Spaghetti Sauce Stain Removal Tips & Home Remedies

by Taylor

Here's a collection of spaghetti sauce stain removal tips and home remedies that you can use for tomato-based spots in your clothes, carpet, upholstery and more.

Everybody loves pasta sauce, especially kids.

Unfortunately, it is quite a messy thing to eat and there are often small spills and splatters as you twirl your spaghetti or other pasta on your fork.

In addition, disaster can often strike, causing the whole plate to fall to the floor (or in your lap), and tomato sauces can cause major bright stains quite quickly, and they set easily.

If you've got a tip to share, that you'd like to add to this page I'd love to hear it, and you can share your tips here. That's because there are always new ways to clean up these messes, and the more the merrier as far as tips, I think!

Otherwise, scroll down to see the tips already collected, and good luck with these spots!

Spaghetti Sauce Stain Set In Dryer - Now What?

Aimee's Question:

I was folding clothes today and saw a shirt that should have been pre-treated. It's a spaghetti sauce stain, and I'm wondering if there's any way to get it out once it's been in the dryer? Thanks!

Taylor's answer:

Aimee, that is a tough question. As you know once any stain goes through the dryer it is much harder to remove, because the heat sets it. Unfortunately in this case the stain may be permanent.

However, your best bet is to try a long pre-soak in a solution of hot water and something like Oxiclean (or another oxygen bleach) or even powdered dishwasher detergent.

Unfortunately, these are not guaranteed to work, plus the methods (which I discuss more below) can be harsh on the clothing, so keep that in mind.

The powdered dishwasher detergent is very harsh on clothes, so you need to be very careful with that method. However, there are people who swear by this method in a pinch. In fact, I've collected several dishwashing detergent uses here, for cleaning and stain removal, for clothing and other surfaces. (Make sure if you try this method on colored clothing, to first try it in an inconspicuous area to make sure it doesn't remove any color from the fabric.)

Some people have actually had good luck basically boiling the Oxiclean and water solution with the clothing in there, in a big pot on the stove. Again, the really hot water can really help loosen even set stains, but hot water can also be really harsh on the clothing.

If the shirt is white a soak in a solution of chlorine bleach and water may work. Use 1/4 cup of bleach per 1 gallon of cool water, for 5-10 minutes. Of course, chlorine bleach, over time, weakens fibers, so this method also has its draw backs.

I'd love to hear back from you to say if any of these methods worked for you!

So, does anyone else have a stain removal question they want to ask? If so, you can ask for stain removal help here.

What I Did When Tomato Sauce Stains Went Through Dryer

by Ina

When I worked as a server in a restaurant I was always good about checking for stains on the front of my (white) uniforms and pretreating them daily, but sometimes I would forget to check the back of them.

I had several incidents where I had a tomato sauce or drink stain make it through the dryer.

I had good luck getting out even set in stains with the Whink pretreater and washing with the ERA OXI detergent.

For a stain set by the dryer I would apply the Whink and leave it on for 2 to 3 days before washing, but of course this was on a white garment.

Be sure to test for color fastness using this product to ensure you don't do more damage.

I still use these products when I encounter stains, though not as often as I did when I worked in the restaurant.

As you noted - Oxiclean is a very good product for presoaking stains, so that is also worth a try.

I Would Try Shout Advanced Pretreater When Sauce Spots Go Through Dryer

by SR101 Reader

I would recommend the Shout Advanced spray pretreater.

It has worked on several stains for me that missed being pretreated and went through the dryer, e.g. ketchup on a shirt sleeve.

If the garment is not a bright color I would spray on the Shout and leave it on at least over night before washing again.

If the garment is a very bright color that will most likely "bleed" if left on too long, then I would still try it by leaving it on for about a half hour before laundering.

In either case I would also add a nonchlorine bleach to the wash along with a detergent containing enzymes, such as Wisk or Tide.

How To Remove Tomato Stain On Carpet

E. Ramirez shared before and after pictures of the clean up of paste sauce on his carpet.

The first thing he did was act quickly -- tomato stains easily and quickly, so time is of the essence!

Then, he grabbed his home steam carpet cleaner, in this case a Hoover SteamVac Carpet Cleaner with Clean Surge (shown on the left), and within just a few minutes the spot was gone!

You can definitely try to spot clean your carpet if you need to clean up spaghetti sauce, but sometimes bringing out the big guns right away may be the easiest thing to do in the long run!

(If you're looking into one of these machines, make sure to check out the site's reviews of home carpet cleaners to make sure you get a good one for your needs and your budget!)

You can read more tips for removing spaghetti here, from clothes, upholstery and carpet.

Further, you can share your own tips for removing tomato sauce stains here, or read other tips already submitted.



Finally, here are even more carpet stain removal tips you can check out, for all types of spots and marks.



Before and after photos courtesy of Amazon.com

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