How to get oil and grease stains out of clothes, even old ones
To get oil or grease out of clothes, blot off what you can, cover the stain with talcum powder or cornstarch to soak up the rest, then work liquid dish soap or a prewash stain remover into it and wash in the hottest water the care label allows. Check the stain before drying, because dryer heat sets any oil that’s left.
Most oil stains start in the kitchen: a splash from the pan on a T-shirt, salad dressing on a lap, butter on a cuff. Bike chains and car engines supply the rest. Many of them go unnoticed until the shirt comes out of the dryer with a dark spot on it, which is why so many people search for this after the stain has already been washed in.
Why oil needs a different approach
Oil repels water, so rinsing alone just moves it around. It needs something that breaks it up. Surfactants in dish soap and laundry detergent surround the oil so it can lift off the fabric and rinse away, which our guide to choosing a stain remover explains in more detail. Some detergents also contain lipase, an enzyme the American Cleaning Institute’s enzyme fact sheet says targets fat-based stains such as butter, oil and the skin oil that builds up on collars.
Oil and blood also need opposite water temperatures. Cold water is right for blood from the first rinse to the final check, and our guide to getting blood out of clothes covers it step by step. Oil comes out best in the hottest water the fabric can take, once it has been pretreated.
How to remove a fresh oil or grease stain
- Blot off excess oil with a paper towel, and scrape thick grease away with a dull knife. Press rather than rub, which pushes oil deeper.
- Put a piece of cardboard or a folded towel inside the garment, behind the stain, so oil doesn’t soak through to the back.
- Cover the stain with talcum powder or cornstarch and leave it for 15 to 30 minutes to absorb what it can. Brush it off thoroughly.
- Work a few drops of liquid dish soap or a prewash stain remover into the stain with your fingers or a soft brush, and leave it for about 10 minutes.
- Wash the item in the hottest water the care label allows, using a heavy-duty liquid laundry detergent.
- Check the spot before drying. If you can still see it, repeat from step 4. A second treatment is often needed.
Those steps follow University of Georgia Extension’s grease stain guide, which uses talcum powder, a prewash treatment and the hottest water safe for the fabric. Cornstarch and baking soda are common substitutes for talc; our guide to what baking soda can and can’t do covers its limits.
Butter, salad dressing and other food oils
For oily food stains, University of Georgia Extension’s guide to oil-based food stains starts with a prewash stain remover and a wash, then rubs detergent into the dampened stain and launders in hot water with a bleach safe for the fabric. If the stain still persists, it sponges the area with a dry-cleaning solvent, rinses, and washes again. Solid foods like peanut butter should be scraped off with a knife first.
Holiday cooking adds turkey grease and gravy to the list, and our Thanksgiving stain guide covers both.
How to get old or washed-in oil stains out
An oil stain that has been through the wash, or even the dryer, often still comes out. It needs a stronger second round:
- Dampen the stain and work in diluted dish soap with a few drops of household ammonia, as the University of Georgia grease guide does.
- Keep working it while the stain is still lifting, then flush with water. Repeat if it keeps improving.
- Flush every trace of ammonia out with water, then put the item through a normal wash.
- For a shadow that’s left, wash again with a bleach that’s safe for the fabric. An oxygen bleach soak is the gentler option on colors; see how an oxygen bleach soak works.
Keep ammonia and chlorine bleach apart, in the sink and in the washer. The combination gives off chloramine gases, and the Washington State Department of Health lists coughing, shortness of breath and chest pain among the effects. Open a window whenever ammonia or a solvent is in use.
Spots that look like oil but aren't
If greasy-looking spots appear after washing on clothes that were never near the kitchen, check what went in with them. University of Georgia Extension describes blue-gray, greasy-looking stains caused by undiluted fabric softener poured straight onto fabric or by too much softener in the dryer. They come out by rubbing the spot with bar soap and washing again. For a stubborn one, saturate it with concentrated detergent and water and wash it in hot water. Our comparison of fabric softener and dryer sheets explains how to use softener so it doesn’t happen again.
Skin oil is the other suspect. It builds up on collars, cuffs and pillowcases, and the American Cleaning Institute notes that fat-based stains like it can leave marks that look worse after repeated washes. A lipase-containing detergent and a warm wash, if the label allows, keep it from building up.
Motor oil, bike grease and anything with fuel on it
Car and bike grease follow the same steps as cooking oil, usually with more rounds. Absorb, pretreat with a prewash stain remover or dish soap, and wash hot with heavy-duty liquid detergent. Wash these clothes on their own, not with the rest of the load.
Clothes that smell of gasoline, solvent or another flammable liquid are a different matter. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s flammable liquids safety alert says such clothes “should not be machine washed or dried; they should be spot cleaned and line dried.”
A fire warning for oil-soaked towels and aprons
Kitchen towels, aprons and rags that have soaked up a lot of cooking oil carry a real risk. The CPSC warns that normal laundering may not remove all the oil, and that such cloths can smoke and catch fire if they’re dried in a dryer, left in a warm pile or stored somewhere hot. Its advice is to throw away cloths heavily soiled with cooking oil. At the very least, don’t machine-dry them and don’t leave them bundled up while they’re warm.
Silk, wool and dry-clean-only clothes
Hot water, dish soap and powders are too much for silk, wool and anything labelled dry clean only. Blot the oil gently and take the piece to a dry cleaner, telling them what the stain is and roughly how long it has been there.
Sending oil-stained clothes to Freshly Folded
If you cook for a living, or a week of shirts all have the same spots down the front, it can go in a regular pickup. Bag the stained pieces separately and add a note to your order saying “oil” or “grease” and where the spots are. Oil on a dark shirt is nearly invisible once it’s dry, so name the item and where the spot sits. Every stain the team finds gets spot-treated, and your note tells them where this one is. If the stain has already been through the dryer, say so. Some of those come out and some don’t, and nobody can promise which.
Clothes soaked in motor oil, fuel or solvent shouldn’t go in a laundry bag at all; ask us first. If you run a restaurant or shop with aprons and towels to clean every week, our commercial laundry service reviews the items and how they’re soiled before it quotes.
Wash and fold is $2.69/lb on request or $2.49/lb on a weekly plan, with a $49.99 minimum order and a $5.99 pickup charge, and it comes back the next day. The pricing page has the full list. Schedule a pickup, or see how laundry pickup and delivery in San Diego works.
Pen marks won’t respond to dish soap the way oil does. They need rubbing alcohol, and our guide to getting ink out of clothes walks through it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can oil permanently stain clothes?
It can, especially once it has been through a hot dryer, but many oil stains that look permanent still lift with a second round of dish soap, a few drops of ammonia and a hot wash. Check the stain before drying every time.
Does dish soap get oil stains out of clothes?
Yes, it’s one of the most useful things you can reach for. Work a few drops into the stain, leave it for about 10 minutes, then wash in the hottest water the care label allows with a heavy-duty liquid detergent.
Do old oil stains come out?
Often, yes. Dampen the stain, work in diluted dish soap with a few drops of household ammonia, flush with water and repeat while it keeps improving. Rinse well and wash, then use a bleach safe for the fabric on any shadow that’s left. Never mix ammonia with chlorine bleach.
Will vinegar remove grease stains from clothes?
Not on its own. Vinegar isn’t a degreaser. Dish soap, a prewash stain remover and a heavy-duty liquid detergent are what break up oil so it can wash away.
Can grease stains come out after clothes have been washed and dried?
Often, but they take more work. Treat them like old stains, with dish soap, a few drops of ammonia and a hot wash, repeated as needed. If the spots are blue-gray and the clothes were never near grease, they may be fabric softener stains, which come out with bar soap and another wash.
Should you use hot or cold water on oil stains?
Hot, once the stain has been pretreated: the hottest water the care label allows. That’s the opposite of blood, which needs cold water.
