Many of you are already familiar with the old chalk trick for removing accidental oil stains on clothing.. like if you spill salad dressing on your favorite blouse, or you’re cooking bacon in the frying pan splattering your favorite shirt with it’s little “kisses”. Some of you may be wondering, what do I use if I didn’t catch the stain the first time around… well, take heart.. there’s a fix for that.
This is one of those “Amazing Tips” that I read on the internet and thought, well, I’ll give it a try. After all, my husband has several shirts with mysterious oil stains, degreasers, and other odd chemical spray stains from work.
Here’s what the trick called for:
WD-40
Qtips (optional)
baking soda
scrap of cardboard (optional)
Dawn Original liquid dish soap
an old toothbrush
your regular laundry routine following stain removal
This shirt started with a small stain, about the size of a Silver Dollar.
According to the tip I read here’s what you do, slip a piece of scrap cardboard under the fabric you’re working with, which means, instead of spreading the stain to the BACK of the shirt you’re treating, you’re separating the layers, makes sense, right! Onward then..
Spritz the stain generously with the WD-40 …
Now, completely cover the entire stain with baking soda. Good ol’ cheap generic brand baking soda is good enough. Cover the entire spot that you just sprayed. Using the old toothbrush, rub it in, rub it in.
Now, add a couple drops of Dawn Dish detergent to stain area and scrub gently again with the toothbrush, working the soap into the fabric. If you’re using a piece of cardboard as backing, now is a good time to remove that from your article of clothing.
Let it set about 20-30 minutes. Then Simply Launder as you normally would and presto, no more stains- Right??
WRONG. When I first went to transfer the t-shirt from the washer to the dryer, it LOOKED Fine, it LOOKED like it worked, because the shirt was wet and the stain could not longer be seen.
But when it came out of the dryer.. here’s what it looked like:
Notice the now MASSIVE STAIN that has been Baked in by the Dryer. So now we have a oil stain, a degreasing agent stain and both have been through NUMEROUS wash/dry cycles. But is the shirt destined for the scrap heap?
Nope. Never Fear… Super Laundry Sauce is Here.
I decided to scrap all of this ridiculous work and apply my own simple super laundry sauce. I dumped a glob on and spread it around to cover the entire stain . . .
I left it overnight (not because I had intended to, but because I forgot to start the washing machine and didn’t think of again until morning.)
This is what it looked like when it came out:
And Guess What? NO STAINS. No Grease stain, no oil stain, no discoloration of the shirt, no problems. My husband has his favorite shirt back and I have no need to stock my laundry room with silly gimmicks and gadgets. All I need is my super Laundry Sauce. I should’ve known better.
We’ve tested this on Cotton, polyester (blends) microfiber, and rayon. Super Laundry Sauce really does live up to it’s name! Here’s the link to the recipe to make your own.
