Effective remedies and methods for removing oil stains from clothes at home
An oil stain on clothes can ruin your mood and render your favorite wardrobe item unusable. An awkward movement in the kitchen or near the car - and a greasy stain quickly begins to spread across the fabric.
How to remove machine and vegetable oil stains from clothes and shoes? To cope with the task, you need to use a special stain remover or pay attention to simple home recipes.
Content
What to do first?
Like most types of stains, oily grease stains can be removed much easier if you tackle them right away.
The area of fabric on which oil has come into contact must be rubbed with soda, talcum powder or chalk.. Even tooth powder will do.
These products have a high absorbency, due to which they absorb some of the oil spilled on the fabric. Apply the powder with light rubbing movements. Also, to prevent the stain from spreading over an even larger area of the material, you can walk along its perimeter with a wet sponge.
After the fat is absorbed into the powder, it is crushed. Usually it is enough to wait 15-20 minutes. And then you can move on to removing the traces of oil.
This video will show you how to remove a greasy stain from clothes:
Specifics of contamination removal
Simply washing will not remove oil stains from clothes. This is due to the fact that fat is not a water-soluble substance, which prevents it from being washed and rinsed with water.
When fighting pollution It is also necessary to take into account what kind of oil is applied to the stain:
The easiest way to remove traces is from vegetable oil (sunflower, flaxseed, olive, etc.). To remove them, it is necessary to create an alkaline environment, which promotes saponification.- Animal oil (butter) also reacts to an alkaline environment and can be eliminated in such an environment.
- Machine oil is a refined petroleum product. These stains, especially old ones, are removed with solvents - special means, as well as turpentine, gasoline, ether, etc.
Even with prompt use of sorbents, a trace of oil will still remain on the fabric, which will require further processing.
How to remove from machine?
Machine oil is one of the most challenging pollutants. You can use special means and folk methods to remove it from clothes.
Folk recipes
The choice of recipe should take into account how severely damaged the fabric is and how long ago the stain was set. Simple formulations may not cope with old machine oil stains..
Ammonia
Ammonia is used as a solvent diluted with water. For this purpose, take the same amount of each component. The solution is applied generously, and after an hour and a half the item is washed. Ammonia has an unpleasant odor, so it is best to carry out all work with it with the windows open.
Refined gasoline
Kerosene and refined gasoline can be used as solvents to remove engine oil stains.
Acetone
Acetone or a product containing it can be used as a solvent. In this case, you should choose solutions without a pronounced tint, so as not to accidentally stain the item and not aggravate the situation.
Acetone is applied to the stain, going slightly beyond it.. The item is left to sit for the solvent to take effect. After this, rinse the product and wash it.
Special preparations
To remove stains from technical oils, special stain cleaners and targeted solvents can be used. These can be both household chemicals and car cosmetics that are intended for treating the car interior. The disadvantage of most of these drugs is their high cost.
Dr. Beckmann
Under the Dr. Beckmann TM, products are produced, each of which is intended for a specific type of stain. This makes them effective when used strictly for their intended purpose. Stain remover for machine oil, grease and bitumen allows you to cope even with old stains.
In some cases, re-processing will be required. Price for 50 ml is about 200 rubles.
Liqui Moly Auto-Innenraum-Reinger
The car interior cleaner contains components for dissolving and removing machine oil stains. A drug can be used to remove stains from textile items of clothing. Price – up to 1,000 rubles.
How to remove traces of plants?
Dealing with vegetable oil stains on clothes is difficult, but easier than dealing with traces of technical liquids. The following options are suitable for processing:
- Soaping the area with laundry soap.
- Using dishwashing gel.
- Applying ammonia diluted with water.
- Use of stain removers that are active against grease and oil.
- Using acetone, gasoline or kerosene.
Also, fresh stains from vegetable fats can be removed by ironing.
Features of removing fat from various types of fabrics
Depending on the type of material, you should select the most suitable method for removing stains. This is due to the fact that some recipes may be too aggressive for the fabric, or, conversely, not effective enough.
Cotton and linen
Natural fabrics can be washed from greasy stains if treat the stain with gasoline, kerosene or soap well. Dishwashing detergent will also be effective for fresh marks.
Jeans
Denim fabric, although natural, has a high density of fiber weave.
Removing greasy stains using mild products (for example, dishwashing gel) will be ineffective.
To get a good result, It is better to treat the stain with purified gasoline or kerosene.
It is not advisable to rub the fabric from the front side, as the color may fade in the area where it is processed.
Leather, suede, nubuck
Oil can be removed from leather items using gasoline and kerosene. After removing the stain, it is advisable to treat the item with a leather spray or other suitable product.Products made of suede and nubuck must be wiped off oil carefully so as not to disturb the texture of the surface of the material.
How to clean shoes?
When removing oil from shoes, you need to consider the material from which they are made. But first the pair should be cleaned, removing dust and dirt from the surface.
For shoes whose upper part absorbs oil well, it is advisable to first rub the stain with soda, salt or talcum powder. And only when some of the fat is absorbed, the powder is crushed and the greasy trace begins to be removed.
Textile shoes can be processed using the same recipes as clothing. Depending on the type of fabric, recipes with soap may be used. Dish gel, ammonia, gasoline, etc.
In addition to traditional methods, special means can be used to remove complex types of dirt from shoes. For example, Saphir Omnidaim (price - from 780 rubles).
5 prohibitions
Removing oil stains has its own specifics. Trying faster thing is important remember a number of prohibitions and restrictions when removing stains:
- Without the use of cleaning agents and solvents, the stain cannot be rubbed. This can cause the grease mark to become larger and go deeper into the fibers of the material.
- Washing in hot water will only cause harm. When heated, the stain can expand over an even larger area of the fabric.
- The use of aggressive solvents that are not intended for use on fabric can damage the material and render the item unusable. This ban applies, for example, to pipe cleaners and other household chemicals.
- Do not pour several solvents onto the stain at the same time. When mixed, they can give an unpredictable result - from a complete lack of effect due to neutralization of each other, to the formation of a caustic mixture that can ruin the fabric.
- Do not use bleach on oil stains, even on snow-white items. Such products do not contain a component that would dissolve fats.
5 recommendations
Advice from professionals will help you put things in order and avoid the most common mistakes:
Before you begin removing the stain, you need to clean the item, removing dust and dirt from the surface.- If the oil stain is old and the item is very dirty, you can pre-wash it in cool water.
- It makes sense to use only those stain removers that indicate that they dissolve grease.
- Before you begin removing a greasy stain, it is important to avoid contact of the stain with unstained areas.
- Before using the solvent, it is advisable to test its effect on an inconspicuous area of the fabric.
If you are interested in how to remove vegetable and machine oil stains from various surfaces, take a look at this chapter.
Video on the topic of the article
This video will show you how to remove machine oil stains from clothes:
Conclusion
You can remove oil stains from clothes at home yourself. For these purposes, both special means and improvised means that can be found in the household are used. In complex, advanced cases, you may need the help of specialists - in this case, the item is taken to dry cleaning.
