# Mud stains in jeans?



## Shames73 (Dec 17, 2012)

My husband keeps wearin his good jeans to work in the garden and I can't get this Georgia clay out! Is there a naturalish way to get the stains out? Vinegar? Soaking? A cleaner hubby?


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

I have no idea, but if you come up with a way please let me know.

Thought I really think that the fabric is now dyed and not stained, you know?


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

Would peroxide or oxyclean work? The jeans have to colorfast to use those things though.
Would rubbing some FelsNaptha on the stain help?

If you have dried the stained jeans in the dryer, they won't come clean now. That sets the stain.


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## Shames73 (Dec 17, 2012)

Ya they have been thru the dryer already  maybe with the next pair ill figure it out. Or convince him to change clothes before playing in the garden


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## katheh (Jul 21, 2012)

After hundreds of washings of (white, of course) baseball pants, my advice is to get a laundry bar and a washboard. Removing clay mud is a manual process, the surfacants can't penetrate it.

Laundry bars are called Zote or Fels Naptha. A bar of Zote is about 49c by me, but I have ethnic stores. I think Fels is around a $1 a bar on Amazon.

I picked up the washboard at a garage sale.


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## RedDirt Cowgirl (Sep 21, 2010)

Don't be discouraged because the jeans have been dried - doesn't make a bit of difference. I was taught that the red color is iron oxide - like rust. Unfortunately, whatever gets rid of that usually gets rid of the fiber too.

It's the twill weave that catches and holds the stains (actually the clay particals themselves, allbeit microscopic) so bad in jeans, I get mud splash on my chambrey work shirts that sets in too though.

The best thing I've found IS the Fels Naptha bar soap along with a natural bristle nail brush. Put as much water pressure as you can behind the stain, rub with the soap and brush brush brush, repeat until you don't get any more action. Sometimes working the cloth back and forth to twist it under water takes some out, but don't rub the cloth together, it just redistributes the stain. Chlorine bleach can make it worse, oxyclean doesn't help me either. Washboards are better than tossing them in a machine, but the brushing works better for me. Like Katheh sez, it's a manual process.

The color can be worn down in spots with denim too, brushing from the inside can help that.

Maybe Hubby would slap on some garden chaps? http://www.muscleandarmfarm.com/new_page_4.htm - you can make you own from those stained jeans!

Would love to hear success stories from other red dirt / red clay residents!


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## backwoods (Sep 12, 2004)

Pretty sure it's NOT natural, but Formula 409 used to take the red clay stains up off my light grey carpeting and out of the famiy's clothing. Even when it had dried on. The carpet would NOT come clean using anything, until a friend told me to try 409 and it worked! I sprayed it on, rubbed it in with a wet rag, let dry, then vacuumed. I couldn't believe it. I'd used every carpet stain remover and even rented a cleaner and it was the only thing that worked, and completely removed the stain. It also didn't change the color of our carpet or any of of our clothes. (never used it on silk or wool though)


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## Taylor R. (Apr 3, 2013)

Are you letting the mud dry and scraping off everything you can get off first? Mud tends to stain worse when you wet it, so by letting it dry and getting most all of it off before attempting to wash, it might help.


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## Molly Mckee (Jul 8, 2006)

If it's from iron in the soil there is a liquid stain remover called Whink that will take rust stains out. I have used it on all kinds of fabric, including silk without damage. It is in a brown bottle, with stain removers.


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## FarmChix (Mar 3, 2013)

The Hubs said his Mom used to run his and his Dad's pants through the washer with ammonia and it got all the grease out. They worked in a warehouse and came home filthy, greasy.....


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