How to remove grease stains

One unfortunate spill of buttered toast or splatter of oily seafood is all it takes to send your favourite clothes to the bin if you don’t know how to remove grease stains. Although tiny in size, these pesky marks can ruin your outfit if you’re not careful – so fight back with these tactics for grease stain removal!

Dish soap is a simple way to remove grease from clothes. Rub it in, let it sit, and wash the garment with your regular detergent – like Omo – to finish.

How to remove fat stains from clothes using laundry detergent

Grease stains are most commonly caused by fats such as butter and oil and one easy way to get rid of them is with biological detergent. This is because this detergent contains enzymes designed to break down these types of mark.

Try this method to remove fat stains from clothes with bio detergent you have at home. It works best on synthetic fibres.

• Pre-treat your clothing item with Omo detergent: pop a small measure of detergent onto the stain and rub it in.

• Allow the garment to sit for up to 15 minutes.

• Using cool water, rinse the stain. Ensure the water runs from the back of the stain to the front, so that the grease is leaving the clothing.

• Check the item label before washing as normal.

• Allow to dry naturally.

Your grease stain removal is complete!

Home remedies for grease stain removal

If you need to tackle a grease stain away from home or have run out of detergent, there are still some home remedies you can use to remove grease from clothes. They may require a bit more elbow grease than using detergent, but they can tackle these stains before they become set into the fabric.

• Pat the grease stain with some talcum powder – rub it in thoroughly first then brush away any extra powder. Repeat until the grease is removed.

• Rub a stick of chalk onto the spot of grease that’s on your clothing and let it soak up the oil before brushing the surface. Repeat as needed.

Pop some cornstarch on a cloth and rub at grease stains softly until they are removed. This ingredient is a great grease absorber but you may need to repeat the process depending on the size of the stain.

Remove old grease stains

Got a set in grease stain that your child has surprised you with? Discovered an old grease stain at the bottom of the laundry basket? Try these steps to remove old grease stains.

• Spray lubricant spray onto the grease spots. Make sure you place pieces of cardboard underneath the fabric so that the spray doesn’t reach any other surface.

• Pop some baking soda on top of the grease stain.

• Brush in the baking soda using an old, unused toothpaste.

• Apply more baking soda and brush again.

• Add a small amount of liquid detergent to the stain and rub.

The next step is to wash as usual in your washing machine. If the stain is still present, repeat the above process before the garment dries.

Grease stains from oily products or foods can be tough on your clothes. Now you have a bank of tips and tricks for how to get grease out of clothes using a mix of detergent and household products. Those stains will be gone before you know it!

• Apply dish soap before laundering as a simple and effective way to tackle grease stain removal.

• Rub biological laundry detergent directly onto grease stained synthetic clothing, and allow it to soak, to help remove grease from clothes.

• Talcum powder, chalk and corn starch can be effective home remedies if you’re short of detergent.