Getting an oil (?) stain out of a washed and dried garment

December 26, 2024 9:49 AM

After taking my pants out of the dryer, I found that they had a big stain on them. I know my odds of getting this stain out aren't great after laundering, but I hope I can improve my odds through you all.

The pants are lightweight cotton chinos in a fairly dark color: basically a hunter green. In my experience this is color is more likely than any other to fade and shift with and of treatment - dark greens do that on their own pretty fast - so that is one piece of my bad luck here. I don't know what created the stain, but my best guess is that it's from a cooking fat of some kind. It's also a good-sized stain in a prominent location. I washed the pants in the washing machine, in cool water. I dried them in a clothes dryer on "low" heat (a misnomer, at least with my machine, because clothes get plenty hot on that setting). I've only worn the pants a few times, so it would be an extra bummer if I have trash them because of this :(

posted by Mechitar to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (21 answers total)

Have you tried putting some Dawn (or similar) dish soap on the spot and letting it sit for a bit, then washing again? This works for me 90% of the time (and you can try it over and over if the first round isn't effective).
posted by knotty knots at 10:01 AM on December 26

I would try a similar spot-treatment with OxyClean.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:03 AM on December 26

Spot treat with a stain remover spray, let sit for half an hour and then wash on warm with oxygen bleach (Oxyclean) plus regular detergent. Repeat if necessary, ideally hanging to dry between washes.
posted by ssg at 10:07 AM on December 26

Oxiclean is the only stain remover that's ever worked for me for grease spots.

Get the gel stick, apply the gel directly to the stain, rub it in, let it sit for about a half hour, launder in warm water, which shouldn't hurt the color of the pants.

Air dry - don't throw them in the dryer until you can see how well the stain came out.
posted by rabia.elizabeth at 10:13 AM on December 26

Dawn has degreasers, that's why it's used on oily birds; it's not really terribly gentle. I pre-soak stuff overnight with Dawn, with pretty good results. Air-dry is good advice, too.
posted by theora55 at 10:42 AM on December 26

Dawn and Oxyclean. I use Dawn as the spot treatment and Oxy in the wash. I have used this method to get stains that were fully laundered and dried out dozens of times.
posted by MagnificentVacuum at 10:42 AM on December 26

Have you tried putting some Dawn (or similar) dish soap on the spot and letting it sit for a bit, then washing again? This works for me 90% of the time (and you can try it over and over if the first round isn't effective).

It works so well! Dawn is amazing for laundry stains.
posted by mochapickle at 10:44 AM on December 26

I have used Shout stain remover with stellar results on a garment that went through the washer and dryer before I realized there was a big grease stain on it.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 10:52 AM on December 26

The trick I've used with oil stains is to run chalk, just regular chalk board chalk, on it and let it sit, then repeat. I will often wash it but not dry it at that point, then review.

I've also had good luck with Dawn, nice hot water, and rubbing the stain against itself with Dawn
posted by AbelMelveny at 10:55 AM on December 26

Grandma's secret spot remover comes in a tiny bottle but lasts a long time and works great on grease stains.
posted by sulaine at 11:03 AM on December 26

Nthing Dawn dish soap for this. My usual process for grease stains is: apply Dawn, wash items on the hottest washer setting, then air dry. Sometimes it takes a couple of washes, but I've had a lot of success with this method (even on grease stained clothes that inadvertently went into the dryer), and I haven't noticed any shrinking of my clothes that I've treated this way.
posted by Janta at 12:28 PM on December 26

My ritual is Dawn, and a pretty generous smear of it going out past the stain a bit and making sure it's squished all the way through the fabric, and then let it sit at least a few hours but a day is pretty good.

Wash, hang dry and then inspect. Don't dry it again until you've tried a couple rounds.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:40 PM on December 26

You could try Lestoil, if you can find it in your area.
posted by bCat at 1:43 PM on December 26

Adding to the Dawn advice, I put it on a paper bag and use a toothbrush to scrub the spot. It seems to help draw out some of the oil.
posted by brilliantine at 1:46 PM on December 26

Another +1 for Dawn. I just washed and dried a sweatshirt with an oil stain and tried Dawn thinking it wouldn't work. It did!
posted by jdl at 2:01 PM on December 26

The trick I've used with oil stains is to run chalk, just regular chalk board chalk, on it and let it sit, then repeat. I will often wash it but not dry it at that point, then review.

I've found that this works with almost any fine powder -- I've done it with talcum powder, corn starch, and even ordinary flour. The powder wicks the oil out of the fabric. I typically leave it on the stain for at least a couple of days. The longer you leave it, the more oil it will remove.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 3:57 PM on December 26

I get random oil stains after washing & drying all the time & generally have success with a Dawn & cornstarch slurry (rinsed off well before going in the wash).
posted by smangosbubbles at 10:54 PM on December 26

When this has happened to me - I'm not the neatest cook and though I use an apron I sometimes get stains on sleeves - I've taken garments to a dry cleaner and asked whether they can work on the stain. Often they can, and the stain is either gone or so improved it's hardly noticeable. Success usually depends on what fabric the garment is made of - synthetics respond much worst than mostly cotton, linen or wool. Even with a little bit of stretch, if the pants are mostly cotton there is a better chance of removal.
posted by citygirl at 6:47 AM on December 27

One more for Dawn. I've given up on several items that I decided to do all-or-nothing: I wet the spot, apply Dawn pretty heavy, dip in Oxyclean, scrub together by hand, then let sit at least a half hour. Amazingly enough, it worked with no bleached out or damage spot. Line dry and repeat if you need to.
posted by BlueHorse at 9:33 AM on December 27

Pick your favorite stain remover, I don't think it matters too much as long as it doesn't affect the garment. Apply liberally and then gently rub it in. Wash with the warmest water you're comfortable with. Do not machine dry again until the stain is gone. Repeat until the stain is gone. In my experience it'll probably take three washes. Don't just wash it by itself. I usually wash with a few dish towels or something to ensure there's some rubbing.
posted by jeffamaphone at 11:02 AM on December 27

I use a product called Orange aPEEL Cleaner. It has never not worked to get an oily stain out of clothes — even ones that have been washed already.

But the trick is to use a little liquid dish soap too. What I do is spray a bit of the Orange aPEEL on the stain. (I put it in a little spray bottle as you don't need a lot at all — but you could just drop some on.)

Then I put on a few drops of Dawn (as I usually buy it) on there too, but other kinds of dish soaps work too. If you don't use dish soap, the stain comes out but sometimes a bit of oily residue appears.

Orange aPEEL Cleaner works for me even when Dawn alone does not.
posted by Lescha at 7:32 AM on December 31