The Stain-Removing Laundry Hack You Need

I am not a domestic goddess. My home is not spotless, I don’t clean my windows with a custom vinegar blend, and I certainly don’t know all the tried-and-true tips for getting stains out of laundry.

Laundry goes in the machine, and hopefully comes out clean. I don’t inspect each article of clothing for stains or do much spot-treating (unless someone has specifically told me that there’s something that needs extra attention). And when there is a stain, I basically spray it with Spray-N-Wash.

That’s the whole of my stain-removing skills.

Until I discovered this life-changing hack. It happened last summer when I was wearing a cute new t-shirt I’d just bought. It was white, which was my first mistake, and at some point noticed what appeared to be a drop of grease from a slice of pizza. You know what I’m talking about – that orangey-yellow spot that is impossible to get out of anything and leaves your clothes discolored no matter how much you work on it.

Not only was I annoyed, I was baffled. It was like 9:30 am, I hadn’t eaten anything and this was the first time I’d ever worn the shirt. So I stripped it off immediately, sprayed my trusty Spray-N-Wash on the spot, and tossed it into the washing machine right away.

Sadly, the spot was still lightly visible when the cycle ended. I knew better than to dry it (heat would set the stain forever), so I sprayed it and washed it again. Same result.

At that point, I had an epiphany. And since my shirt was essentially ruined already, I had nothing left to lose. The Blue Dawn Dishwashing Liquid in my kitchen has a pretty stellar reputation for removing grease, so I figured – could this possibly work on my laundry? I held my breath as I put a small drop of the bright blue liquid onto my crisp white shirt, and worked it into the offensive grease spot. As I scraped at the spot with my fingernails, I could visibly see the grease coming up out of the shirt. I continued to work at it and rinsed it well under the faucet. The spot appeared to be gone, but the real test would be whether there were any visible remnants once it dried. So I ran it through the washer once again, and hung it to dry (just in case the stain wasn’t gone). My shirt was as good as new!

Since then, I’ve used Blue Dawn on other stains I knew would be tough to get out. Ketchup, berries, tomato sauce…they’ve all come out by immediately treating with the dishwashing liquid. In fact, check out this before-and-after of some shorts that had a huge grease stain. (Long story short, I spilled a pot of soup. I washed them right away in hot water (twice), but the splotches remained. They’ve been sitting in my closet for months waiting for me to get around to trying this trick. And it worked!)

{It may be a little hard to tell because of the color variations of the fabric and the lighting, but all of the greasy splotches that had been on the fabric for six months really came out!}

Turns out, Dawn actually does have its dishwashing liquid listed as a laundry pre-treater on its website, and it does caution against using it on delicate fabrics like silk, and recommends always testing it in an inconspicuous place.

I, on the other hand, figure “What do you have to lose?” If you’re dealing with a piece of clothing that’s otherwise ruined thanks to a pesky grease stain, it can’t hurt to give it a try. Here’s how.

Wet the area.
Apply Blue Dawn Dishwashing Liquid.
Using either your fingernail or a brush (depending on the size of the spot), work the dishwashing liquid into the stain. Don’t be so over-zealous that you’ll damage the fabric, but do be tenacious with it.
Rinse in hot water and wring out the article of clothing.
Launder in hot water.

Remember, if the stained item has already been through the dryer, it’s set and you aren’t likely to get it out. But if it hasn’t, give some Blue Dawn Dishwashing Liquid a try. Who knew such a great laundry hack was just sitting there in your kitchen?!?