Fight Big Oil...Stains | Portland Oregon

Oil Stains Don't Have to Ruin Your Clothes | Portland

We've all been there. Maybe it's salad oil, maybe it's motor oil... if you're this Grit Elite Staffer, it's pesto. We've all gotten some type of oil onto our clothing and we've (probably) all had to resign ourselves to a ruined garment because of it. 

It doesn't have to be that way. 

If you just dripped, wiped or spattered a grease or oil-based drop on your clothes, you need to act quickly, but you don't need to consign your outfit to your "laundry day" wardrobe just yet. 

• As soon as you notice the stain, blot! Remove as much of the substance as possible.
• Next, cover it with something absorbent. (Salt is a great choice and very handy if you're at the dinner table.) Other substances that may help are cornstarch, baking soda or talcum powder.
• Wait... two minutes minimum to give the absorbent substance a chance to soak up as much of the stain as possible.
• Remove the absorbent powder- make sure not to let the used material get on other parts of your clothes. 
• Now, it's time to scrub. Put dish soap or a little bit of laundry soap onto the stain, then gently scrub (an old clean toothbrush works great for this.) Be sure to get both sides of the stained fabric. 
• Wash the article of clothing on it's own, following the instructions on the tag.
• Dry- hang it to dry. If the stain persisted, the heat from the drying will cause it to set and all your effort was for nothing. 
• If at first you don't succeed, try again!

While this won't save every piece of clothing, it will dramatically improve your chances of saving your clothes.