How To Remove Gravy Stains

Gravy stains inevitably seem to happen at all your family holidays, and always onto your finest linens, clothing and home furnishings.

Well, the solution is not to stop serving gravy, but instead to deal with the stain quickly once it occurs.

The sooner you begin the stain removal methods below the easier it will be to get those stains caused by gravy out.

Remember that gravy stains are "combination stains," and you must get out both the greasy and the creamy parts of the stain for full stain removal.

Removing Gravy Stain From Linen And Other Washable Fabrics

Step 1: Scrape off any excess gravy from the linen or fabric.

Step 2: Rub a small amount of liquid dishwashing soap into the fabric.

Step 3: Rinse the stained area well, flushing away both the gravy grease and the dishwashing liquid solution.

Step 4: Pretreat the stain with a laundry stain remover.

Step 5: Launder in the hottest water allowed for the fabric to thoroughly remove the stain and the oil, using either chlorine bleach if the fabric will allow it, or color safe bleach if not.

Hint: Make sure the stain is gone after washing, but before you place in the dryer or you may set the stain. Repeat if necessary.

In addition, a gravy stain, which by its nature is greasy, can also benefit from a good soaking with water containing an enzyme detergent.

This can be done by starting the soiled linens washing in the washing machine, and after agitating for a couple of minutes stopping the machine and letting the enzymes work a bit longer through a presoak of an hour or even all night long. (This will only work with a top loading washing machine though.)

You may also want to watch this video about gravy stain removal from linens, which discusses presoaking with an enzymatic laundry detergent.

Gravy Stain Removal From Upholstery

Step 1: Scrape up as much of the gravy as possible from the upholstery without spreading the stain further.

Step 2: Place an absorbent, such as cornstarch or baking soda, onto the gravy, and let it soak up the gravy for approximately 15 minutes.

Step 3: Scrape or vacuum up the absorbent, which has absorbed some of the gravy and grease.

Hint: Depending on the amount of the gravy spilled you may need to repeat this step until no more is absorbed by the baking soda or cornstarch.

Step 4: For the gravy and grease still remaining take a clean white cloth and sponge the stain with dry cleaning solvent.

Hint: First, be sure to test this solvent on an inconspicuous area of the upholstery to make sure it is safe.

Step 5: Next, blot at the stain until the solvent is absorbed.

Step 6: Repeat steps 4-5 until the stain caused by the gravy is removed from the upholstery.

If that does not work you can mix a solution of two cups cool water and one tablespoon dishwashing liquid, and using this solution, sponge the stain with a clean white cloth, blotting at the solution until the liquid is absorbed, and the stain removed.

Once the stain from the gravy is gone use plain cold water and a new white cloth and sponge the area to remove the cleaning solution, and then blot dry.

Hint: Be sure to get the upholstery only as wet as necessary to remove the stain caused by the gravy.

You can get more information on how to clean upholstery here.

How To Remove Stains Caused By Gravy From Carpet

The instructions for removing stains from gravy from carpet is the same as for upholstery.

Recommended Gravy Stain Removers

Perhaps you don't want to make your own stain remover, but instead want to use something designed to remove gravy stains. Since these stains are combination stains, you may need to use a couple of things to get the stain out, one for the greasy part of the stain, and also a product which contain enzymes for the protein part of the stain.

Here are some articles and reviews on this site which discuss various products that are designed to remove these stains:

Carbona Stain Devil #2

Dry Cleaning Solvent

Era Detergent + Clorox 2 Bleach

Biz Powder

Shout Advanced Foam

Lestoil Cleaner {For Laundry}

You can also share your own stain remover reviews here for other removers that work on gravy, or any other stain.

Do You Have Any Tips To Share For Removing These Stains?

I'm always looking for more tips and ideas for how to remove stains. You can share your stain removal tip here, for removing stains caused by gravy or anything else.

Get Even More Stain And Spot Removal Help Here

Are you a stain magnet like me? If so, check out the A to Z Stain Removal Guide which gives directions for how to remove over 100 types of stains from all kinds of surfaces.

Third photo by rick and fourth by GloryFoods

Related Pages You May Enjoy

A-Z Guide: Instructions For Removing Over 100 Types Of Stains

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CAUTION: This website is provided for informational purposes only. It is provided as is, without warranties or guarantees. Some stains and messes just won't come out, and are permanent. Further, some cleaning methods can harm your item, so if what you want to clean or launder is sentimental or expensive call a professional. See disclaimer of liability for more information.