# Clothing Grease Stain Lifter? Help!



## Haven (Aug 16, 2010)

Can anyone please recommend a good grease lifter that works well at removing food grease stains from clothing?

I just bought my husband a new wardrobe of shirts for work, and he already has 1/2 of them ruined. He is a messy eater and tends to drip small tid bits of food on his shirt when he eats lunch at work. The shirts get those little food grease stains and I cannot get them out. They are the type of stains you get when a small glob of mayonnaise lands on a golf shirt and it leaves a dark, oily splotch stained into the fabric.

I have tried soaking the stains in laundry detergent then rolling the shirt in a ball so it soaks in for 24 hours before wash, no luck.

What *really* works!?


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## ejagno (Jan 2, 2008)

Try soaking the stain with dawn dishwashing liquid or even a solvent based stain remover since this is an oil based stain. Good luck!


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## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

And HOT water.


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## Haven (Aug 16, 2010)

I will try the Dawn, great idea! Vicker, been using the hottest water possible 

One shirt in particular I have washed and soaked 3 times and I am hoping the dryer has not set the stains in. No more buying overpriced shirts at Men's Warehouse only to have them stained after 2 wears!

Mayonnaise and salad dressing oils are tough to get out.


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## Haven (Aug 16, 2010)

Also, if anyone knows of a good clothes stain stick or remover from the store, I would like to try that also.


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## Helena (May 10, 2002)

Purchase Fel Naptha soap bar..you can rub and scrub and works well. Look in the laundry department for this bar of soap. Good Luck..


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## paradox (Nov 19, 2012)

I have actually found that hot water seems to set many stains in. But Dawn is a great idea. I would try it with either cold or room temp water on one or two shirts, then try the hot water on a few others and see which works better for you.


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## Haven (Aug 16, 2010)

I just happen to have a few bars of Fels Naptha, thanks!


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## FarmChix (Mar 3, 2013)

One part Dawn blue dish soap to three parts vinegar. It's a miracle solution!


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## haley1 (Aug 15, 2012)

Sounds like he needs a bib


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## trulytricia (Oct 11, 2002)

I rub Tide liquid into the grease stain. [and I mean really rub] Tide is an expensive detergent so often times I just use it for removing nothing but stains. It is cheaper than buying little containers of stuff like 'spray and wash' Works for me.


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## backwoods (Sep 12, 2004)

I've had success soaking in Cascade dishwasher detergent. Make a paste with a bit of water, scrub in to stain, let sit 10 minutes, then put in sink with about a tsp of Cascade and warm water, let soak for 30 minutes, rinse and see if the stains gone, if not, repeat. Cascade is made to soak the grease off dishes, works on clothes really well too! I pre treat those little greasy stains by wetting the end of my fels naptha bar and scrub it into the stain, then throw into the washer. It nearly always takes care of the stain. But if I've missed one, even after it's run through the dryer, then I use the Cascade. I mostly just use Cascade for the clothing stains, I wash the dishes in the cheap off brand stuff and add 1 tbsp. of bleach to it.


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## Haven (Aug 16, 2010)

Thank you all.

If none of this works, the next solution is bringing home plastic lobster bibs from the seafood restaurant!

I asked him to taste some chipotle Tabasco sauce tonight as we got ready to head out the door for an appt, so I dabbed a tiny dot on his finger and he immediately dripped it down his shirt, lol! I think his shirts come with their own gravitational pull.


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## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

I'm the same way  Let me know if anything works. My latest problem is, I've ruined 3 pairs of pants/shorts and about 6 shirts by getting a drop or three of bleach on them. Oi


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## trulytricia (Oct 11, 2002)

vicker said:


> I'm the same way  Let me know if anything works. My latest problem is, I've ruined 3 pairs of pants/shorts and about 6 shirts by getting a drop or three of bleach on them. Oi



Ok Now if you have a permanent marker the same color of the clothes just dab that into the bleached spot. Or even some leftover house paint of the right color rub in and allowed to dry.

Of coarse prevention is best. Wear an apron!


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## danielsumner (Jul 18, 2009)

Cheap shampoo without conditioner, dollar store type. I'm forever getting salad dressing on my shirts. Dampen the spot, rub in a few drops of shampoo and rinse well or throw in wash. Most will come right out. When I worked I kept a bottle in my desk, 99% of the time they came out in the bathroom. I just wet the spot, a little shampoo and scrub with my finger nail. Rinse with wet paper towels and dry with the hand blower. DW never knew.


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## BlackWillowFarm (Mar 24, 2008)

My daughter taught me a little trick for grease stains that might help. Put baby powder or talcum powder on them, rub it in good and let it set for awhile. The powder draws the grease out and leaves a little spot behind, then you do the soapy scrub on what's left before you wash it. It's worked pretty good for me. Not always 100% but better than anything else I've tried.


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## Haven (Aug 16, 2010)

vicker said:


> I'm the same way  Let me know if anything works. My latest problem is, I've ruined 3 pairs of pants/shorts and about 6 shirts by getting a drop or three of bleach on them. Oi


Hmm, try soaking them in a tub of RIT dye in the washer to get the color back. I remember making tie dyed shirts this way as a kid, for some art project.


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## justa hobby (Apr 1, 2013)

Back to the grease spot... I have used automotive hand cleaner followed by Palmolive Dish soap. Maybe I dont hold my mouth right but Palmolive has always worked better for me. P.S. I am looking for a homemade dish soap recipe. Forced retirement has made Palmolive a luxury.


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## blue gecko (Jun 14, 2006)

I add Biz (for the food stains) and ammonia (for oils) to the wash (don't add bleach if you do this) along with my 'detergent' (a mix of borax and washing soda) and put it on a soak cycle before continuing the wash. Check them before you dry. If you still have a stubborn organic stain try peroxide directly on the spot.


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## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

As a former mechanic that lived in grease... Goop Hand Cleaner... Rub it into the stain and let it sit a few minutes.. then wash in cold water..


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## HappyYooper (Jan 26, 2005)

Wife of a log truck driver....dish washer detergent. Takes out hydraulic oil & grease on my hubby's clothes...


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## Shrek (May 1, 2002)

GoJo rubbed in as a prewash has always worked for me.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

If you spray the fronts of his shirts with starch it may help.


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## NamasteMama (Jul 24, 2009)

Get some chalk and rubb it on the spot leave over night and wash as usually, stain should be gone.


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## Guest (Nov 8, 2013)

I make my own laundry soap for pennies per load... And it really takes out lotsa stuff! But i agree with the Mechanic Hand Cleaner, it works on seriously greasy stains.


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## Guest (Nov 8, 2013)

Try this:

All items can be found on the Laundry Aisle at most Wally Worlds...



3 lb box of Washing Soda (not baking soda!)

4 lb box of Borax (20 Mule Team stuff)

4 lb box of Baking Soda (yes, baking soda this time, for odor contol)

3 bars of Fels Naptha soap (can subsitute Ivory bar soap)

1 lb container of Oxy-Clean (for stain removal) [SKIP THIS, AND PUT A SCOOP IN INDIVIDUAL LOADS. It fades too much.]

The 28 oz. jug of Purex Crystals, if you want it to smell perfume-y (97% natural ingredients)



If you do the math, it makes 15 lbs of laundry soap! You'll need a big container. I've seen suggestions to use an old popcorn tin for storage...

Cut up the Fels-Naptha and toss it in your food processor, grind it down nice and small.

It is the consistency of hard cheese, so it cuts by hand.

I layered the ingredients by about 1/3 at a time, so I could stir it up better.

It should take just a couple tablespoons of the mixture to get a load of laundry clean! It does NOT suds up, so do not panic if you look in at your washer and it just looks like water -- if you feel the water, you can feel the soap in it.


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## Classof66 (Jul 9, 2011)

Try rubbing with a bar of Lava. My
Grandma was a dressmaker and
Used lava if she pricked her finger and
Got a drop of blood on something
Or found a spot on a garment. I used
It on Kids clothes, dirty knees,etc


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## Marcia in MT (May 11, 2002)

I get a janitorial degreaser called ProForce at Sam's -- works great and doesn't take the color out of clothes like ammonia will. I just put about Â¼ cup in with the load.

If it's really bad, a squirt of Spray n Wash rubbed into the spot with an old toothbrush before washing works on just about anything.


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