Comments on: olive oil spot remover

Question: olive oil spot remover

leafwoman — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 13:54:50 -0800

I wear lots of silk knits and I love to cook. Sometimes I get olive oil spots splashed on the knit and I can't seem to ever get the spots out. I wear an apron but the stuff is sneaky. How can I get those spots out of my silk knits?

By: FlamingBore

FlamingBore — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 14:05:12 -0800

I don't know if this would work on silks, as I don't own any, but if it's something that can be washed in a machine: Dawn dishwashing soap. Pour it on, rub it a little and wash it. This even works on oil spots that have gone through the wash/dry cycle.

By: growabrain

growabrain — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 15:17:17 -0800

Cooking naked -

By: leafwoman

leafwoman — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 15:42:18 -0800

Cooking naked - salad dressing yes, chicken browning no.

By: caddis

caddis — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 15:51:11 -0800

Shout has worked for me, as has liquid dish soap. The key is getting it we, warm and soapy for sufficient time. This is not always the best for silks.

By: puddinghead

puddinghead — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 16:40:07 -0800

I've never had any luck getting oily spots out of knits, but my dry cleaner can.

By: DawnSimulator

DawnSimulator — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 18:03:58 -0800

I'm a big fan of the Spray 'n Wash product Stain Stick, looks like a giant green-capped glue stick in the laundry products aisle. You treat the spot as soon as you notice, but you don't have to wash right away. It even worked the time a colored chapstick went through the dryer and spotted everything oily peach. Blech.

By: nenequesadilla

nenequesadilla — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 18:22:28 -0800

Believe it or not, WD-40 gets out most oil-based stains, even after the clothes have been washed/dried. Spray a little bit on the stain (or dab on with cotton swab), wait 15 minutes, then apply a drop or two of dish soap and rinse the heck out of it.

By: jacquilynne

jacquilynne — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 19:11:22 -0800

Try the fluid that comes in the Dryel kits. Try it on an inconspicuous spot on your shirt first, however.

Also, have you considered getting an apron made out of something less finicky?

By: hortense

hortense — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 20:02:06 -0800

try Murphy's oil soap (intended for wood) seems not to rough up the fabric like regular soaps and detergents.

By: vronsky

vronsky — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 21:12:54 -0800

It is probably too strong for silk, but fyi, Lestoil is amazing at taking out grease spots on t-shirts. It has worked like a charm on ten year old spots on some of my shirts.

By: unrepentanthippie

unrepentanthippie — Sun, 05 Jun 2005 00:34:58 -0800

Lighter fluid, with a Stain Stick chaser. Probably want to do a spot test on an inside corner first. If you want to wash it right away, lighter fluid with a laundry detergent chaser.

By: leafwoman

leafwoman — Sun, 05 Jun 2005 09:04:28 -0800

My apron isn't silk, it also isn't a HASMAT suit and the splatters sometimes go where the apron isn't.

By: dejah420

dejah420 — Sun, 05 Jun 2005 09:10:43 -0800

A PDF on getting anything out of everything. Seriously, it's like the compendium of stains. :)

I work with a lot of oils. Natural soap is made with oils and lye, and so I've often got giant pots of melting olive, coconut, and palm oils going. I'm forever leaning up against a counter and getting a line of oil across whatever I'm wearing. I've had good luck making a paste of baking soda, citric acid and lemon juice, scrubbing it on with a toothbrush, rinsing then washing. Note however, that I don't wear silk when cooking or making soap, so I can't speak to how well that would work on silk.

By: roundrock

roundrock — Sun, 05 Jun 2005 11:11:46 -0800

I second the baking soda recommendation -- I've never tried mixing it with the citric acid & lemon juice, but scrubbing in baking soda prior to washing has been relatively effective on most fabrics for me (I think it absorbs the oil).

By: unrepentanthippie

unrepentanthippie — Sun, 05 Jun 2005 12:00:10 -0800

Ah! I forgot the absorbency tactic. I use baby powder. and I let mine sit a while, rub in, shake off, then put on another dab until it disappears. I never used baking soda but it makes sense that would work. (If anyone stumbles through looking for carpet advice, the baby powder works well on carpets, just keep vacuuming it up and rubbing until no longer oily.)
I used to use powder on silk becase the dyes are often touchy.

By: theora55

theora55 — Sun, 05 Jun 2005 12:13:45 -0800

Many products will ruin silk, so keep a ruined silk item to test some of these ideas. Dawn dish deterg contacts degreasers and is great on grease spots. Go-Jo handwashing stuff is used by mechanics. I use it for serious grease stains and it really works. I've never tried either on silk. Knits might be a bit more forgiving.