How to get Vaseline out of clothes?
Vaseline is great for skin, but it’s not recommended for clothing. Even though you shouldn’t let it to start with, if it does, your clothing isn’t ruined. Undoubtedly one of the most difficult laundry tasks is getting rid of greasy, oily stains. Which stains on clothes are the greasiest, oiliest ones? Vaseline needs to be removed using a few specialized tools and techniques, along with a lot of patience, just like any other difficult-to-remove stain on your clothes. The stain can be removed by simply following a few simple instructions. Make sure to remove as much Vaseline as you can to make things simpler. Read on to learn how to get Vaseline out of clothes.
Methods to get Vaseline out of clothes
Vaseline stains can be removed from clothing with the help of dish or laundry soap, rubbing alcohol, a hot iron, cornstarch, or even regular white vinegar! These techniques demand some time and work, but the good news is that they just need common home items that you most likely already have.
As with any stain, the key to success is to remove the stain as soon as you can, before it has a chance to penetrate the cloth. Don’t lose up hope if a stain slips past you in the wash, though; further on in this article, you may find advice on how to remove a set-in grease stain from fabric.
1: Dish soap
The best method for removing stains from fabrics that have been stained with Vaseline is liquid dish soap. Unfortunately, this approach does need some work, but it is effective! This is so that the dish soap can effectively remove oil.
Method:
- Pour a generous amount of dish soap directly onto the discoloration. You will likely need a teaspoon of a powerful dish soap, such as Dawn, to be exact.
- Gently work the soap over the discoloration with your fingers to create a lather.
- Make sure the soap penetrates the fabric’s fibres. You might also use a soft cloth brush for this, but be careful not to scrub the stain from inside to outside as this could enlarge it.
- Put the stain under warm running water after that. Allow the soap and oil to wash out of the fabric’s reverse side.
- Allow the clothing to air dry after removing all of the soap. After it dries, examine it to determine if any staining is still present.
2: Isopropyl alcohol and rubbing alcohol
Another wonderful approach to get rid of a Vaseline stain is to soak it in powerful isopropyl alcohol. While it takes a little longer, this method requires less scrubbing. The fat lipids in petroleum jelly can dissolve in alcohol because it is partially soluble in most forms of alcohol but insoluble in water. Because of this, many stain-lifting laundry detergents also contain some type of alcohol.
Before using this procedure, be sure to spot-test! Simply place a tiny drop of alcohol on your garment’s interior seam allowance. After ten minutes, check to see if the fabric has changed color.
There are two ways to apply isopropyl alcohol to a Vaseline stain. As for a little stain:
- To prevent grease from seeping behind the stain and ruining surrounding portions of the clothing, place something absorbent like a folded paper towel behind it.
- Put some alcohol on a clean cotton ball and let it soak.
- On the stain, dab the cotton ball. To avoid spreading any grease, work your way inside from the outside of the stained area.
- Continue doing this until you have fully soaked the fabric in alcohol.
- Give it five minutes to sit.
Try soaking the portion of the clothing that is discoloured in alcohol for a larger stain:
- Create a flat workstation and use a throwaway object, such as a plastic cup. Isopropyl alcohol should be added to the cup halfway.
- Make sure the rest of the garment can comfortably lay on the flat surface next to the cup before placing the discolored portion of the garment into the cup.
- Give it 10 minutes to sit.
- With a clean rag, scrub the discolored area.
- After rinsing the alcohol away, let the clothing air dry.
- See if the grease is completely gone or if the affected area is still discolored.
3: Vinegar
The gentlest, least toxic method for removing Vaseline stains off clothing is vinegar and baking soda. Similar to using dish soap, this approach isn’t entirely effective. However, it does offer a gentle option ideal for those with sensitive skin or a means to work on delicate cloth that can’t withstand heavier treatments.
Vinegar shouldn’t damage most types of fabric, in contrast to rubbing alcohol. If you try this, be sure to wash your clothes afterwards to get the pickle scent out of the fabric.
Method:
- Equal parts of distilled white vinegar and water are combined in a bucket.
- Put your clothing in this solution and let it soak for a minimum of 10 minutes.
- The stained portion should be facing up as you spread the item flat on a clean towel after removing it from the water and pressing some moisture out of it.
- Give the stain a tablespoon of baking soda.
- Using either your fingers or a soft brush, rub it into the fabric. The oil particles that the vinegar had previously loosened will be removed from the fabric by the baking soda’s abrasive action.
- Lastly, wash the item in cool, running water.
- Wash it as usual in your washing machine, but don’t dry it in the dryer. Instead, let the item air dry so you can check it once it’s finished drying to be sure all of the grease is gone.
4: Cornstarch
Using cornstarch to remove Vaseline stains from your clothing is the lazy way to do it. Within a short period of time, this soft, absorbent powder can soak up the oil.
Method:
- Lay the clothing flat by spreading it out. To prevent oil from soaking into the fabric’s reverse side, place a piece of paper towel behind the damaged spot.
- Cornstarch should be liberally applied to the entire stain. You need to apply the powder in a fairly thick coating.
- Give the cornstarch 20 minutes to sit.
- To collect all the cornstarch, use a tiny vacuum. To be safe, shake the item out before checking to see if the stain is still there.
How Can You Remove Vaseline From Clothes After Washing?
Vaseline stains may typically be removed from clothing after washing using any of the techniques mentioned in this article. Although you might need to add additional steps, using a powdered item like cornstarch or baking soda to soak the oil up out of the stain works exceptionally well.
The issue with fixing an oil stain after washing is that the longer it stays in the fabric, the more ingrained it will become. Additionally, the agitation and friction produced by the washing machine can cause the small fat lipids contained in each drop of oil to deeply penetrate the fibers of the cloth. All of this means that while these stains are removable, you should anticipate spending extra time cleaning and rinsing. Each step might need to be done several times.
Conclusion
Vaseline causes oil-based stains on cloth that are impossible to remove using conventional washing techniques. However, applying dish soap or laundry soap directly to the fabric may help you remove these stubborn stains from clothes relatively effortlessly. To melt the oil, you can also use an iron or basic household cleaners like vinegar, cornstarch, baking soda, or rubbing alcohol.
Petroleum jelly is simply marketed under the name Vaseline. These techniques will also apply to other petroleum jelly-based products.