How to Remove Common Stains From Clothes: A Guide by Stain Type

How do you get a stain out of clothes? Act fast, blot instead of rubbing, use the right water temperature for that kind of stain, and do not put the item in the dryer until the stain is completely gone. Those four rules, which come straight from university extension services, handle most laundry disasters. The twist is that cold water is right for some stains and hot is right for others, and getting that backwards can lock a stain into the fabric for good. This guide is organized by stain so you can find yours and follow the steps.

We built it from university extension guides (Mississippi State, Texas A&M, New Mexico State, Kansas State, Iowa State, Colorado State and the University of Georgia) plus Michigan.gov and a few testing sources. Where those sources disagree, we say so. And a note: the care label on your garment always comes first. If it says dry clean only, take it to a professional instead of trying any of this.

First, what do “hot,” “warm” and “cold” actually mean?

Most guides just say “warm” and leave you guessing. Kansas State and Iowa State give real numbers, and they match:

Word	Temperature
Hot	120 to 140°F
Warm	85 to 105°F
Cold	65 to 75°F
Too cold	Below 60°F, where detergents stop working well

Those are the only two sources we found that give degrees, so we applied their scale to the other guides' “cool,” “warm” and “hottest safe” wording. That mapping is ours, not theirs. One more number: Michigan.gov says not to use water above 160°F on acetate, acrylic, polyester, nylon, olefin, triacetate or permanent-press finishes.

The rules that apply to every stain

• Act fast. Mississippi State, Iowa State and Michigan.gov all say fresh stains come out much easier, and that stains that have been laundered and dried can be almost impossible to remove.
• Blot, don't rub. Texas A&M, Iowa State and Colorado State say rubbing spreads the stain and can damage the fabric. (Iowa State says sturdy fabrics can handle a gentle scrub under running water.)
• Scrape or blot off the excess first.
• Test every remover on a hidden spot, like a seam or hem. Mississippi State suggests waiting 2 to 5 minutes, then rinsing.
• Check the care label, and send dry-clean-only items to a pro.
• No dryer and no iron until the stain is gone. Iowa State puts it plainly: heat sets most stains.
• Put the stain face down on a white paper towel and work from the back, so the stain is pushed out rather than through the fabric (Mississippi State).
• Never mix ammonia with chlorine bleach. It makes toxic fumes (Mississippi State, New Mexico State, Michigan.gov).
• Use the gentlest method first. And if you bleach, bleach the whole garment so the color stays even.
• Chlorine bleach is only for white cotton and linen. Avoid it on silk, wool, spandex and colors that might run. Never use it on rust.

Think of stain removal like backing a trailer: slow, small corrections beat one big panicky move. The panicky move here is the dryer.

Stain by stain

Coffee and tea

1. Flush or sponge with cool water right away, or soak 30 minutes in cool water (about 65 to 75°F).
2. Pretreat with liquid detergent, a prewash remover, or a paste of granular detergent and water.
3. Launder with a fabric-safe bleach.
4. For older stains, use an enzyme product first. The University of Georgia also suggests a 15-minute soak in 1 quart of warm water with half a teaspoon of dish soap and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar.

Don't: start with hot water, or dry the item before the stain is gone. If there was cream or milk in the coffee, Mississippi State says to sponge with dry-cleaning solvent first, then launder in the hottest safe water. Sources disagree: Colorado State says tannin stains go in hot water, while Mississippi State, Georgia and Kansas State say cool first. We recommend cool first, then wash as hot as the label allows.

Red wine

1. Blot the excess.
2. Sponge or rinse with cool water right away.
3. Pretreat with prewash spray or liquid detergent.
4. Launder with a fabric-safe bleach.
5. For a stubborn stain, Georgia suggests the 15-minute warm soak above, then rubbing alcohol, then rinsing and laundering. Test first, because alcohol can strip dye.

A Good Housekeeping tip (via ABC News) for white jeans: soak in cold water for 15 minutes, apply stain remover, and wash warm with fabric-safe bleach. Kansas State has a tablecloth route: blot with cold water, then dish liquid, then white vinegar, then 3 percent hydrogen peroxide if the fabric allows. Don't: use heat or dry it before it's gone. Wine on silk or wool is a dry cleaner job, which is our inference from the bleach cautions.

Grease and oil

1. Pretreat with a spray remover, liquid detergent or a booster. Georgia adds that you can absorb light grease first with talcum powder, then brush it off.
2. Wash in the hottest water the fabric allows (about 120 to 140°F, and under the 160°F cap for synthetics).
3. For heavy stains, lay the stain face down on clean towels, apply cleaning fluid from the back, and replace the towels often. Air dry, rinse, then wash hot.

Don't: dry it before it's gone. Many spot removers contain petroleum products that are flammable, so ventilate. Good Housekeeping offers a quick on-the-go tip: blot, then sprinkle salt or a sugar packet to absorb the grease. That's a magazine tip, so call it a stopgap, not a fix.

Blood

1. Rinse or soak fresh blood in cold water (65 to 75°F) for 30 minutes.
2. Rub in liquid detergent, rinse, then launder.
3. For a dried stain, soak in lukewarm to warm water with an enzyme product, then launder.
4. Still there? Georgia says dab on 3 percent hydrogen peroxide for 1 to 3 minutes, rinse, then launder. Mississippi State says rewash with fabric-safe bleach.

Don't use hot water. Kansas State is blunt about it: hot water sets blood stains. Heat cooks the protein into the fabric, like frying an egg. Texas A&M also says to avoid chlorine bleach on blood. Sources disagree on bar soap: Mississippi State and Georgia use it on fresh blood, while Iowa State says soap can set stains. Liquid detergent is the safer pick.

Grass

1. Pretreat with a stain stick or an enzyme soak.
2. If the dye is safe, sponge with rubbing alcohol (diluted with 2 parts water on acetate).
3. Still there? Georgia says apply a prewash spot remover to both sides, wait 2 minutes, launder with fabric-safe bleach, then use hydrogen peroxide or alcohol.
4. Launder in the hottest safe water.

Don't: dry it before it's gone. Sources differ on what kind of stain grass is (Colorado State calls it a dye stain, Texas A&M a plant and protein stain), but they agree on enzyme or alcohol first.

Ballpoint ink

1. Place the stain face down on white paper towels.
2. Sponge with rubbing alcohol (or a solvent) from the back, changing the towels often.
3. Rinse, then launder.

Don't launder first. Georgia warns that laundering may set the stain, and Texas A&M agrees. Don't use acetone or nail polish remover on acetate, triacetate or modacrylic. Some inks, especially India or drawing ink, cannot be removed at all (Mississippi State, Georgia). New Mexico State says milk remedies are unreliable and can set or add a stain.

Chocolate

1. Scrape off the excess.
2. Treat with a prewash spray, an enzyme product or heavy-duty liquid detergent.
3. Pre-soak in warm water (85 to 105°F) with an enzyme detergent.
4. Launder in warm to hot water, with bleach if safe. Rewash with fabric-safe bleach if it lingers.

Chocolate is part grease and part protein, so a purely hot treatment could set the protein part. Don't dry it until it's gone.

Mud

1. Let it dry fully, then brush or vacuum off the excess. Or rinse under running water.
2. For light stains, rub in a paste of granular detergent and warm water, or liquid detergent.
3. For heavy stains, pre-soak with detergent or an enzyme product for 30 minutes or more.
4. Launder.

For red clay, Mississippi State suggests a paste of vinegar and salt left for 30 minutes, then laundering in the hottest safe water. Don't scrub wet mud into the fabric. Sources differ on whether to treat mud as a protein stain (Colorado State) or with a warm paste (Mississippi State, Kansas State, Texas A&M), but all agree on drying and brushing first.

Mustard and ketchup

1. Scrape off the excess.
2. Mustard: pretreat with prewash remover, or per Georgia, a few drops of vinegar worked into light-duty detergent. Launder with oxygen bleach or fabric-safe bleach. If it lingers, dab on 3 percent hydrogen peroxide, then launder.
3. Ketchup: rinse in cold water, soak in cool water with a quarter cup of detergent per gallon, pretreat, then launder with fabric-safe bleach (Mississippi State).

Mustard's yellow color can be stubborn, so expect to repeat the treatment. That last bit is our observation, not a sourced claim. Don't start with hot water or dry it before it's gone.

Sweat and deodorant

These have their own post: Why Shirts Get Yellow Armpit Stains. The short version from the extension guides: rub in liquid detergent or dishwashing liquid, launder, and never iron or apply heat to a deodorant stain. Texas A&M warns that aluminum or zinc residue may be impossible to remove completely.

Candle wax

1. Harden the wax with ice and scrape off the surface with a dull knife.
2. Place the stain between clean paper towels and press with a warm iron from the back, rotating the towels as they soak up the wax.
3. Dab any leftover stain with a commercial cleaner or dry-cleaning fluid.
4. Launder in hot water. If dye remains, sponge with diluted alcohol or rewash with fabric-safe bleach.

Don't use a hot iron or iron directly on the fabric. Sources differ slightly: Texas A&M treats wax as a plain oily stain without the iron, while Mississippi State, Georgia and Kansas State all recommend the paper-towel method. We'd go with the iron method.

Chewing gum

1. Harden the gum with ice or cold water.
2. Scrape with a dull knife.
3. Saturate with prewash remover or cleaning fluid, face down on paper towels, replacing them as they pick up stain.
4. Rinse, let dry, then launder.

Don't use heat, which softens gum and spreads it.

The one-glance rule: match the temperature to the stain

Stain type	Water	Why
Protein (blood, milk, egg)	Cold	Hot water cooks and sets it
Tannin (coffee, tea, wine)	Cool first	Most sources say cool first, then wash as hot as the label allows
Oil and grease	Hot, if the fabric allows	Heat helps dissolve oil
Unknown	Cold or cool	New Mexico State, Michigan.gov and Kansas State say start cold

Stain myths, graded

• “Hot water removes all stains.” False. Hot water sets protein stains. Four extension sources agree.
• “Rub it hard to get it out.” Mostly false. It spreads the stain and damages fabric.
• “Club soda removes red wine.” Unproven. A chemist quoted by Scientific American says there is no strong chemical reason it should work better than plain water. Speed of blotting matters more.
• “Salt soaks up red wine.” Unproven. The University of Georgia mentions salt as a short-term absorbent for fresh wine, but we found no tests, so treat it as a stopgap at most.
• “Hairspray removes ballpoint ink.” Unproven. Michigan.gov lists it as one option, while another source calls it a myth. Rubbing alcohol is better supported.
• “Milk removes ink.” Unreliable. New Mexico State says it can set or add a stain.
• “It's fine to dry a faintly stained shirt.” False. Heat sets stains.
• “Natural stain removers work as well.” Partly false. A 2011 Consumer Reports test on polyester and cotton swatches found one conventional product, Resolve Laundry, worked on all the stains tried, while natural brands did well on only a couple. That test is old, so take it as a clue.
• “Toothpaste works.” No university source we checked recommends it.

From Innocently Insane

Spills happen. Check each product page for the fiber percentages before you wash, and browse our shirts and tops.

Browse all shirts and tops →

Keep Following the Thread

Why Do Shirts Get Yellow Armpit Stains?

How to Wash a Graphic Tee So the Print Lasts

How to Fix a Shrunken Shirt

Sources & further reading

• Mississippi State University Extension, publication p1400, stain removal and MSU Extension blog
• Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Quick stain removal guide
• New Mexico State University, C502, stain removal
• Kansas State University Extension, stain removal: temperature definitions
• Iowa State University Extension, Tips for laundry stain removal
• Colorado State University Extension, stain removal
• University of Georgia Extension, stain removal pages
• Michigan.gov, Tips for getting stains out of your laundry
• Consumer Reports (2011), which stain treatments really work: product test (press release)
• Scientific American, How does club soda remove stains?
• ABC News, Good Housekeeping's golden rules of stain removal