How many times do you think I washed my daughter’s dress trying to get these grease stains out? Too bad I don’t have an answer for you. The answer is I washed it so many times I lost count. I used stain sticks, stain sprays, everything I could think of to no avail.
I find it a satisfying challenge to get stains out. So this was driving me nuts. And I had just about given up. In fact, you will notice that in the top photo the dress is crazy wrinkled. That is because it had been sitting in a wadded up ball on top of my dryer. I had given up on it, but just couldn’t bring myself to throw one of my daughter’s favorite dresses away.
Then I saw this pin. It said underneath it: “Will take the stains out of almost ANYTHING…even if it is an old one. REALLY WORKS!!” I rubbed my chin and thought, hmmm. I have a the perfect thing to test this out on. Getting out a grease stain that has been washed and dried multiple times is quite a bold claim.
As you can see, this Super Stubborn Grease Stain Remover lives up to its claims. The dress has been rescued and my stain removal prowess remains intact.
Thank you to Modern Day Moms for this terrific formula of 1 part Dawn Dishwashing Liquid (the original blue kind) and 2 parts hydrogen peroxide. If you would like to make enough to store for future laundry needs, I suggest purchasing hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle.
Hydrogen peroxide comes in a dark container because it loses effectiveness when exposed to the light. This spray bottle works perfectly for this since it is manufactured specifically for hydrogen peroxide. Bring on your worst stains and give it a try!
If you are looking for a way to get icky mildew smells out of your towels, try this.
This Pin Rocks!
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Awesome! This is definitely a pin worth pinning! I’ve got some grease on a shirt I’m going to try this on.
Jeni,
Thank you for pinning. I have had success with a variety of laundry items. Enjoy!
Boy, do I need this hint for the hubby’s shirts. How everything ends up on his shirt front is beyond me.
My hubby has that issue too. So do I for that matter. Maybe I should advertise this as “Saving shirts and marriages!” Hahaha!
Stains are an every day problem in our house. I think fabrics are being made so cheap, from who knows what, the usual stain fighters dont work anymore. I am certainly going to try this, thanks.
May it work for you as well as it has for me. I keep it on top of the washing machine, ready to go!
Thank you for this! Repinned! Found you on the Pin Junkie Friday Link Party. Following you via Pinterest! Would love for you to visit my blog….www.musingsofavintagejunkie.blogspot.com
Thank you so much for pinning, AnnMarie. I went to your site and saw the lovely pillows you made your daughter’s for Mother’s Day. Great way to hold and display precious keepsakes. Thanks for visiting us!
This is awesome! I just found some grease stains on one of my shirts and I’m gonna try this on them. Thanks!
Thanks for coming by and commenting!
Thanks for pinning. We appreciate it. We are glad to link up with your site.
Thanks for sharing Aunt Sherri! I will definitely be testing this out on all my baby poop stains!!! (From my baby…haha)
Sure love you Brittany. I am glad it is working for others as well as me. Check out this comment from Facebook: “O.K. Three Sisters, I have to say thank you for the stain remover tip ( Hydrogen peroxide and dawn dish soap) Im a nurse and some how got A&D ointment down the front of a colored uniform scrub top!I had already washed and dried it before realizing it was there. From experience, i thought, well that top is ruined!! The stain remover took it right out! Thank you so much!!!”
Awesome, right?
I am wild about homemade anything for cleaning! Great post! Thanks for sharing at Weekend Potluck. Pinning!
Thank you for pinning Marsha. We have had some great results. I am sure you will too.
So the hydrogen peroxide doesn’t bleach your clothing?
Especially on finer clothing I would recommend testing it in an inconspicuous spot, but I have not had it bleach anything. It is has worked on every grease stain I have used it on. Best of luck with your laundry!
It worked ob my grease stains but not any other stain. 🙁
Tricia, I agree, this works well on grease stains. I have had it work on other stains, but not everything. I love it for grease stains, though. It has saved some clothing from going into the garbage when nothing else would work! Sorry it didn’t work on everything. Thanks for letting us know about your results.
Sherri
I am stoked that it worked on the grease stains! 🙂 love your site!
I am glad you tried it and let us know. Thanks for following us. We aim to please!
Do you let it sit in for awhile or scrub it then wash it or what?
I just spray it on any grease stains and throw it in. That is what is great. No scrubbing, no waiting. Simple, easy, effective. Enjoy!
Can you use other kibds of dushwashing liquid?
This is the only brand I have used, but I am sure you could. Thanks for asking. Good Luck with it Munira.
The stain got much worse when I
used this!!!??????
I am so sorry to hear this didn’t work for you. I have been using it on all my grease stains for months and it works for me every time! I absolutely love it.
I have white shirt that my husband went mudden in a dune buggy. What do you recemend
I would try this solution first after washing out as much as I could by hand. Make sure to check it before you put it in the dryer. The dryer may set the stain, and it may take several washings to get this clean. If it does not come clean, you may need to try straight hydrogen peroxide or bleach. I hope you are able to save the shirt Chris, otherwise, consider it a great reminder of a good time!
Can someone please help when it says for this terrific formula of 1 part Dawn Dishwashing Liquid (the original blue kind) and 2 parts hydrogen peroxide what is the actual amount?
You can make a small or large batch, depending on how much you want to make. For example, 1/4 cup Dawn Dishwashing Liquid, and 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide. That should make enough for a small spray bottle. Then when you find you love it, you can make a larger, industrial batch, say 1 gallon Dawn and 2 gallons hydrogen peroxide. Just kidding, that would be crazy! I didn’t measure. I eye balled it. I am on my 50 bajillionth batch at this point. Maybe I should mix up an industrial size batch. Does that mean we are slobs in our family? At least our clothes are clean! Happy laundry to you.
Okay so I have tried 2 different ways:
1) 1/4 cup dish soap (not dawn) + 1/2 cup of peroxide and I put them in an empty stain remover bottle that was dark colored. Washed on warm with a vinegar rinse. Used 2 different shirts. 1 was green with lots of grease from fiance @ work, and other was white. White shirt took out some, but not all, and green shirt didnt seem to do anything. I sprayed both shirts with lots of this stuff and let sit maybe a minute or 2.
Now I’m trying it again. I went and bought store brand blue soap which was right next to the dawn, but it said on the bottle to compare to dawn (which i hope would be a fine alternative). Mixed 1/4 cup of dawn, and 1/2 cup of peroxide and am now letting the shirts sit for about 20-30 min before I throw them into the wash. Will also use same warm temp with vinegar rinse.
RESULTS: Improved, but not gone. I’ve washed these shirts 2x now and these were not previously washed/dried grease stains.
MY QUESTIONS ARE: What temp settings does everyone use? Has anyone else tried using store brand instead of name brand with same results? I have in the middle water (not soft and not hard hard) so I’m curious what else I could try! I guess I could let them soak overnight and then wash again, but I actually ended up letting them soak for 45 min – 1 hr.
I hate throwing clothes away and my kids and fiance are messy and we just don’t have luck at all getting anything to work. Suggestions?
Hi Jenilee, I love/hate a good stain challenge. I really hope I can help you save these clothes! I have always used the brand name. Mostly because I got a good deal on it some time ago and stocked up. I wash on warm. It has worked for me pretty much 100% of the time. Because stains each have a different composition, sometimes it takes a different stain removal system. Another trick in my arsenal is Fels Naptha bar soap. You will find this with the laundry supplies. It is cheap and lasts forever. I get the area wet and rub the bar on and then work it into the stain. Then I throw it in the laundry until I am ready to do the wash. Most often one of the these two methods does the trick. I sure hope this helps!
You can try putting baby powder or cornstarch on the grease stains first. Shake off the excess powder, then do either straight Dawn or the Dawn peroxide mixture. The powder seems to help absorb some of the grease. I have even had it work on shirts that I have dried.
Love all the great tips we are getting, thanks SuzanneB! This mix is a staple in my laundry room and has taken out a variety of stains.
I found the same thing. It helps for me to let the stain sit with the Dawn and peroxide on it. I have trouble because we have a cold water wash machine. Grease will not come out when I use the cold setting. I always use the warm when I am trying to get grease out. First I put the Dawn on the stain and rub it ion. Then I put the peroxide on the stain and rub it in more. If it is a dark grease stain, sometimes you have to use bleach after because the Dawn+peroxide will not always take out the dark color. I also have a polyester table clothe that I have tried everything to get grease stains out and nothing works!
Glad you have had the same success as I have. Thanks for sharing!
Dawn dish soap will do this as well. I use it all the time. Even for set in stains.
Thanks, Melinda. That is good to know. I assume you use it straight instead of with the hydrogen peroxide? Hmmm. Makes sense. I guess since we already know it works in conjunction with the hydrogen peroxide, it is worth trying straight on a tricky stain.
My mom always used to use this recipe for stains:
Combine Equal parts in a spray bottle:
Ammonia
Water
CHEAP Dish soap (Dawn, etc. is too thick)
Spray on stains as needed, let sit a bit. Scrub, if they’re bad or if, like me, it makes you feel like it’ll work better….
Mother’s know best! Thanks for sharing you mom’s laundry wisdom!
Be sure you are not using bleach when using this stain remover. Mixing ammonia and bleach together creates a toxic gas.
Good note, Wendy. Thanks.
I have always found that straight hydrogen peroxide works great to remove blood stains. I have an active little boy and he’s always getting scrapes, etc. Leaves little blood stains on his clothes regularly. HP works well to remove them-and what a cheap fix! Love it.
I agree Mel! HP is a workhorse stain remover and a powerful part of this stain remover. Saved a lot of money with this.
I LOVE this stuff but I didn’t know about peroxide not working as well if stored in a light colored bottle. I will look for it sold in a spray bottle. This stuff makes excellent carpet stain remover too.
Isn’t it great when simple solutions really work?
Just plain Dawn works wonders on grease stains if you do not want to use peroxide. Rub it in and throw it in the was. It even works on old grese stains.
Hydrogen peroxide cannot be beat for bloodstains, though!
Thanks for sharing, Kellie.
Does anybody know where in the world you found hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle? I’ve never even heard of it until now.
I found mine at the local grocery store, Donnalee. If they don’t sell it in your area just buy your own spray bottle. I go through it pretty fast!
I cannot wait to try this! Out of 4 kids, my 9yr old daughter gets so many food stains on her shirts, and nothing has worked!
This has saved me so much money in stain removers and having to buy new clothes. My kids think their clothes are napkins! Hope it works as well for you as it has for me!
A super-duper easy greasy stain remover is — pour some Murphy’s Oil Soap on the oily/greasy stain and wash. We used this in massage school to take out the oils that got on the sheets from giving massages!
Never heard that one. I love great stain removal tips. Thanks, Ruth!
If it is only grease stains I use straight dish washing detergent straight on the grease stain, then toss in the wash. Sometimes it needs a second go, depends on the type of oil that the stain is from
Sounds easy. I find stubborn stains do better with the hydrogen peroxide. Sometimes straight dish detergent is hard to get out and becomes the problem, so I would suggest using it lightly and diluted.
My boys work the grill at a fast food resturant, needless to say their uniform tee – shirts are very grease splattered. I’m giving this a try TODAY!!
I have save so much money with this stuff! Hope it works as well for you as it does me. So easy!
Thank you I will try this. Have so many stains. Hope it works on ink spots!
I have had my best success with grease stains, Michelle. Miracle worker for that. So glad you found us and I hope you will be back!
Are these automotive grease stains or from cooking oil/food? If it’s auto grease stains, this would help with my husband’s laundry – he’s an auto mechanic and his uniform can get pretty greasy. This would still be good for other stains. Thank you!
These are grease stains from cooking. I have been able to get several different stains out with this. Give it a try and let me know!
I use HP, and then put some baking soda onto, then add another splash of HP. Works great. (cold water -always use cold, warm and hot help set the stain ) Even used this mixture on some coffee and tea stains on my carpet. (Vacum up the baking soda mix later)
Thanks for sharing Sandi!
what store do you buy spray hydrogen peroxide?
I found mine at the local grocery store. Any dark spray bottle will do. In fact, a clear one is fine if you are mixing small batches and using quickly. Also, if you are storing it in a cupboard where it is not exposed to light, you will be just fine with a clear spray bottle from any store. Good luck with your laundry, Kate!
late to the party, but you know how that goes. I pinned this about 6 months ago, and I REALLY am going to finally try it (haven’t had any bad stains…. knock on wood) EXCEPT i gave my daughter one of my dresses and what does she do…. get some greasy looking stain on the front the first time she wears it… (argh) sooooo. let’s see how this goes. Question: I do happen to have Dawn in the house but it’s Dawn Platinum – Super Clean formula. Any knowledge whether this works the same/better? Thanks in advance for your response.
Glad it can be of use to you all these months later. I don’t think it should make a difference. You may want to make sure it has no bleach, and test a small area that doesn’t show, just to be sure. I did before I used it on that dress. Which, by the way was mine before my daughter borrowed it and got those stains all over it. I hope it works on your stain as well as it has worked on all of mine!
I also add one part of baking soda and it cleans the yellow deodorant stains. leave the solution for an our and than wash it in warm water.
Thanks, Stella! That is a great tip.
OMG I can’t wait to try this! My dear honey drives a trackhoe at a burnsite for landscape debris. He is also a big teddy bear, with the accompanying tummy 😉 which catches and rubs everything. Food, soot, drinks, did I mention soot? And the grease, he has to grease the joints everyday. with a hand-pump grease gun. It’s messy. Shout gets everything but the grease and soot.
This is a staple in my household. It has worked for me so many times. It works really well on grease stains, let us know how it does on the soot!