During a person’s average week, it’s not impossible for them to encounter cooking oil situations. Whether it may be in the kitchen, at work, eating out, there are just a lot of opportunities when you can accidentally spill cooking oil on your clothes. In situations like these, you may be wondering how to get cooking oil out of clothes.
The Intricacies of Cooking Oil
Cooking oil has been a very useful thing, especially in cooking. A lot of cuisine requires oil, and so humans encounter cooking oil more often than expected.Cooking oils can be plant-based and derived from plant sources such as:
- Plant oil – Plant oil is the general term for oil extracted from plants instead of animal sources or petroleum. They are usually termed as vegetable oils. The three primary plant oils are vegetable fats and oils, macerated oils, and essential oils.
- Olive oil – As the name suggests, olive oil is a liquid fat from olives. Olives are traditional tree crops from the Mediterranean Basin. Olive oil is usually produced by gathering whole olives and pressing them and extracting the oil from them.
- Corn oil – Corn oil is extracted from the germ of corn (maize) and is usually used for margarine. They are one of the cheapest types of oil on the market.
- Canola oil – Canola oil is derived and extracted from various types of rapeseed that are low in erucic acid.
- Peanut oil – Peanut oil is also termed groundnut oil or arachis oil. Like the name suggests, this type of oil is extracted from peanuts.
There are also oils that are animal based, like butter and lard. Oils are not as bland as people might think. In fact, oils can be creative and be flavored with various food stuff with aromatic elements like chillies, herbs and garlic.
Simple Methods for Removing Cooking Oil From Clothes
There are a lot of circumstances where you can get a bit of a splash of oil on your clothes, especially when you like cooking. While oil splashes do not leave very noticeable and bright marks, they usually leave darker shades of stains on your clothes that can be bothersome as they seem like the spots are wet. Especially for white garments, cooking oil stains are very noticeable and can damage the overall look of the clothes.
One of the most important things when removing stains is time. The faster you react and do something about it, the easier it is to remove. This means, as soon as you spot the cooking oil marks on your clothes, it’s best to take a short break from your food preparation and tend to the oil marks first.
The second thing to do when stained with cooking oil is to get as much oil as you can during your first wipe or scoop. Blot as much of the oil using a towel, a spoon or a blunt knife. This way, only a minimal amount of oil will be further absorbed into the cloth’s fabric.
Another important thing to remember is to read the care label on your clothes. There may be things or methods that will not work on a certain fabric or article of clothing. This extra tip is to ensure you are not damaging your clothes in the process of removing the stain.
Methods to Get Cooking Oil Out of Clothes
There are various ways one can choose from when it comes to removing oil stains on clothes. However, each and every method has components that need to be addressed, including the type of garment and, of course, the availability of the ingredients to be used. Here are some basic methods to remove cooking oil stains from your clothes.
Laundry detergent
The most basic ingredient to get rid of stains and overall dirt from your clothes is laundry detergent. One way to get oil stains out of your clothes is through pre-treating your clothes using a liquid laundry detergent.
Modern laundry detergents incorporate the component Persil Bio that has enzymes effective in helping to destroy tough stains. And so it should also be helpful in treating oil-stained clothes.
Remember to note that not every garment reacts the same way to your laundry detergent. Therefore, it’s useful to test the detergent out first on a non-visible part of the clothing to test if the garment will react differently to the detergent. If the cloth is fine after the small test, then you are good to go.
Soak the area in the detergent for at least 5 minutes to let it work its way and get absorbed thoroughly by the fabric. After checking the care label of your clothes, wash your clothes at the highest temperature they can withstand. Oil stains can be better and easily removed as the temperature gets higher.
Dishwashing liquid
Removing cooking oil stains by using dishwashing liquid. Dishwashing liquids are great for getting rid of greasy substances from plates. Fun fact: Not only are they good at removing grease from plates, but also from your clothes! Dishwashing liquids are equipped and designed to cut oil and grease, so it’s justifiable and capable of removing oil from your clothes too.
The first step is to add ½ teaspoon (depending on the size of the stain) to the stain. It’s important to remember not to put too much on because too much can cause suds. The next thing is to rub the area thoroughly to allow the liquid to set into the stain spot.
Kitchen Remedies to Get Cooking Oil Out of Clothes
Aside from the easic detergent solutions you can cook up as a solution for cooking oil stains, there are still various ways to get rid of oil stains using things you typically have inside your home.
Baking soda
Baking soda has proved to be a need in your kitchen. It could be used for baking, whitening, or even cleaning.Baking soda can work alone or with combinations of other cleaning materials like soaps and detergents.
With this method, you will need to get paper cardboard as preparation. After preparing a paper cardboard, you can proceed to locate the stain and, once you do, place the cardboard or piece of carton behind the area. This step avoids the formula from affecting the back part of the cloth. It also helps in keeping the formula focused on the area you want it to be.
The basic tip for removing the oil from your garment is to blot it out softly by running a spoon, absorbent cloth, or a blunt but flat-surfaced tool like a knife over the surface and scooping up as much oil as you can without pushing the oil further into the garment. After this, it’s time to apply the baking soda.
Sprinkle baking soda all over the area with the stain. Once the stain is all covered up, leave it for up to 30 minutes to give the baking soda enough time to absorb all the oil from the area.
After letting it sit for this amount of time, place the clothes in a bucket of water, preferably warm. Mix in a few more tablespoons of baking soda and soak your clothes for another 30 minutes. After all these things, you can proceed to wash the garment as you typically do.
Hygiene Materials as Remedies to Get Cooking Oil Out of Clothes
Materials people use to clean and take care of themselves can also be helpful in cleaning oil stains out of your clothes. So, if the situation leaves you with limited choices, you can opt for these methods instead.
Shampoo
Shampoos work their magic on hair and are very effective in treating oily hair. Good news, it also works wonders on oil stains. Again, the first step is to try to blot out excess oil on the area before proceeding with the method.
After blotting, you can get shampoo and place it on the oil stained area. Use a used toothbrush or a soft manicure brush and rub the area with the formula. Leave the area and let it sit for a few minutes before washing your clothes according to their wash instructions.
Baby powder
Baby powder is great for keeping your skin from being oily. It’s also widely used all over the world, and so almost every household has baby powder, so it’s not hard to find inside your beauty kit or in your house as a whole.
The first step is to locate the area stained with oil and then cover it with baby powder. This method requires more time than the other methods as you will need to let it sit for a day.
The baby powder absorbs and helps in removing the stain from your clothes. After 24 hours, get a spoon and scoop up the powder off of the garment and wash as you normally would.
Summary
Cooking oil is a very familiar component found everywhere. It’s present in almost every household or even outside of your home environment. And so, almost everybody can be exposed to oil stains throughout their days. Knowing how to get cooking oil out of clothes is a life hack in taking care of your clothes.
Jessica Oliver is a fashion enthusiast with more than ten years of experience in the industry. She previously managed her own clothing store in New York before becoming a mother of three. With a passion for sustainability and a desire to share clothing care and recycling tips.