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The following scenarios are all too familiar. You get dressed up in your latest sewing creation, a stylish black dress, only to find white deodorant stains under the arms. You can’t wait to transform a thrifted tablecloth into a spring skirt when you discover rust spots splattered across the fabric. You begin to fold your newly sewn picnic quilt only to see where your 3-year-old has left barbecue sauce handprints across the backing. We hear your screams of frustration and we’re here to help.
We’ve rounded up some of the easiest, most common fixes for removing stains from fabric to help make your day a little less stressful. From stubborn splatters of ketchup to tough-to-remove ink marks, these tips for removing stains from fabric will assist in keeping your sewing and quilting projects pristine. Want to keep these tips handy? Be sure to save this article to your favorites!
Rust
Rust is an all too familiar stain for those who love sewing with vintage and gently used fabrics. Lemon juice and sunshine are both used to remove rust stains but it’s important to note that this solution works best for white or lightly colored fabrics. For darker fabrics, you’ll need to test this out first, as it can bleach the fabric.
First, you’ll need to lay your fabric flat. Then you’ll sprinkle table salt on the rust spot. Then, apply lemon juice to the rust spots and lay your fabric in the sun to dry for a few hours and then wash.
Ink
Dropped an ink pen onto your favorite skirt? Not a problem. Like with rust, you’ll need to spot test this stain removal method on darker fabrics first (this will be a recurring theme going forward).
According to Tide’s article, “How to Remove Pen Ink from Clothes: The Basics,” you can dab hand sanitizer, hair spray or rubbing alcohol onto the ink spot using a cotton swab. Then, let the treatment set for one to three minutes before blotting the stain with a paper towel. If the stain persists, you can apply more of your solution onto the ink stain and rinse with cold water. Then, directly apply laundry detergent to the spot and wash in your washing machine.
Deodorant
As someone whose wardrobe features numerous black tops and dresses, these stains are the bane of my closet. For small deodorant stains, you can typically spot treat them by applying a small amount of dish soap and rinsing it with cold water. For stubborn deodorant stains, you’re going to create a baking soda paste.
To do this, you’re going to use a 3:1 ratio of baking soda and water, mixing them to create a paste. Using an old toothbrush, apply the paste to the deodorant stain and let it set for at least twenty minutes before rinsing and then washing the garment. For severe stains, you will likely need to let the mixture sit longer to achieve consistent results.
Barbecue Sauce
Delicious and deadly (at least to fabric), barbecue sauce stains can be very stubborn stains to remove. According to Apartment Therapy’s article, “You Only Need 3 Things to Get Barbecue Sauce Out of Your Clothes, and You Most Likely Already Have Them at Home,” by Barbara Bellesi Zito, you’ll need to use a utensil to gently scrape off any sauce from the surface of your fabric. Then, rinse the fabric in cold water and apply a stain fighter (we personally are fans of Dawn dish soap) and wash as normal. Time is the main factor of barbecue sauce stains, so it’s important to immediately try to remove the stain as soon as you notice it.
Blood
Raise your hand if you’ve been working with sewing pins and accidentally pricked your finger, getting blood on your fabric. Blood is fairly easy to remove but there are two major factors that will determine how well the stain will lift: how fast you rinse the fabric and the temperature of the water you use. Avoid using hot water, as this will make the stain set. Using cold water, the most common stain removal method calls for dabbing the stained area with a 3 percent hydrogen peroxide mixture for about 30 seconds (the mixture should start to bubble), then blot it and rinse. This method works best for light fabrics. Darker fabrics can use the baking soda mixture used in the Deodorant Stains section, letting it sit for 30 minutes before rinsing.
Pencil Marks
Pencil marks can be easy to remove, and we recommend first trying a brick eraser or cleaning eraser, like a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, before resorting to more time-intensive stain removal methods. For stubborn stains, you can mix cold water with dishwashing soap and gently rub the area, washing the fabric as normal once complete. Please note that these stain removal instructions are for graphite pencil marks only.
Ketchup
Like barbecue sauce, ketchup can also be a very stubborn stain to remove. Start by using a utensil to gently scrape any ketchup residue from the fabric’s surface. White vinegar is generally noted as the best solution for ketchup stains, so combine distilled white vinegar with water and gently massage the mixture into the stain. Then, rinse the solution with cold water and wash the fabric as normal.
We hope you’ve found our quick tips for removing stains to be helpful. The main tip we can give: always use cold water instead of hot!
What are your tips for removing stains? We’d love to hear from our readers in the comments below.