fat with fat
So, let’s get down to the main thing, how to remove an old greasy stain.
And here is my recipe:
- Take the dirty clothes, straighten them so that it is convenient to treat the dirty place. It is convenient to pull on the pan if it is a jacket.
- You will need refined sunflower or olive oil, the main thing is that it is odorless. We don’t want to wash away the stain, but leave an unpleasant aroma. Also take cotton wool, a cotton pad or a piece of white cotton cloth, keep in mind that you will have to throw it away later.
- Pour a small amount of oil somewhere; you should be comfortable dipping the cotton ball into the container of your choice.
- Take cotton wool or a rag, soak it in vegetable oil and treat the old greasy stain. You process a lot, that’s why it was necessary to straighten the clothes, so that you sometimes do not dirty the clean parts of the fabric.
- After re-staining the clothes with fat, leave it for 10-15 minutes. During this time, vegetable oil will dissolve the dried, thereby “refreshing” the old stain.
And now it is enough to wash the clothes as you would with a fresh greasy mark.
- Sprinkle the renewed stain with salt (soda, starch, etc.), carefully spreading it over the surface with your hands. Wait a couple of minutes, the fat will be absorbed into the absorbent. Remove the contaminated salt and pour a new portion. Repeat this until the oil is no longer absorbed. Along the way, you will notice how the spot lightens.
- Pour dishwashing detergent on the stained area or rub it with moistened laundry soap (it is advisable to buy soap with the “anti-stain” mark). Rub well and soap the fabric.
Important ! Do not pull the treated area strongly during washing, otherwise the fabric in this area will stretch and the clothes will not look their best. It is almost impossible to fix a stretched canvas.
- Wash the treated area of the fabric. Evaluate the result, if necessary, repeat “soaping” a couple of times.
The described method of washing greasy stains has never failed me, so I recommend it for use. But there are fabrics that cannot be washed, or for some reason the described option does not suit you – in these cases, I recommend using the tips described below.
Super method
Delicate fabric, no time to wash, do not like messing with oil, etc. – the reason is not important to use an effective means to remove an old greasy stain. Here is a list of options that will surely save dirty clothes:
- Distilled alcohol . You can wash off any stain with it. Soak the contaminated area in ammonia and leave it for a couple of hours. To enhance the effect, you can mix ammonia with turpentine in equal quantities. After 2-3 hours, wash off the product with soap and warm water. Wash the clothes as usual.
Advice ! Remains of ammonia and turpentine prepared for cleaning can be stored in a tightly closed jar (from the same ammonia) and stored in a cool place, using before washing for difficult stains.
- Starch + gasoline . Mix until a slurry is formed, the starch can be preheated slightly in a dry pan or in the microwave. Place clean paper or an unnecessary white cloth under your clothes. Spread the prepared gruel on the contaminated area. Gasoline will dissolve the greasy stain, and starch will be absorbed as an absorbent. When the starch dries, shake, if necessary, repeat the procedure.
- Alcohol and iron . The method is suitable for fabrics that cannot be washed, but can be ironed. You will need a paper napkin or an unnecessary cotton cloth. Place a napkin under the greasy stain, treat the contaminated area with heated alcohol (no higher than 30 degrees), put a second napkin on top and iron it with a warm iron. Napkins will absorb grease, so change them as they get dirty.
- Glycerin . Pour glycerin on the greasy stain, wait a couple of hours, wipe with a dry napkin, evaluate the result (if necessary, repeat the procedure), then wash.
After any manipulations, be sure to wash the clothes in warm water with powder. You can do it by hand or in the washing machine with other things. And remember, wash things on time so that you don’t waste time removing stains.
And while you have processed things and are waiting 2-3 hours for the remedy to take effect, I suggest making a gift for the child: