Whether its oil spillet from cooking or your favourite pillow cover soaked your hair oil, no matter how many washes, these marks leave unsightly stains on your favourite piece of cloth. Don't be disheartened if you face such situation and never "just soak" them in detergent overnight, as it, may harm your fabric forever! Good news is, learning how to get oil out of clothes is much smoother than you may think!
So be it cooking for your loved ones or preparing a favourite dish of your children oil spilling will not be a problem to you any more.
The great myth of Oil
There's accepted misconception among all of us, that it is impossible to remove oil from clothing. FALSE! Although oils and clothing aren't exactly a happy combination, you can easily learn how to remove oil from clothes. The secret is not to panic and totally avoid random doings that could make the situation worse - like rubbing and spreading the oil further into the fibres or adding extra detergent, which can damage the fabric.
The reason why oil is not washed off with water is, oil and water don't mix! Oil is hydrophobic - which means their molecules don't dissolve in water hence, it can be difficult to clean with just water unless a catalyst is used. And that is the universal truth!
How to remove oil from clothing: What's Your secret weapon?
It's simple: "ABSORPTION". Absorbing as much of these oils as possible before washing is the ultimate way to learn how to get oil out of clothes. With these techniques you can remove oil from clothes like a professional, that too, without any need to spend a penny on dry cleaning.
Here are all the possible ways to remove oil from cloths
1. Blotting paper, cotton pads- Use of blotting paper or cotton pads are the first thing you use to soak up the excess oils and avoid it from spreading. Just dab the part where oil is spilt and use any of the following methods to completely remove the oil.
2. Talcum/Baby Powder- Spread some baby or talcum powder over the affected part and leave for 3 to 4 hours. Just dust of the caky powder later. You can light vacuum the affected part to remove the powder from clothes,
3. Chalk - Run the chalks om oily part and let it absorb the oils, if needed brush off the chalk and re-apply again. Chalk tends to absorb oils quickly and helps from further spreading of oil.
4. All-purpose flour- Apply flour on affected areas and leave it for 1 hour. The flour will absorb all the oil from cloths. Just brush it off afterwards to remove the flour.
5. Baking powder- Use of baking soda is the age-old technique to remove oil from clothes. Just spread the baking soda on oil and let it soak all the oil.
6. Dry shampoo - Spray dry shampoo on the cloth where oil is spilt and quickly absorb with blotting paper or tissue paper.
7. Salt - Mix salt and rubbing alcohol in 1:4 ratio. Rub it hard on the oil stain. The stains will disappear quickly.
8. Cornstarch - It is a good oil absorber! So spread some cornstarch on the affected areas and press it with use of a soft cloth. Let it sit for an hour or 2 and brush off the cornstarch.
9. Dishwashing detergent- Dishwashing detergent has a tendency to separate oil from the surface and make it float. So spread some dishwashing liquid on the cloth and wipe
up.
10. Toothpaste - Yes, toothpaste can work wonders to remove oil from clothes. Just, apply on the cloth and brush, brush, brush with a toothbrush.
11. Coke - As we all know coke is a great cleaning agent due to its oil removing properties. Hence pour coke on the cloths and wi[pe it off with blotting paper after 2 to 3 mins.
12. Shampoo - Take a small amount of shampoo and rub on the cloth and wash it off with water.
13. Vinegar - Combine water and vinegar into 1:1 proportion and damp a clot into this solution. Rub this damp cloth on the oil spilt portion of your cloth.
14. Hairspray - This method is best to remove oil stains from your cloth without harming the cloth. Just spray the hairspray on the oil stain and wash off as usual.
15. Heavy-duty liquid detergent - Apply this detergent liquid on the cloth directly and was as instructed.
These methods soak the oil form your clothes but make sure you wash them as directed or in a regular washing cycle as you normally do to completely wash off the oil from your cloth.
Why cannot we leave the oil just like that for a regular wash?
Leaving your fabric for a normal wash will not do any good, hence it has a risk of drying that oil into an oil stain. Furthermore, you won't be able to use your favourite cloth due to this stain. A dried-out oil stain is super stubborn and sometimes take a costly treatment to remove.
Possibility of damaging the fabric, its shine, weave and colour is high. Hence it is necessary to treat the oil on cloths as soon as possible to protect the life of your favourite cloth. Your clothes are your property, hence maintaining them is your responsibility, similarly checking labels is too. Make sure to check labels of your clothes before treating them, or else you may end up destroying them. You need to carefully look, especially before using a brush on cloths.
Oil on cloths are non-avoidable for many of us, no matter how careful we are! But the best part is they can be outwitted quickly and easily. So, next time you apply hair oil at night or slash oil while cooking your fav dish or any of your "oily moment", don't worry about any major loss of your favourite piece of cloth and follow these methods to remove those pesky stains.
