How do I get dirt stains out?

May 15, 2009 8:22 AM

How do I remove dirt stains on pants?

My daughter came home from daycare with the knees of her pants totally saturated with a mixture of sand and dirt. She's a crawler and I expect this to happen a lot but have no experience with dirt stains. (I don't do a lot of stuff that leads to dirt stains on me). For the most part it doesn't matter too much: the pants were cheap and I'm sure she'll grow out of them in another month but what's the best way to treat these kinds of stains? I'm sure there will be plenty more.

The complicating factor is that they've already been washed and dried and still have stains on the knees. Is there any hope of getting them totally clean? Generally, I know to pre-treat stains but I neglected to do that this time. So the question really is two-fold: What are best practices for dirt stains and then what do I do in this case where it's already been laundered but the stain remains? I'm in the U.S., so product recommendations will be most helpful if they're available here.

Bonus side question: Does anyone remember a solvent/stain removal product that used to be available maybe up to the 70s and 80s? It was alcohol based and came in a narrow, tall-ish glass jar with a felt tip that you dabbed on to stains? I can't find it anymore which leads me to believe it was toxic and so they've taken it off the market but it worked like a charm on a lot of things.

posted by otherwordlyglow to home & garden (7 comments total)

Zout. Works great on everything we've thrown at it so far, even old stains.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:07 AM on May 15

Howtocleanstuff.net has a whole section on removing various substances from fabrics; the page I linked to suggests using dish soap and a toothbrush to get out dirt stains. YMMV, of course, but I've had good luck in the past using techniques they've suggested for other types of stains ...
posted by DingoMutt at 9:24 AM on May 15

I pour Era Plus directly on grass stains before tossing them in the wash. I started with this solution when I was a dirty college boy and would let things with grass and dirt sit around for ages before dragging the giant pile to the laundry. It works amazingly well.
posted by advicepig at 9:46 AM on May 15

Seconding the brush suggestion. You can use a bigger brush than a toothbrush, like those meant for scrubbing tubs.

(I learned this when visiting an Italian boyfriend -- his mother snuck into my luggage, took out my jeans, and cleaned the bike grease stains which had been there for years. I hadn't believed it possible, so I forgave her the imposition.)
posted by wyzewoman at 10:59 AM on May 15

Shout gel rules. It gets pretty much everything out of my pants, probably in part due to the built-in scrubby.
posted by nosila at 3:05 PM on May 15

Well I knew this was sort of a pedestrian issue but I thought there'd be more responses. Anyway, I tried Zout, soaking for about 10 minutes and then put the whole thing in a bowl with a solution of OxiClean. After about an hour, I scrubbed with a stiff brush, soaked for another hour and then rinsed. Most of the stain is out though I may do another cycle of Zout/OxiClean.
posted by otherwordlyglow at 10:10 AM on May 16

I collect very old dolls, and sometimes get clothes with them that you'd think are dark brown, not white or pale pink.. Soaking in Oxyclean or Javex Bleach for Unbleachables (same chemical, prob weaker solution) for a few days works wonders. I usually change the water when it's too muddy to see the thing I'm soaking and mix up another batch. If it will get out 100 year old dirt, it has a decent chance of getting out dryer set dirt. For greasy dirt and grass stains, I used to use Pinesol. It's horrible stuff. I think it's an old coal tar soap, like dog soap, but it works better than anything else I've found, including all the spray and wash varieties and the oxyclean. Nthing the brush. I prefer one with natural bristles as they tend not to tear the fabric like the nylon ones do. Scrubbing a bit of soap/detergent into the stain before you pop it into the Oxy can't hurt.
posted by x46 at 3:33 PM on May 16