Having a stain on your denim may be one of the uneasiest and most embarrassing moments you will encounter – especially if you’re in the middle of something important like a date, an event, or an activity.
In the world of stains, some are easy to remove (as easy as 1, 2, 3), while some are tough enough to cling on your favorite jeans permanently.
And one of the most common and stubborn stain most people face is the grease stain. Why?
A grease stain may happen because of several reasons: For example food accidents.
Plenty of delicious foods are oily, I’m talking about fries, savory fried chicken, juicy burgers, and pizzas.
And if you’re not careful, those food oils may drip onto your denim.
Activities like cycling, working on your car, or riding a motorcycle. These activities makes your denim prone to having black grease stain.
So if a grease find its way to your nice pair of denim, do not panic.
Here are the best solutions you can try to remove that pesky stain and make your jeans looking good as new again.
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How to get grease stains out of denim?
Before trying out salt, powder, sweetener, hairspray, cola, soap, and shaving cream methods, pat denim with something dry first like a paper towel or a clean dry cloth. This will prevent the grease from absorbing too much of the denim since grease is oil-based. If you’re lucky, you can actually remove the entire stain with this step, especially if the grease is still fresh.
Do not scrub the grease away because doing so will only make it harder to remove since it will sink deeper and spread into unaffected areas.
Steps on how to effectively remove grease stains out of denim
If you’re at some place else and had a grease incident, here are some quick and effective steps that are doable even in public.
Use Salt or soda to remove grease
If ever you’re somewhere (in a restaurant or a friend’s house) you can ask for a soda or salt in case you accidentally stained your jeans with grease.
What you need to do is create a salt mixture by dissolving salt in water.
Then using this mixture, dab it onto the stained area using a clean cloth until the grease disappears.
However, if dabbing with salt mixture doesn’t help, try scrubbing it for a more effective method. By any chance salt isn’t available, alternatively try soda.
Baby powder or talcum powder
Powder substances are good for absorbing oil, and that explains why people apply the powder onto their faces when oily.
So if powder works on oily skin, it can also work in grease too. Sprinkle a good amount of powder onto the grease and let it sit for as long as you can until you finally have the time to toss it into the washer.
The powder will soak up the oily grease and prevents the stain from sinking deeply into your denim fibers.
But before letting your washer do the work, brush the powder to see if the grease stain is gone.
Now, you have another reason to carry a powder with you.
Use sweeteners
Sweeteners of course you’re not carrying sweeteners in your bag like you would carry a powder, but surely sweeteners are available in restaurants or convenience stores.
The procedure is just the same as how you do with powder. Just don’t forget to wash it immediately before the ants get into your pants.
Cola helps to remove grease from denim
Cola you may find it odd but yes, cola will also help remove that oily grease from your denim. And surely, you will find cola everywhere you go.
The size of the cola will depend on how big the stain is. But usually, for small stains, a can of cola will do.
An egg and alcohol mixture
Egg and alcohol one of the weirdest yet effective way to remove greasy stain is a mixture of egg yolk and few drops of alcohol.
Once blended well, apply the mixture on the stain and wait for about five to ten minutes and wash your jeans as how you normally would.
Other alternative products to remove oil
Unfortunately, even though the methods are proven effective, some grease stains require tougher cleaners.
Here are some alternative products you can try for the toughest grease stain:
Hairspray or shampoo even though you’re not carrying a hairspray around you, you can find your luck in restrooms or convenient stores.
And once you already have one, spray it onto the stained area and leave for around 10 to 20 minutes. After that, use a dry cloth to wipe the hairspray away.
Once you get home, wash your denim immediately since hairspray will harden the fabric of your jeans. If you really can’t find hairspray elsewhere, you can otherwise use shampoo.
Shaving cream will also do the trick when it comes to removing troublesome grease stains. Use it by lathering onto the affected area, then wait for couple of minutes before washing it off.
Dish soap this method will require more time than the others because it must be left outside to dry. But fortunately, it may be more effective than the others since thorough washing will be required in this procedure.
If you’re somewhere, dab the grease with a paper towel or dried cloth first before rinsing the stained area with hot water. Once rinsed, apply a fair amount of dish soap onto the greasy part.
Then with small brush (or toothbrush), gently scrub the grease and wait for 2 to 5 minutes. Lastly, wash again with hot water and hang outside to dry.
So there goes the list of the most effective ways on how to remove that greasy stain from your lovely denims. Happy cleaning!
Can I use cold water in removing grease stains?
Yes you may. The above methods will still work even with the use of cold water. Although hot water is more preferred because it works best when removing sticky oil from stains.
I notice the stained area worn out when I tried the above methods. What will I do?
Cleaning your denim with a product other than the normal detergent could possibly wear out its color.
But don’t worry because it may be nothing permanent, especially if it’s your first time using such a product.
That is why you need to quickly wash your jeans immediately as soon as you head home with a good quality laundry detergent and hot water.
One of the reasons why denims are fading out is because of cold water and poor quality detergent.