Best DIY Oil Stain Remover for Clothes

DIY Oil Stain Remover

Oil stains are the HARDEST stains to get out! There is nothing fun about it! It doesn’t matter how hard you try, at some point, you will be faced with the task of attempting an oil stain removal or you’ll have to deal with a permanent stain. I’ve had some luck using a very simple technique that I’m going to share with you.

Do you remember that DIY Carpet Stain Remover post from a while back? Well, we’re doing almost the EXACT same thing. We’re just going to be adding one more ingredient to turn that carpet stain remover into a super-charged DIY oil stain remover for your clothes.

Ready to watch the magic happen? Here we go!

Supplies Needed:

• Dawn
• Hydrogen Peroxide
• Baking Soda
• Toothbrush (I used an old battery powered facial cleaner)

How to Remove Old Oil Stains from Clothes

If the stain is fresh, cover it in baking soda right away. The baking soda will draw out most of the moisture. Once dry, dump the remaining baking soda out.

If it’s an old oil stain, grab your Dawn! Oh, and if you can, try not to put your clothing in the dryer! Doing this will only help set the stain in place.

Step 1:

Pour Dawn over the stain and let it sit for 10 minutes.

Step 2:

Now, dampen the bristles of the brush your using and scrub! Make sure the area becomes fully saturated so you really get that Dawn moving around the stain.

Step 3:

I repeated this process a few times. I’m working with a motor oil stain that’s been on my sweater for several days already so it’s a bit stubborn. As you can see, the stain remains.

Step 4:

If the stain has not disappeared after repeating the Dawn/scrub process, pour some hydrogen peroxide over the area.

Note: If you’re worried about “bleaching” your clothes, do a patch test first!

Step 5:

Once you’ve poured a generous amount of peroxide over the area, add a bit of baking soda.

Step 6:

Scrub it again. You should start to see your oil stain disappearing at this point. The peroxide/baking soda combo is homemade OxiClean! Remember that in case you need to remove a stain again!

If the stain is particularly stubborn, you may need to repeat the process a few times before you see any stain reduction. I repeated the process twice and after the second time, I left my sweater to sit in the peroxide/baking soda combo for the rest of the night.

After your clothing has been left alone with the solution sitting on it, toss it in the washer and wash as you normally would.

This is what mine looked like as it was being tossed into the washer:

The End Result

Here’s how my sweater looked after taking it out of the washer:

No more stain!

That’s How to Remove Old Oil Stains from Clothes

If for some reason your item STILL has an oil stain after you pull it out of the wash, don’t let it dry!! Repeat these steps again until the stain is gone. Let us know how this DIY oil stail remover worked on your oil stain!

I hope this post saves you from having to turn your favorite items into work clothes! Remember to check us out on Facebook and follow us on Pinterest!

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• How to Remove Hard Water Stains from Stainless Steel Dishwashers
• DIY Glass Stove Top Cleaner (3 Ingredients)
• Simple DIY Cleaning Wipes That Are Cheap to Make
• How to Clean a Dirty Oven With Ammonia

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