How to wash Halloween costumes and remove the worst stains
The morning after Halloween, the costume pile tends to look the same: a cape stiff with fake blood, a collar smeared with face paint, a chocolate thumbprint on one sleeve and a witch hat with no care label at all. Most of it can be saved. Rinse each stain in cold water, treat it for what it is, and keep everything out of the dryer until the stain is gone.
This guide goes stain by stain, then covers how to tell whether a costume can go in the washing machine, how to send costumes out if you’d rather not deal with them, and how to store them for next year.
Start cold, and save the dryer for last
Every method in this guide starts with cold water. Fake blood, face paint and chocolate lift more easily before they dry, and heat can set some of them. Rinse from the back of the fabric so the stain is pushed out the way it came in, rather than deeper into the weave.
Cold doesn’t have to mean cold all the way through. Once a stain has been treated, the American Cleaning Institute’s guide to Halloween and chocolate stains has you wash chocolate in the hottest water the fabric allows. The care label sets that limit. What heat should never reach is a stain that’s still there, so check each piece in good light before it goes in the dryer. One cycle can set a faint mark for good.
How to treat each Halloween stain
Fake blood
Bottled fake blood is usually a syrup tinted with dye, so treat it as a dye stain rather than a blood stain.
- Scrape off anything thick with a spoon, then sponge the stain with cold water to remove as much color as you can.
- Pretreat with a prewash stain remover and wash as the label allows. Our guide to which stain remover suits which stain compares the common sprays.
- If color is left, soak the item for at least 30 minutes in a gallon of cool water mixed with a quarter cup of oxygen bleach, or chlorine bleach only if the label allows it. Rinse, then wash again.
Those steps follow the American Cleaning Institute’s advice for food coloring stains. For the soak, an oxygen bleach powder is the usual choice; here is how oxygen bleach powder compares with liquid color-safe bleach. Read the fake blood bottle as well, because some brands print their own washing directions.
Face paint and makeup
Lift off the excess with the back of a spoon. Wiping spreads it. Water-based face paint tends to come out with a pretreatment and a normal wash. The American Cleaning Institute’s method for cosmetics is to pretreat with a prewash stain remover, liquid laundry detergent or a paste of powder detergent and water, or to rub the spot with bar soap, then launder.
Oil-based and cream paints are harder because they repel water. Detergents and prewash sprays work on them because surfactants surround the oil so it can rinse away, and the main difference between the two best-known sprays is how long you leave them on (see how two common prewash sprays differ). For a stubborn spot, makeup remover or rubbing alcohol on a cotton pad can help, but test it on an inside seam first, because alcohol can lift fabric dye along with the paint.
Spirit gum and costume glue
Spirit gum, the adhesive that holds fake beards and prosthetic noses, dries hard on fabric, and so does the glue on cheap trim. The American Cleaning Institute’s method for adhesive is to harden it with ice or cold water, scrape it with a dull knife, saturate the spot with a prewash stain remover or cleaning fluid, rinse and launder. Spirit gum remover, made to take the adhesive off skin, can also loosen it on fabric. Test it somewhere hidden first.
Chocolate and sticky candy
Scrape off what you can, soak the item in cool water, pretreat with a prewash stain remover, then wash in the hottest water the label allows. If a mark is left, wash it again with a bleach that’s safe for the fabric. That is the American Cleaning Institute’s chocolate method. For caramel, taffy or gum, harden it with an ice cube first, then crack and scrape it away before treating what’s left.
Candle wax from jack-o’-lanterns
Scrape off the surface wax with a dull knife. Put the stain between paper towels and press with a warm iron, moving to clean towels until no more wax transfers. Then sponge what’s left with a prewash stain remover, let it dry and wash it. It’s the same method as in our Thanksgiving guide to candle wax on table linens.
Check the label before the iron comes out. One dot on the iron symbol means low heat only, and an iron with an X through it means no ironing at all. Many costumes are thin synthetics with glued trim, and an iron can melt both.
Can you put a Halloween costume in the washing machine?
Sometimes. The care label decides, and in the United States clothing has to carry one. The FTC’s Care Labeling Rule requires complete instructions for regular care, or a warning if the garment can’t be cleaned without harm. If the label says hand wash or dry clean, believe it.
There are two catches. Hats, gloves and shoes are exempt from the rule, so the witch hat, the gloves and the boots often come with no instructions at all. And most labels use symbols rather than words; the American Cleaning Institute’s one-page guide to fabric care symbols decodes them.
| Costume or piece | What usually works |
|---|---|
| Polyester or cotton, label allows machine washing | Turn it inside out, put it in a mesh bag, wash on a cold gentle cycle, then air-dry or tumble on low |
| Satin, velvet, or anything labelled dry clean | Follow the label: hand wash, or send it to a dry cleaner |
| Sequins, glued gems, glitter | Spot clean around the trim; a full wash can strip it |
| Foam armor, wings, masks | Wipe with a damp cloth and mild soap, then let it dry completely |
| Hats and props with no label | Spot clean only |
| Rented costumes | Ask the rental shop before you clean it yourself |
Foam pieces that smell after a long night can take a light mist of equal parts water and white vinegar, as long as they dry fully before they’re packed away. Vinegar has limits, and our guide to where vinegar helps in laundry and where it doesn’t covers them.
Sending costumes out in San Diego
If you’d rather not spend November 1 at the sink, costumes can go in a regular Freshly Folded pickup. A few minutes of sorting gets each piece to the right place:
- Read every label. Machine-washable pieces go in your wash and fold bag.
- Put anything marked dry clean in a separate bag, so it goes to dry cleaning instead of the washer.
- Bag stained pieces separately too, and add a note to your order saying what the stain is: fake blood, face paint, wax. The team spot-treats any stain it finds, and the note means nothing is missed. If you’ve already treated a stain at home, say what you used.
- Keep hats, masks and props with no label at home.
One honest caveat: nobody can promise that every dye stain will come out, especially once it has been through a hot dryer. Treating it early gives it the best chance.
Wash and fold is priced by the pound: $2.69/lb for an on-request pickup 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. Dry cleaning is priced per item. The pricing page lists both.
You choose the detergent, including fragrance-free options, and every wash and fold load also goes through our ArtiClean ozone system. Leave the bags at your door on pickup day. Schedule a pickup, or read how laundry pickup and delivery in San Diego works first.
How to store Halloween costumes for next year
Store only clean, completely dry costumes. Sugar, makeup and sweat left in the fabric can darken over the months, and food residue can attract pests.
- Use breathable fabric garment bags, or a plastic bin only if everything goes in fully dry.
- Stuff hats and structured pieces with acid-free tissue so they keep their shape. It’s the same kind of packing used for wedding gown preservation.
- Choose a closet over a garage or attic, where temperature and humidity swing the most.
- Skip ordinary cardboard boxes for anything you want to keep for years, because they aren’t acid-free.
- Go easy on mothballs. They’re pesticides, and the National Pesticide Information Center says they’re meant for garment bags, storage closets and airtight containers, not open shelves.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you get fake blood out of clothes?
Scrape off anything thick, sponge the stain with cold water, pretreat it with a prewash stain remover and wash it as the label allows. If color is left, soak it for at least 30 minutes in a gallon of cool water with a quarter cup of oxygen bleach, then wash again. Keep it out of the dryer until the stain is gone.
Can you put a Halloween costume in the washing machine?
Only if the care label allows it. Polyester and cotton costumes can often go in on a cold, gentle cycle, turned inside out in a mesh bag. Anything with sequins, glued trim or foam pieces should be spot cleaned, and anything labelled dry clean should go to a dry cleaner.
How do you get face paint out of clothes?
Lift off the excess with the back of a spoon, then pretreat with a prewash stain remover, liquid laundry detergent or bar soap, and wash. Oil-based face paint may need makeup remover or rubbing alcohol on a cotton pad first. Test it on a hidden seam, because alcohol can lift fabric dye.
Can I send Halloween costumes with my laundry pickup?
Yes, with Freshly Folded in San Diego. Check each care label first. Machine-washable pieces go in your wash and fold bag, and anything marked dry clean goes in a separate bag for dry cleaning. Bag stained pieces separately and add a note saying what the stain is. The team spot-treats any stain it finds, but no one can guarantee a stain will come out.
How should you store Halloween costumes?
Clean and dry them completely first. Use breathable garment bags or a closed bin, stuff hats and structured pieces with acid-free tissue, and keep them in a closet rather than a garage or attic.
How do you remove spirit gum from fabric?
Harden it with ice, scrape off what you can with a dull knife, then saturate the spot with a prewash stain remover, rinse and wash. Spirit gum remover can also help. Test it on a hidden area first.
