Removing cooking stains from clothes

Probably more for the ladies, but maybe some of the guys. I am notorious for forgetting to put on my apron when I begin to cook. I also have certain clothes I wear at home because I know myself well and don't want to mess up all my clothes. So I ask those of you who cook and also do laundry......what product have you found that will remove stains from your t-shirts, blouses, sweat shirts, etc.? I seem to get oily stains on my tees and in the winter, sweat shirts, which will not come out, unless treated and washed twice. I spray with a product, rub it in, let sit the required amount of time, but usually one or two of the stains remain until I wash a second time. This drives me nuts, as I cannot stand stains on my clothes, even the ones I wear at home on work/cooking days. I think I am getting a lot of them from tossing salads, sautéing onions, or browning meats. Have any of you found that olive oil spots are hard to get out? Do you have a favorite product that get the stains out the first time?

[Robin Garr]

Do you have a favorite product that get the stains out the first time?

Mary uses a commercial product called "Spray & Wash" that seems to work well. She'll spray a spot, let it soak in, then wash the offending garment with the rest of the laundry. It seems to work well for most food stains, although I'm not sure if it would be effective against something hyper-staining like red wine or beets.

As a bachelor, I maintain that stains add patina and interest to clothes.

However, I do use Spray-N-Wash and it does take out the worst of tomatoey and oily and beety stains. Makes a t-shirt look like it was very badly tie-dyed. (Which reveals my antiquity.)

John

Say what you will about Martha Stewart, but she usually has a tip or an idea about everthing domestically related. She has a chart called Stain Removal Basicsthat breaks food stains down into different types. It also helps if you review the overview before going directly to the chart for some basicinformation about fabric types and what works best on different fabrics. I keep a bottle of glycerine on hand just for this purpose. But, you have to get to a stain while it is as fresh as possible in order for the tips to work. Under no circumstances should you wash and then try to remove a set stain. It's futile, I don't care what the box says. Good luck!

I find spit to be very effective on stains. The trick is to get to the stain quickly, before it has time to really set in, and apply a liberal amount of all-natural food dissolver.

I can get red wine out of a bright yellow shirt.

I have more trouble getting eating stains out of my clothes.

Cook neekid and no worries about stains. Now those splatter burns are a whole 'nuther story.
'Winger

What works for one stain may set another....so I always check the internet. Has worked for stains as tough as rust [ knife edge on a napkin ], blueberry, boysenberry. Some techniques include baking soda and steam. Most techniques do NOT need toxic commercial products so I stopped buying them.

If we are out we try a Tide Stick. At home we use OxiClean spray on the stain, and granular in the washing machine. As a matter of fact we use the granular OxiClean in every load.

For some things "Simple Solution" works great and is quite inexpensive. It is used for cats urine and is sold in pet shops. It will take red wine stains out of off white wool Berber carpet. I always have a problem myself with oil/grease stains on my clothing. We discovered at CostCo a cleaner degreaser called "Oil Eater" that works really well removing Canola or EVOO from my cotton T shirts.

For some things "Simple Solution" works great and is quite inexpensive. It is used for cats urine and is sold in pet shops. It will take red wine stains out of off white wool Berber carpet. I always have a problem myself with oil/grease stains on my clothing. We discovered at CostCo a cleaner degreaser called "Oil Eater" that works really well removing Canola or EVOO from my cotton T shirts.

My husband likes Simple Solution for his workshop cleanups...never thought of using it for my stains. The Cotton T-shirts are the hardest for me...those oily stains just want to stay right there. I was also told by someone that Dawn is great for pre-treating and removing the stains. Also, Shout Gel, which comes in a smaller bottle and has a silicone brush type dispenser on top. You rub it right into the stain. This product worked great for me today. So now armed with suggestions, I will give them a try and see what works for me, the first time around. I hate doing a second washing just to get out stains. The Oil Eater sounds great, as well. Thanks for all the suggestions!

I just remembered that my wife used to use D&L Hand Cleaner, the stuff they sell in auto parts stores, on greasy stains before putting them in the laundry.

A drop of washing up liquid worked into the stain seems to work well with oily stains, even ones that have already been through the wash a time or two. Work it in and leave it a while, then wash as normal.

[Jenise]

Big oxi-clean fan here: red wine, almost anything. I sometimes resort to bleach, too, but basically oxi-clean's my #1 stain fighter. However, some oil-based stains have to be treated differently--say an oily tomato sauce--where you have both oil and color. There I work on the oil first, dotting the spot like Matilda with Dawn dish detergent (and then rinsing it with hot water) prior to running it with a load of laundry. Depending on the results of that effort I follow up with oxi-clean to pull the color. No other special products required.