Best Way to Get Grease Stains Out of Clothes

Hi M.

Here's a stain removal recipe from my Aunt Clara. I've used it for years with success on everything from oil, grass, blood, and road tar. My ex was an EMT and this kept his shirts very white.

1 part grease lifting liquid dishwashing soap (such as Dawn)
1 part ammonia
1 part water

Pour all into a squeeze bottle. Turn the bottle top over bottom to mix. Squeeze a bit of the mixture onto the stain, rub the fabric to work the stain remover into the fibers.

For dingy looking clothing, I'll add a tablespoon to my wash water.

You may want to test in an inconspicuous area first.

Best of luck,
C.

1 mom found this helpful

The source of your spots may be the liquid fabric softner. I've had the same problem and discovered that the Downey I was using is very concentrated. When I cut back 1/2 the amount that I use and added water to make up the other 1/2, the problem was solved. And my clothes were still soft. If the washer dispenses the softner directly on the clothes before it gets diluted, it will cause spots that appear like grease spots. Try it and see if it helps stop the problem at the source.

I agree with the Carbona (sp) suggestion. They have a special grease and oil formula that works great!

I don't know what could be causing your stains, but if it is a greasy stain, I think Shout Advanced Gel in the royal blue bottle is the best EVER. You can spray it on and leave it for up to a week. It is available at Walmart or Target. Good luck.

I use Dawn dish washing liquid on grease stains - they now make Tide with Dawn - I use that as well

I see you've gotten a lot of responses already, but the best thing I've found is "Goo-Gone", which you can find in the cleaning section of just about any store. I pretreat all my laundry that have stains w/ shout, but if it looks like a grease or oil stain, I put GooGone on it first, then spray it with Shout. It seems to work on any kind of fabric and even gets out crayon, lipgloss & chapstick. Hope this helps!

Have you tried Dawn dishwashing liquid? It will even take chocolate milk stains out of clothes. If you have washed and dried the item just rub Dawn in the spot let it sit for awhile then wash..I have had really good luck with this..

There's a product you can get at Walmart called Carbanora, or something like that. It's stocked with the laundry detergent. Look at the top shelf and you'll see a bunch of yellow bottles, there is one for grease stains. I've had good luck with it. B.

It sounds like your liquid fabric softener isn't rinsing out properly. Do you have a built in dispenser that you use? It may need cleaning out from the buildup. The spots should come out with regular laundering. Otherwise Shout Advanced works well on grease spots that have been washed and dried.

I use Palmolive dish soap. I put a little on, wait 5-10 minutes and then wash. Like someone else said, it is probably your fabric softener. I use the dispenser on the machine and started adding a little water when I put the Downy in the dispenser.

Try adding a SMALL amount of Dawn dishwashing liquid to your laundry along with your detergent. It doesn't take much, just one or two quick squeezes from the bottle. This eliminates my need to pre treat any of my clothes. For my sons clothes I usually soak them for a couple of hours in the washer with seventh generation and the Dawn and they come out stain free/grease free. I also use vinegar in the wash to eliminate the need for any fabric softener, its natural and cheap and our clothes always come out soft and smelling great.

I've had luck with the combination of pretreater and Dawn. Rub them into the grease, let set for @5-10 minutes and wash. If you add a small amount of detergent to the pretreat solution it helps.

Good Luck!

I just had this problem last week with a black shirt that I have. I used everything that I owned. Then my husband suggested that I used some Simple Green on it. I poured it directly on the grease stain and washed it like normal. Came out like a charm!

I haven't had to try this for myself, but my uncle who works with heavy machinery and gets very greasy at work swears by it. He says to pour a can of Coca Cola into your
laundry load. He assures me that this gets all of the oil/grease of out his work clothes (jeans, tshirts, etc). It's definitely worth a try.

I had been getting those spots too and didn't know what was causing them. I have since gotten a new washer and dryer and it stopped but I think it might have been from the Downy softener. Thanks to the mom that suggested that. I used Oxiclean on mine. I sprayed a little on the spot, used a little scrub brush to work it in and it always came out. If I can't get something out with Oxiclean then it's usually not going to come out. Good luck!