Oil Stain Removal Guide

Here are tips and techniques for oil stain removal from clothing, fabric, upholstery and carpet with step by step instructions.

Lots of foods we love to eat are greasy and oily, and this page explains how to remove this type of stain from items in your home.

Unfortunately, this grease and oil can spill, splatter and drip not only into our mouth or fall on our napkin, but also get right onto the front of our new shirt.

Oil and grease stains can not only get on your clothing, however, but also on your carpet and upholstery, if we eat near these surfaces or from a greasy bag or box of pizza, for example.

Grease and oil stains are some of the most common stains out there, and below are instructions so you can remove them and get back to enjoying your food.

Grease And Oil Stain Removal From Clothing

Step 1: Rub a small amount of hand dishwashing soap into the fabric.

Step 2: Rinse the stained area well, flushing away both the oil and grease and the dishwashing liquid solution.

Step 3: Pretreat the stain with a laundry prewash stain remover.

Step 4: Launder in the hottest water allowed for the fabric to thoroughly remove the stain and the grease and oil.

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.

You may also want to watch these videos and other discussion about this technique for how to remove grease from clothes.

Removing Oil Stains And Grease Stains From Upholstery

Step 1: Blot up as much of the grease or oil as possible from the upholstery without spreading the stain further.

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

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

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

Step 4: For the grease and oil still remaining take a clean white cloth and sponge the stain with a 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 stains are 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 stain until the liquid is absorbed, and the stain removed.

Once the stain from the oil and grease 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 for grease and oil stain removal.

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

Oil Removal Stain Tips For Carpet

The instructions for grease and oil stain removal from carpet is the same as for upholstery.

Submit Your Own Stain Removal Tip For Cooking Oil And Grease Stains

Do you have your own stain removal tip for removing stains from cooking oil and grease? If so, submit your tip about how to remove oil stains here, or read other tips that have already been submitted.

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.

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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.