This Hack for Cleaning Oil Stains Will Leave Your Clothes Looking Brand New

Ale Russian
·2 min read

We've all been there. You get home in a rush and start making dinner without changing clothes or throwing an apron on over your favorite blouse. Next thing you know, it's covered in stains. Worse yet, they're oil stains — the kind that won't come out in the wash. Before you give up hope, try this hack to get oil stains out of clothes.

While oil — olive, canola, safflower, etc. — is great for cooking all sorts of meals, it can also be messy. Spills and splatters happen all the time. And when oil gets on your clothes, it's tough to wash it out! This hack from Clorox fixes that.

Next time you have an oil spill, simply head to your kitchen sink and grab some dishwashing liquid. Dishwashing soap works better on oil stains than laundry detergent does, since it's made specifically to clean greasy dishes. That means it has the ingredients you need to get the oil stain out of your clothes.

How To Get Oil Stains Out of Clothes

You can't just throw some dishwashing soap into the laundry and hope for the best — that'll make way too many suds. Instead, use a small amount to spot clean the stain. It'll work best if you add the soap while the fabric is dry, so don't run the stain under water first. Just apply a few drops directly to the fabric and work the soap in. Make sure to rub in different directions, so the soap gets between the fibers. Let it rest for five minutes or so, then rinse the area with warm water, making sure all the soap comes off.

Now you can throw the piece of clothing in the washer. Clorox recommends using bleach and warm water if your item is white and bleachable (check the label). If the fabric isn't bleach-friendly, wash it in the hottest water allowed, and add some Clorox 2 Performance Stain Remover and Color Boost (Buy from Walmart, $32.62).

This hack is sure to leave your clothes looking brand new! (But next time, try to remember to put an apron on anyway.)

This article originally appeared on our sister site, First for Women.

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