Removing common stains

25 min

Let's begin

At lunch, a spoonful of beans cooked in red palm oil lands on a white school shirt. Within a minute there is an orange patch the size of a coin. If it is rubbed hard with a wet bar of soap and then the shirt is dried in the hot sun, the patch spreads and sets. If the oil is first soaked up, then treated with washing-up liquid from the back of the fabric, then washed in the hottest water the label allows, it disappears. Stain removal is chemistry: you match the remover to what the stain is made of.

Definition

Stain: a mark on fabric that does not come out with ordinary washing because the substance has soaked into, or bonded with, the fibres.

Stain remover: a substance that loosens or dissolves a particular stain. Four main kinds:

Absorbents soak up liquid or grease: maize flour, talc, salt, blotting paper.
Solvents dissolve substances that water cannot: methylated spirit (ethanol) dissolves ballpoint ink and grass; washing-up liquid emulsifies grease.
Enzyme products (biological detergents) digest protein, starch and fat stains.
Chemical removers react with the stain: acids such as lemon juice or vinegar for rust and some deposits; bleaches for coloured stains on white fabric.

Rules for every stain

Act fast. A fresh stain is far easier to remove than a dry one.
Identify the stain and the fabric (care label).
Remove the excess: scrape off solids with a blunt knife, blot liquids with a clean cloth. Do not rub: rubbing spreads the stain and pushes it deeper.
Test the remover on a hidden part, such as an inside seam, to check that the colour and fibre are not harmed.
Work from the back of the fabric, with an absorbent pad underneath, and dab from the edge towards the centre (Figure 4).
Start mild: cold water, then soap or detergent, and only then a stronger chemical.
Rinse, then wash the item normally. Check that the stain has gone before drying or ironing: heat sets stains permanently.

Common stains and how to remove them

Stain	Type	Method
Blood, egg, milk	protein	soak in cold water (salted for blood) or biological detergent; then wash. Hot water cooks the protein into the fibre.
Sweat (yellow underarms)	protein and body oils	soak in biological detergent; wash; on white cotton, oxygen bleach
Palm oil, cooking oil, butter, avocado	grease	sprinkle maize flour or talc to absorb, brush off; rub in washing-up liquid from the back; wash in the hottest water the label allows
Tea, coffee, fruit juice	plant (tannin)	rinse at once in cold water from the back; soak in detergent; on white cotton, diluted bleach
Grass	plant pigment	dab with methylated spirit, rinse, then wash with biological detergent
Ballpoint ink	dye in oil	pad underneath, dab with methylated spirit, change the pad as the ink transfers; then wash
Mud	soil	let it dry, brush off, then soak and wash. Wet mud rubbed in spreads.
Rust	mineral (iron)	lemon juice and salt on the stain, leave in the sun, rinse; repeat if needed
Candle wax, chewing gum	wax or gum	harden with ice and scrape off; for wax, iron (warm) between sheets of absorbent paper
Mildew (black or grey spots)	mould	brush off outdoors; wash; whites: diluted chlorine bleach; colours: oxygen bleach or lemon juice and sun

Worked example

Worked example 1: the palm-oil shirt. Remove a fresh palm-oil stain from a white cotton shirt (label: tub 60, any bleach, three dots).

Scrape off any beans and blot the oil with a paper towel; do not rub.
Sprinkle maize flour or talc on the stain, wait 15 minutes for it to absorb the oil, then brush it off.
Put a clean pad under the stain and rub a few drops of washing-up liquid into the back of the fabric; leave for 5 minutes.
Wash in hot water (up to 60 °C) with detergent.
Check the stain in daylight. If an orange tint remains, the colour comes from carotene pigment in the oil: soak in diluted bleach (allowed by the label), rinse well and dry in the sun.

Worked example

Worked example 2: two stains on a coloured blouse. A blue polyester-cotton blouse (label: tub 40 with one bar, crossed triangle) has a ballpoint ink line on the cuff and a tea splash on the front. Plan the removal.

The crossed triangle means no bleach of any kind, so the methods must use solvents, detergents and water only.
Test methylated spirit on an inside seam. If the colour holds, put a pad under the cuff and dab the ink with spirit from the back, moving the pad as it takes up ink.
Rinse the tea stain from the back with cold water, then soak the front in detergent solution for 30 minutes.
Wash at 40 °C on a gentle cycle; check both places before drying in the shade.

Warning

Chemical safety. Methylated spirit and other solvents catch fire easily and their fumes are harmful: use small amounts, outdoors or by an open window, far from charcoal stoves, candles and cigarettes. Never mix chlorine bleach with vinegar, lemon juice or ammonia: poisonous chlorine or chloramine gas is released. Wear gloves, keep every remover in its labelled container, never in a drinks bottle, and store them where children cannot reach. If a remover splashes into the eyes, rinse at once with plenty of clean running water for 10 to 20 minutes and get medical help. If one is swallowed, do not make the person vomit; get medical help and take the container with you.

Tip

Memory hook: cold for protein, grease needs soap, tannin needs speed, and heat comes last

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Practice

Name the four main kinds of stain remover and give an example of each.
Why should a blood stain never be washed in hot water first?
Why is a stain treated from the back of the fabric, with a pad underneath?
Give the method for removing (a) rust and (b) candle wax.
A student wants to use lemon juice on a rust stain right after using bleach on the same shirt. What is the danger?
Write the steps to remove fresh mud from a pair of grey school trousers.
A grease stain on a dark wool skirt did not come out, and the skirt has a "do not wash, dry clean only" label. Evaluate the choice between treating it at home and taking it to a dry cleaner.

Show answersHide answers

Absorbents (maize flour, talc, salt); solvents (methylated spirit, washing-up liquid for grease); enzyme products (biological detergent); chemical removers (lemon juice, vinegar, bleach).
Heat cooks (coagulates) the protein so that it bonds to the fibres and the stain becomes permanent. Cold water dissolves and loosens it.
The remover then pushes the stain out of the fabric into the pad, the shortest way out, instead of driving it deeper through the fibres.
(a) Lemon juice and salt on the stain, left in the sun, then rinsed; repeat if needed. (b) Harden with ice, scrape off, then iron with a warm iron between sheets of absorbent paper.
Lemon juice is an acid: mixed with chlorine bleach it releases poisonous chlorine gas. Rinse the bleach out completely first, or use one method only.
Let the mud dry; brush off as much as possible; soak in cold water; rub detergent on what remains; wash and rinse; check before drying.
The label forbids washing, so water and rubbing could felt or shrink the wool. Home treatment with a small amount of solvent, tested first, might work but risks a ring mark. A dry cleaner uses the right solvents and equipment, so it is the safer choice for a valuable garment; tell them what the stain is.

1Rules for every stain

2Common stains and how to remove them

Rules for every stain

Common stains and how to remove them