Seeking Solutions for Grease Stains on Shirts

Updated on June 13, 2008
K.J. asks from Mission, KS
46 answers

My son works as a server at a restaurant. He is provided only two shirts. Most of the the people he works with and himself have grease stains on the front of their shirts that they can't get out. Any laundrying ideas for this dilema? Thanks in advance I love mamasource.

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V.D.

answers from St. Louis on

I have used WD-40 to "reactivate" the grease, once wet I then use dawn dish liquid to remove the grease from the clothing.

I didn't believe it at first, but after trying it I won't wash any other way.

Best of washing to you,
V. D.

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J.D.

answers from St. Joseph on

Dawn dish soap. My children love Ranch dressing but if you have had any experience with it you know it leaves greasy stains on clothing. I took a shirt the other day that had a very old grease stain from this and put a few drops of Dawn on it. I then took an old toothbrush, got it wet and went to work. Then I through it in the laundry and the shirt looks as good as new! Give it a try, and good luck!

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C.R.

answers from Knoxville on

My son worked at McDonalds for about a year. I would put dish detergent on any bad stains and just squirt some in with the washer filling. We usually have Dawn. I have used this on regular clothes that have had food oil stains on them and it usually works. You may have to do this a few times and let it soak in if the clothes have been washed and dried over and over again.

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S.M.

answers from St. Louis on

Try spray n wash with resolve, works great on other things. Don't know if it will work on grease or not.

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S.M.

answers from St. Louis on

I use the oxy-clean stuff (powdered) and soak it for awhile around half and hour or so (if I have time) It is amazing and cleans everything I have ruined! Needless to say I can still wear my stuff. Yes, wine, grease, grass stains that are old and stuck in my jeans-I love this stuff and I have an allergic kid so it does not harm her either. Good luck and if you have time and need to really work on a shirt and can leave it overnight it just sparkles when I wash mine the next day.

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P.T.

answers from St. Louis on

I heard soaking it in a can of coca cola prior to washing works?!

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B.I.

answers from St. Louis on

I have had good luck with stains by soaking them in cold water with dawn dish soap. I don't know if it will work on stains that have already gone through the washer but usually works for me on fresh stains.

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G.N.

answers from St. Louis on

WD40 and dishwashing liquid together will work to get out grease stains from food.

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K.J.

answers from St. Louis on

I work in a college cafeteria and get grease stains alot, sometimes to tired to remember the shirt I am wearing needs treated when I get home and therefore it will sit until I do laundry. I have found a pre-treat from the store that works wonderfully on the stains for me is the Oxi-Clean that comes in a blue squirt bottle. It has also worked well on grass and other stains I have had to treat of my 8 year olds from her playing and putting clothes in the laundry that I didn't know were stained because I wasn't home when she did it. Hope this helps.

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M.W.

answers from Wichita on

I don't know about cooking oil, but when my grease monkey husband comes in from tinkering all greasy if I throw it in the washing machine with some Dawn dish soap it works wonders. I let it agitate a little bit and then turn it off and let it soak for as long as possible.

Good luck!
M.

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A.F.

answers from Columbia on

K.
A friend of mine has recommended to me to use a little dishsoap on greasy stains to help in the washing machine. Hope that helps! It's been GREAT for me! A.

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M.R.

answers from Topeka on

ok this is gonna sound weird, but try castrol super clean. its made for washing oil and stuff off of driveways, etc. my husband is an industrial maintenance tech, and i used it on his uniforms. it took out the stains but did not eat the cloth. also, simple green works very well for this problem. hope it helps.

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L.E.

answers from Kansas City on

Try Tide with Dawn-it takes the grese out of my daughters restraunt greasy shirts. I have found that Dawn dishwashing liquid will clean just about anything-great stuff!!
Good luck!!

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C.B.

answers from St. Louis on

Hi K.,
I use Shout gel directly on the stain and then I put it in the washing machine with a scoop of Oxy Clean. Gets it out. I love it and it does not discolor the clothes. Sometimes if it is a really bad stain some pieces of clothes may need to be washed twice, but the stains are gone.

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T.B.

answers from Topeka on

I actually use Simplegreen on my husbands grease stains. I spray a bit on the stain and let it soak for about 5 minutes then I just throw it in with the wash and 98% of the time it comes right out. If it's really stubborn I will put the clothes with the stain back in the washer, but this time with a can of coke. The coke eats the stains really well. I know that sounds weird but it works on my husbands grease, grass, oil and all other stubborn stains. Hope this helps!

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J.C.

answers from St. Louis on

I used to work in food service & I would buy degreaser by the gallon @ Sam's Club ($4.00)& pour a cup of it in the washing machine. My boyfriend now works with "tool grease/oil" and we put Dawn dish detergent in his laundry & that works pretty good.

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R.D.

answers from Kansas City on

I use Prell Shampoo. My sister told me about it - she uses it for her husband's work clothes which get very greasy. It sounds wierd, but it WORKS WONDERS on grease and other stains! Put it on, rub it in, then wash like normal.

Prell has removed an older ink from a nice shirt (I thought the shirt was ruined - I tried stain stick and everything first) and just yesterday removed grape juice from my son's white shirt. To be honest, I put a little peroxide on it too, so it could have been the Prell, the peroxide, or the combinaton of both.

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L.H.

answers from St. Louis on

I have used a product that you can buy from Schnuck's or Wal-Mart called Carbona. It comes in small yellow bottles and they have many differnt stain removers. They have one specfically for fat / grease. It has worked well for me. They also have one for sauces / ketchup & one for wine stains which are great too. I keep a whole series of them on hand so I'm covered for whatever stains come up. If you use Dawn dishwashing liquid, this cuts grease and should work also. Good luck!

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P.P.

answers from Topeka on

Goop, fels-naptha or dawn - all good - but I would start with the Goop. I've used it on lots of clothes and its a good hand cleaner, too.

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R.F.

answers from St. Joseph on

I have had great luck with Greased Lighting I buy it at either Wal-mart or Dollar General. It works great on grease and also blood stains, plus many other stains.

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A.D.

answers from St. Louis on

fels-naptha is a great one..St. Louis area can get it at Shop and Save...just found this online...homemade laundry stain remover for over 15 years. To a spray bottle (I save an old one), add 1/4 cup ammonia, 1/4 cup dishwashing liquid (any kind) and water.
Shake gently to mix and spray.
from: http://www.stretcher.com/menu/subscrib.cfm

personally I use ammonia on oily laundry quite often.( oily massage sheets..)
A. D

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C.S.

answers from Kansas City on

Simple Green was always a household product in our house growing up. I've used it for our teenagers things and it works pretty good.

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H.J.

answers from Kansas City on

I use dawn dish soap on tough greasy stains. I rub it in really good and let it sit for a bit then I wash it. This usually works for me. I hope this helps.

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R.I.

answers from Kansas City on

You might try Goop, which is the hand cleaner that mechanics use. It works to remove ink pen stains, so I would think anything greasy would come out with it.

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A.S.

answers from St. Louis on

I soak greasy shirts in a combination of borax and detergent. I just start the washer filling, add the detergent and borax, then the shirts-- and don't close it. That way it doesn't run through, and it works as a great soak. After a few hours I go and close it, and when the shirts come out, they're clean! I ran out of borax once and used vinegar, and that works well, too.
A

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E.W.

answers from Kansas City on

I've always had good luck soaking the spots in dishwashing soap (meant to take out grease) for a little while before putting the clothes in the washing machine.

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E.G.

answers from Topeka on

Put some dawn detergent on the spot and let it soak overnight. My husband owns a rest. and sometimes has to jump back in the kitchen and gets some awful stains on his shirts too.

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J.D.

answers from Columbia on

I use dish soap like Palmolive or Dawn to soak or scrub out grease stains. J. D

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

K.S.

answers from St. Louis on

I bought this stuff at Wal Mart called De-Solv it and it works great! My husband has a horrible habit of leaving chapstick in his pockets and it was staining all my stuff. This is the only stuff that I've ever found that actually takes it off.

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J.M.

answers from St. Louis on

Hi K.,
I don't know how much this'll help you, but I work with a Wellness Company that their laundry stain remover and laundry detergent has been able to get everything out of my kids clothes so far. My son had a grease stain on his shirt from Thanksgiving and I used my stuff on it and the stain was gone! If you'd like I can get you set up with the company. My site is: http://J..freedomuitedteam.com
I hope you find the help you need!:)

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C.J.

answers from Topeka on

My son has worked as a server through high school and college. I used to treat the grease stain with Shout gel -- you can wait several days to wash the shirt and the stain will still come out.

If I didn't get to pretreat with Shout, I used spray 409 cleaner on it. 409 works well on all types of stains, and it doesn't hurt even my nicer blouses.

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J.M.

answers from St. Louis on

Dawn dishwashing soap works wonderfully. I usually apply directly to the stain. I have found that it works even after the item has been washed and dried prior. Good luck!

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F.M.

answers from Kansas City on

Orange and Grapefruit is a natural grease cutter. You may try something like that. And, as far as the Dawn, that is a great idea, but if you have a front loader, the bubbles will surely make you need the serviceman come out and fix it.

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A.V.

answers from St. Louis on

I use Advanage (yes I spelled this correctly, no T).
Check it out at Advanage.com. I use this on my clothes and everything. It works well on almost any stain or cleaning problem.

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S.G.

answers from St. Louis on

I have found that Shout spray works well. Sometimes a spot will come out, but the grease stain with be left behind after I get the clothes out of the dryer, so I will just spray some Shout on it and wash it again and the grease stain is gone. I wouldn't have expected this, but it has worked for me.

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C.G.

answers from St. Louis on

I had a grease stain on a shirt one time, and this phrase popped into my head, "Dawn takes grease out of your way"! It worked like a charm! Just squirt some Dawn dish soap on the stain, making sure the stain is covered, and throw into the wash. Even if it's an old stain it will work.

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E.F.

answers from St. Louis on

K.,
I read the other responses. I am going to try the prell also. My husband [a mechanic] also suggests a degreaser like dish soap or Goop [comes in a can].

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T.M.

answers from Kansas City on

I've heard of the Dawn solution. Also the hand cleaner Goop works on auto grease. I had also heard of the Coke solution and I tried it when I had a shirt that was covered in dirt from working on an airplane. I added a coke to the wash and it came out clean, boy was I surprised!

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B.W.

answers from Kansas City on

K.,

I have little ones that are very very messy! I have really good luck with the spray and wash stain stick! It even takes out old grease stains. Good Luck!!

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L.W.

answers from Kansas City on

I have used Dawn, but I'm not sure how well it would work on older stains. Can't hurt to try it though. I would just put it directly on the stain, scrub it in, and wash as normal.

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W.K.

answers from Topeka on

Most people I have given this little hint to have never heard of it, but it works!! Buy a can of WD 40!! Spray it on the stain and wash like you normally would! It will take the stain right out!! I used to do this when I was married to my ex, who happened to be a mechanic! Grease spots all the time.
Hope this little trick works for you too!

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T.R.

answers from St. Louis on

Each time your son takes off his shirt pre treat the stains with dawn dish detergant. And use tide to wash shirts.

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E.M.

answers from St. Louis on

Have you tried dish washing soap? Try to pre-treat it with "Dawn", it's supposed to take the grease out;-) I've used it in the past and as most stuff, it's hit or miss.
Good luck!

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S.P.

answers from St. Louis on

I worked at a Briggs and Stratton there is alot of oil and grease there I used dawn soap it always works. It works on most stains. Just rub a dime size in the spot or spred on the top of the whole wash it will work.

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J.R.

answers from Lafayette on

im thinking presoak with dawn? tide has a new product including dawn....other than that i can just say some of the stain removers, maybe some specialize in certain stains.

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E.M.

answers from Kansas City on

There is a product called Fels-Naptha soap. It should be availabe at Wal-Mart or Dollar General. If not you can order it on line for $1.50 plus S&H. It works awesome!! You just get the area wet with cold water, rub the soap over the stain, and it should come out. Launder as you normally would. If you go to the website there is all kinds of things you can purchase from the company. I dont have the web address handy but just type the name in the search bar and it should come up.

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