Help For Stains That Went Through The Dryer
One of life’s more challenging laundry dilemmas is how to get out a greasy stain that’s been through the washer and dryer already.
Is there any hope? Is it a lost cause?
When it comes to laundry stains I often feel like it’s worth experimenting a little bit. You’re in that sad situation where you’re not going to wear the piece of clothing with the stain on it, but sometimes you can’t bring yourself to just toss out a favorite shirt or pants either. So before you just give up and fling it in the trash, why not see if there might be some DIY solution?
One of my favorite homemade stain removers that I’ve written about before (more than once!) is a simple mix of Dawn laundry soap and peroxide. I’ve used it several times with good success. But there was one time I used it on a pair of brown sweat pants and it left a little bit of a light area where I had used it. I think I may have left it set just a bit too long and the peroxide did some lightening.
Which brings me to my most current stain. I had a hand lotion dispenser that was clogged. I picked it up, started pushing on it, and then – yup, it was suddenly unclogged and a big blob of lotion squirted out onto the olive green long-sleeve T-shirt I was wearing. {A T-shirt I like and wear a lot}. I pre-treated it, washed it, and I thought it looked like it had come out so I put it through the dryer.
But then . . . oh no . . the oily stain was still there . . . and now it had been through the dryer! Boo!
I thought about using my favorite homemade stain remover, but wasn’t sure about the peroxide on this color shirt. And then I remembered reading a helpful hint saying that Dawn dish soap in the pump dispenser can get out stains, sometimes even if they have been through the washer and dryer. So rather than use Dawn/peroxide mixture, I decided to just try Dawn by itself from the pump dispenser.
I’ve been using Dawn in the pump dispenser for a long time. However most of the time, I use my thrifty homemade refill. It’s been a great way to stretch a bottle of dish soap along for much, much longer and save money. But every so often the pumps on the bottles give out on me and I have to buy a new pump bottle of Dawn dish soap. And it just so happened that the bottle currently in my kitchen was not filled with my thrifty refill and instead was a new bottle I had to recently buy again. So I actually had the real thing for a change!
So I squirted some on the stain and rubbed it in a little bit. I let it sit for about 10 minutes and then washed it and dried it as usual.
And – {oh happy day} – the stain was gone! It worked!
Now why did it work? I wish I knew. Is it because the “Dawn Platinum Erasing” soap in the pump dispenser is stronger than plain old Dawn or Dawn Ultra in the regular bottles? Is it because the aerated foaming soap from the pump soaks into the stain better than the liquid? Is it because all the planets were lined up in a row that day? Hmmmmm. Not sure.
But the fact remains. Putting the Dawn Platinum Erasing soap from the foaming pump dispenser on the stain did the trick. My oily stain that went through the washer and dryer is now gone. I probably shouldn’t question a good thing and just get my thankful groove on.
5-21-17 Update: I tried this method a second time with success! When I took a favorite yellow t-shirt out of winter storage, I found a shadowy stain on the front that must have gone through the washer and dryer unnoticed at the time, and then was put away for the whole winter. The spot was of subtle (and rather hard to get a picture of) but it was definitely there. BUT after using this same method with the Dawn foaming soap, I could no longer see any spot on the lower front of the shirt. Oh happy day!
If you too have an oily or greasy type of stain that went through the dryer, you might find it worth the effort to get a bottle of the Dawn foaming soap in the pump dispenser and give it a try. Just squirt some on the stain, rub it in a little bit, let it set for 5 or 10 minutes, and then wash and dry as usual. It might work for you too!
As a bonus, you can refill the dispenser many times with my thrifty refill method. I can stretch a bottle of dish soap along for a long time with this strategy and it’s one of my favorite DIY money-savers in the kitchen.
Next to my kitchen sink, bathroom & laundry room I have squeeze bottles that contain Dawn (hands down the best there is, especially on grease), some regular water and baking soda. I.USE.IT.FOR.EVERYTHING. As a cleanser, mildly abrasive, stains on everything. Here’s a trick though: tough stain, greasy stain, blood, grass, what ev? I pour this mixture on stain, rub a bit to soak in, I grab a spray bottle I have filled with white vinegar & spray that puppy till it’s all bubbly (that’s the magic reaction between vinegar & baking soda, it’s safe, just don’t mix things like chlorine bleach or other things without research). Make sure the stain is soaked good, give it ten minutes or so. Wash as per usual. I’ve never had the bleach out the fabric problem this way. Be careful though, doesn’t mean it’s not possible.
I feel the need to inquire about my situation… I have a light pink Under Armour hoodie (it’s my FAVORITE), I accidentally got pure Cumin powder on it. When I was switching it from the washer to the dryer, I completely blanked and threw it in the dryer as usual, only to remember the next time I went to wear it. Would Dawn work for that type of stain?? Or is it more directed to grease-like stains?? And, if that is the case, do you have any ideas of methods that would work for this?? Please let me know, and thank you in advance.
Once a stain has gone through the dryer the chances for removing it really decrease. Sometimes I use a homemade mixture of 1 tsp Dawn with 2 tsp hydrogen peroxide. The Dawn helps with any oiliness and the peroxide can help with lightening the stain. Perhaps you can give that a try.
I’ve also used goop hand soap with success. I rub it in and then run under hot water then wash.
Lestoil always gets grease stains out for me…works on sap too.
How about ink stains from a gel pen? Through the washer and dryer and it stained up a whole load of some of our favorite clothes.
I think most the suggested remedies to try for ink gel pen stains often use rubbing alcohol, or some use ammonia, although I don’t know how effective either of those would be. It’s so frustrating when favorite clothes get stains. 🙁
That is an awesome hack! This could keep tons of clothes out of the landfill.
I am distressed about something and hope to A. find suggestions that work and B. prefer not to be scolded for caring so much. We have a set of absolutely marvelous heavy-weight white cotton sheets. They cost several hundred dollars and were a wedding gift. My husband is on a blood thinner and and a result, small wounds bleed – a lot. He doesn’t necessarily know this is happening. As a result, this set of sheets looks like it is polka-dotted on his side of the bed. The pillowcase, too, and a white coverlet that isn’t all cotton, but there is no fabric content tag. Does anyone have a solution? I would hate to have to just toss these sheets away.
If the blood stains on the sheets have already been through the washer and dryer, I’m not sure if there will be a way to still remove them. The best stain product I have found for blood is Whink Wash Away, however I’ve always used that as a pretreat before washing and drying. However in the future you might find that product to be helpful. I recommended it to my elderly Dad who was also on blood thinners and often would get small blood stains on his clothing, and he said it worked great for him.
Thanks so much, Bev. Hoping to hear of a miracle product from medical professionals who encounter this problem frequently.
Next time use hydrogen peroxide on the blood spots, it removes blood stains. You should try it, it may even work after going through the washer and dryer.
Hi Bev,
There is an easier way. Try using Lestoil. It’s a thick yellow liquid that will remove oil, lipstick, grass stains and tar. I know because I have used it on all of these. It won’t change the color of the fabric. The tar was on the cuff of my pink pants that I had to cross a street they had just tarred and my pants drug on it. I first discovered Lestoil when my daughter then 1 1/2 poured a bottle of vegetable oil on my kitchen floor. I used newspaper to soak up the excess oil and then washed the slippery residue off with Lestoil. That was 46 years ago and I still use it for so many things.
I use dawn and vinegar gets it out every time! my revolving tray consists of : Dawn and spray bottles of vinegar, peroxide and alcohol. One or some will take everything out. Oh and aways have toothbrushes for scrubbing them in.
I like the idea of having an old toothbrush handy for scrubbing it in. I will have to try that!
I use regular Dawn full strength and it works every time.
Me too!
I have a few shirts that have this type of stain. Gonna try to fix it with this method. I was wondering if there is a way to fix sun fading on clothes. I have a winter jacket that had part of one of the sleeves laying in the sun too long and now it has faded. Any thoughts, ideas?
I use bath and body works foaming soaps for these type stains, they’re made from liquid softeners actually. Idk why not all our clothes get them but just some. But that also works amazing and gets them out too since I’m allergic to dawn can’t use that!
I always use this method but I also use the bar of soap that you can find in the laundry soap isle. Rub it in and you can get any kind of stain out of your clothing!
Hey! I love it when people try new hacks! I’ve tried this with no success but I have tried Ajax with the citrus on it, and it’s worked great! Maybe compare…just a thought.
Have a wonderful day!!
I’ve taken up what my Mother used decades ago: Fels Naptha. I found this bar soap in the dollar store. Old school, but works like a charm. Economical, easy to store in a recycled mayo jar, long lasting, and there’s no plastic jug to toss in the landfill. I also reach for Simple Green All Purpose Cleaner. It easily got an old lost-cause greasy stain out of a polyester crepe-type jacket when nothing else worked. Check their website for cleaning tips.
Yes! Used to be called “sweet soap” waaay back in the day.
Don’t leave this on for too long, it will fade the material.
Murphy’s Oil Soap also works on greasy stains and sometimes on blood.
If you put about 1/4 container of lemon ammonia and fill container with water, spray on spot with the dish wash liquid it comes out even better.
ps… this SaMe MiXtuRe sprayed in a new mosquito bite will acTuaLLy ELIMINATE the bite!
M. Reid
Lestoil will take it out!
Where can I find the Dawn Erasing Dish Foam? I’ve ordered it off the web several times and even though the picture shows Erasing Dish Foam, when I receive the product, it isn’t the same thing. Any ideas?
Dawn products are made by Procter & Gamble, and their website still shows a Dawn foaming dish soap, but it is not labeled as Dawn Erasing Foam anymore, and is now labeled as Dawn Platinum Foam. I think it is still the same product, just with a new wording of the name on the label. So I don’t think you will be able to find any new bottles labeled as Erasing Dish Foam anymore.
Tried it even on fresh grease stain….did not work. Tried many stains😥😟
I have always used just Dawn dish detergent on my oily/greasy stains and they come out but I let them set longer than 5-10 mins. I never use peroxide bc just cleaning with it I may get a spec on my clothes and it bleaches it. I am not brave enough to use on anything on purpose. LOL
I raised 3 boys and my go to during those years was also a dish soap. Palmolive, especially food stains. I’ve since added Spray 9, to my stain remover arsenal. Dogs being the mess makers.
i DECIDED TO TRY THIS ON MY OWN, BUT i ADDED BORAX TO THE FOAM, i JUST RUB IT IN.PRETTY SUCESSFULLY.
The Dawn Erasing Foam is also the perfect shower cleaner! It removes mold and mildew stain better and safer than stronger chemicals and no horrible smells.
I also use Lestoil. Just rub it in and wash. No need to wait. I think the Dawn idea would smell better though.
The best thing for completely removing stains is Lestoil. It’s works better than anything anything. The old stain could have been washed and dried 100 times and Lestoil will still completely remove it. Sometimes some stains are more stubborn but be diligent and just keep repeat using the lestoil until the stain is gone. It might takes a few times to do it but eventually it will work. I promise! If it’s your favorite pair of shorts the Lestoil method is worth using. The downside is your clothes will reek of Lestoil but just wash it again in your normal laundry detergent and the Lestoil smell is gone.
You’re welcome.
Does anyone else have trouble finding Lestoil? I’ve looked everywhere for it.
Amazon
What a great tip! I had several knit shirts that had stains that showed up after the washer and dryer, and I was ready to throw them out! Tried this on them yesterday and they are CLEAN. Thanks for saving my wardrobe! I’ll pass this on!
I’m so glad you had success and were able to save the shirts!
Would this Dawn Erasing Soap remove castor oil stains from fabric? Do you know of anything that would?
I don’t know if the Dawn Soap would be strong enough to remove castor oil. As odd as it sounds, sometimes WD-40 will remove it.
Anyone tried using this on old water stains on curtains
Because the water stains are not greasy or oily stains, I don’t know if Dawn soap will work. If you give it a try I would also mix it with some peroxide and see if that helps (1 part soap to 2 parts peroxide).
I will definitely try this tip. I have had great success with Fels Naphtha too after I’ve set a stain in the dryer.
Yes, it’s definitely worth trying, especially if it’s a piece of clothing you’re not wearing anyway because of the stain. I hope it works for you!
Greased Lightning works great on everything no lightning of materials on blood, wine in an instant.