Ah, olive oil.
A staple in almost every kitchen.
You can use it for cooking, baking or to simply drizzle on a piece of toast to enjoy its unique flavor.
While I enjoy olive oil on a wide variety of dishes, one thing I do not want my olive oil on?
My clothing.
Of course, mistakes happen. And messes are sometimes inevitable.
I’m always up for a good cleaning session (I follow some of these tips to help me tackle my kitchen when it is not-so-fabulous) and olive oil is just one of those ingredients that just finds a way to get… everywhere.
I mean, especially when I am using it for cooking – I’m not sure how, but even a tiny bit of olive oil finds a way to splatter everywhere within 2 feet from where I am cooking!
It will then get my stovetop and even my cabinets all greasy.
Thankfully, I have some ways of cleaning grease from my cabinets (I HAD to make a post about this because of just how much it was happening!)
I’ve been able to find lots of ways on keeping up to par with keeping my kitchen clean.
I try to learn something new every day to make cleaning and organizing more efficient, effective and fun!
That sometimes even includes learning what the best supplies for cleaning are and how to properly use them.
But yes, sometimes, messes happenNo matter how hard you try to prevent them.
And one mess that I have FINALLYYYYYY learned to tackle properly: olive oil stains on clothing.
The tricky question is how to get olive oil out of your clothes…
You may have already tried 4 different methods you found on the internet, but it doesn’t seem to fix the issue at hand (or the methods made the problem worse!)
Does Olive Oil Stain Clothes?
Olive oil can be quite a pain in the butt to remove from clothing.
And different kinds of fabrics react differently when it comes to dealing with oil spills.
I recall once having a white t-shirt that was made mostly of cotton and no matter what I tried, I couldn’t get the blotch of oil stains off of it!
I ended up getting rid of the shirt, which was very disappointing because it had been one of my favorites.
That being said, now that I’ve done some extensive research on the topic, I feel like my t-shirt had more of a chance of being salvaged than I had thought at the time.
At the very least, I can share this information with you so that the next time you’re dealing with an olive oil spill on your fabrics, you know just what to do!
Obviously, different fabrics require different methods of cleaning, whether we’re talking about how to get oil stains out of clothing or not.
One thing is for sure though: the sooner you act to treat the oil stain, the better the chances of getting the olive oil out of your clothing. You may even be able to remove them completely assuming you take action quickly and follow appropriate methods according to the type of clothing.
What Oil Stain Remover Works the Best?
I’ve put together a list of the 5 best laundry stain removers ever!
These stain removers have been judged, mainly, by two things: effectiveness and the types of stains they can tackle.
5 Best Laundry Stain Removers:
- OxiClean MaxForce Laundry Stain Remover Spray – Best overall
- SHOUT Laundry Stain Remover – Good for tough oil stains
- Tide Rescue Laundry Stain Remover – Easy to use
- Biokleen Bac-Out Stain Remover for Clothes and Carpet – Great eco-friendly plant based cleaner
- Tide-To-Go Instant Stain Remover Liquid Pen – When you’re out and about!
How to get Cooking Olive Oil Stains Out of Clothes
Behold the steps on how to remove coking oil from your clothes!
These steps are easy and along as you have the right cleaners for sure!
Oil Stains on Nylon
Workout gear, nightwear, shirts… a huge variety of garments contain at least some percentage of the material nylon.
Because of its composition and how it is manufactured, nylon attracts oil.
But nylon is also durable and fairly easy to care for when proper steps are taken.
1. Apply a Stain Remover
To treat your nylon fabrics for oil stains, the very first thing you are going to want to do is to apply a pre-treatment stain remover, such as Shout.
Follow the instructions on the bottle for proper usage.
If you don’t have a stain remover, you can substitute with a bit of heavy-duty laundry detergent, such as Tide.
Use your fingers to work the pre-treatment into the oil stain.
2. Wash Clothing as Usual
Nylon can be hand-washed or washed on the delicate cycle of your washing machine in cold or warm water.
If the stain still remains, repeat options 1 and 2.
3. Dry on Low Heat or Air Dry
Once you are 1000% sure the stain is gone, dry your article of clothing.
I prefer to air dry my nylon fabrics on a drying rack, as this prevents shrinkage and damage.
This also prevents any olive oil stains still remaining from fully settling into the fabric.
Oil Stains on Cotton, Wool, or Cashmere Clothing
Cotton can be a bit tricky of a fabric to work with, but it doesn’t have to be!
Turns out, dishwashing soap is fantastic for this because it is *literally* made to cut through grease and oil.
4. Keep Clothing Dry
Do NOT wet clothing before pre-treating it.
5. Pretreat Oil Stains
Pretreat each oil stain with a few drops of dishwashing soap.
Use your fingers to massage the soap into the fabric.
After about 5 minutes, rinse the clothing thoroughly with warm water.
6. Machine Wash (for white cotton clothing, use appropriate bleach)
If your article of clothing is white and bleach-safe, do some research on the best bleach you can use for it.
For colored clothing, wash according to instructions.
Make sure to use the hottest water recommended.
7. Air Dry and Check Clothing
The best option for drying clothing, especially after having had oil stains, is air drying.
Hot air can actually permeate any left over olive oil stains and make it nearly impossible to remove them.
This is why it is very important to opt for an option that uses little to no heat.
How to Get Olive Oil Out of Clothes After Drying
To tackle an oil stain AFTER the fabric has already been dried, you’re going to need to take a few extra steps. (Don’t worry though! There’s still hope :D)
8. Wet the Stains
The very first step is to wet the stain with warm tap water.
Unlike the previously mentioned methods, that tackle the stain right away without applying water, you’ll have to almost ‘rehydrate’ the olive oil stain (since the clothing has been dried) in order to properly tackle it.
So the very first thing you need to do? Wet the stains.
9. Apply Dish Soap
Just like in the previous method, you’re going to apply a small amount of liquid dish soap to the stains after you’ve wet them.
Use your fingers to lather the areas gently.
Set the item aside for about an hour or so.
10. Wash clothing
Refer to the clothing’s care label. Wash in a cool- or warm-water wash cycle. Add your usual laundry detergent. Wash as usual.
11. Air Dry and Inspect
Do NOT put in the dryer as this can further set a stain, especially one that has already been put through the heat of a dryer once.
Once the washing cycle is through, go ahead and opt to air dry the fabric.
Go ahead and inspect it for success. Repeat these steps as needed.
How to Get Olive Oil Out of Clothes After Washing
If you’ve already washed (and not yet dried) a piece of clothing and noticed it has an oil stain on it, fear not!
Here’s what you need to do when you’ve washed the piece of clothing and later noticed the stain:
12. Dab the Stain Area with White Vinegar
As soon as you notice the oil stains on your already washed clothing, put it aside and go ahead and douse it with white vinegar.
13. Apply Paste
Next, apply a paste made of equal parts baking soda and vinegar (i.e. two tablespoons of baking soda for two tablespoons of vinegar.) Rinse and wash afterwards.
14. Leave Overnight
If you see that, even after doing steps 12 and 13, the clothing still has oil stains, go ahead and immerse the fabric in a bucket of water with a few drops of vinegar and laundry detergent.
Leave it to soak overnight.
15. Rinse and Wash
Rinse and wash the following morning.
Wrap Up
I really hope this post was helpful for you in some way!
It felt appropriate to share as soooooo many of us deal with this issue and have NO IDEA what to do about it.
If you found this article helpful, feel free to follow me on Pinterest for more tips, PLUS ideas on how to make the most of your life by taking control of your space!
