Removing Grease Stains From Clothes

by Lynn

I love aprons, but I am terrible about wearing them. I don’t know how many clothes I have stained because I did not wear an apron. Many times the stain has been grease, which in my experience is one of the hardest stains to remove.

In fact, I recently thought I ruined a pair of pants due to a grease stain. I tried everything to remove the stain and nothing worked. I was quite sad because this was one of my favorite pairs of pants.

I am tall. I have trouble finding pants that fit me. Not many brands make pants with a 35 inch inseam. So, I will admit I spend money on my pants. This particular pair was an Eddie Bauer pair that was not cheap. I loved them and wore them all the time. I was very unhappy with myself for staining them because this was far from the first time I had ruined something like this. I should have known better and worn an apron.

I was recently complaining about ruining clothes and this specific pair of pants. My friend Alyssa asked me if I had tried dish soap on the stain. I told her I had tried just about everything else, but no I had not tried dish soap. She told me that it works great on grease stains and to give it a try.

To be honest, I wasn’t at all convinced that dish soap would work, but I was willing to try it. I placed some dish soap on the stain and rubbed it in. I let it sit for a few hours and I rinsed it out. I was shocked. The stain was gone!

I could not believe that the dish soap had removed the grease stain. Alyssa was right, this trick works great. I have since used dish soap to remove  grease stains from one of my shirts and also one of my husband’s shirts.

I love the fact that this works so well, but not only does it work well, dish soap is so inexpensive. It is also something I always have on hand.

So, next time you have a grease stain on a piece of clothing, go to your kitchen sink and grab the dish soap. You might be surprised at what it will do.

For more frugal ideas see Frugal Fridays.

Lynn


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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }

Nicole H. March 11, 2010 at 9:55 pm

somehow cooking spray landed all over my shirt this evening while fixing supper…thank you!

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Leslie March 12, 2010 at 12:06 am

That is one very good frugal tip! I’ve been out of spray & wash forever and have had a few stains set in just because of that. I can’t wait to try this idea!
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Margot March 12, 2010 at 10:01 am

Interestingly, Dawn is the type of dish soap used to clean birds after an oil spill. I use straight laundry soap too. I tend to be spilly when eating. maybe need a bib.
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Catherine March 12, 2010 at 10:09 am

It works wonders, doesn’t it? And that dish soap is right there when the stain happens, too! The sooner you get some on there the more likely it is to come out. I managed to spray tomato sauce all over myself the other night (don’t ask) and I just got some soapy water on my shirt right away and it didn’t stain at all! And no extra elbow grease or soaking time either. Great tip!

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cassie March 12, 2010 at 10:27 am

thank you for sharing this tip, i had no idea! i get grease stains on my clothing alot and have actually thrown things out because i didnt think there was any way to remove the stain. i am definetely going to try this trick. thanks!!
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Veronica M. March 12, 2010 at 6:19 pm

Hey, that’s a great tip! I learned a different way to remove grease stains from a roommate over a decade ago that I’ve always used–heavily sprinkle talcum powder (like baby powder) over the inside and outside of the spot where the stain is and let it sit at least overnight. The powder aborbs the grease so that when you wash the shirt, it’s grease free again! I actually like your tip better since there’s no waiting involved.
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Darlene March 12, 2010 at 6:31 pm

I’ve been using Dawn for years! It is one of the bottles I keep in the laundry room. Works great on the collar of my husband’s shirts too.

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Dawn March 19, 2010 at 11:27 am

Okay, why did I not think of even trying this? Thank you. I have a few shirts I was getting ready to get rid of because of grease stains. Now I can keep them. Thanks again!

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Travel Harriet June 1, 2010 at 10:33 am

Thanks for the information i actually had thrown away most of my stain clothes but hope to put them in use.Great site.

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Jill August 17, 2010 at 11:27 pm

I have used this tip with great success even on clothes run through the dryer!

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Tiffany C June 16, 2011 at 12:33 pm

Thank you! I can’t wait to try this on some of my kid’s clothes! I wonder if this will also work on my husbands dress shirt collars?

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