Friday, October 2, 2009

cleaning up a greasy mess: how to get grease out of clothes


So a few weeks ago the starter went out in our car, and my husband decided he'd fix it.  He spent a good 4 hours on that project, and at one point his arms were c o v e r e d in grease up to his elbows.  This is what his hands looked like after he'd wiped them off:



I guess he didn't think when he started that he'd get so messy because he didn't change out of his nice jeans and before he knew it, they were also covered in grease.  I don't know if you can tell in the picture below (my husband is the one on the left...the one with the greasiest pants), but they are pretty bad.  When I pointed it out, he was totally bummed and thought he'd have to throw them out for sure.  Luckily for him (and his pants), my mother taught me the secret of getting grease out of anything....

 

 The secret is dishwashing liquid.  Now that you think about it, it makes perfect sense, right?  No matter what brand, dishwashing liquids all boast 'grease-cutting power', right?  So now that you know what to use to get the grease out of clothes, here's how I do it...

1. Get your supplies - a bottle of dishwashing liquid (I use plain ol' Dawn), and a scrub brush if you have one.  You're going to want to do this over the sink or tub, since it will get plenty wet and soapy. (Also, I never know about the dyes in the soap, BUT better safe than sorry....if there is grease in a white shirt, I try to use soap with little color, so I don't exchange one stain for another).

2. Get the greasy area wet, and squeeze dishwashing liquid onto the wet spot generously.  Scrub with the scrub brush (on something like jeans) or rub the clothes against themselves.  You're going to want to use some elbow grease (as if you needed more). :)

3. Keep adding soap and water, and scrub, scrub, scrub.  Once you think the grease is gone, rinse the suds off (it's nearly impossible to rinse all the soap out - let the washing machine do that).

4. When you're satisfied that you've done your best, throw the clothes into the wash.  Make sure you check them again before you throw em in the dryer.  If there is still grease left, it will be easier to get it out before it is set-in with all that heat.

Best wishes to you and here's to saving clothes from greasy blunders and oily misfortunes!


1 comments:

Jeanne Oliver said...

Thanks for the tips. I can't believe that I haven't thought of that tip myself. I loved meeting you at BGC. I hope the rest of your weekend was relaxing!!

the 7 goddesses

These 7 goddesses share their wisdom with the rest of us. Click on their tabs above to learn their lessons and read their tips:

APHRODITE - goddess of love & beauty - this is you

NYX - goddess of night - lessons on wifery (is that a word?) and all things night time

LETO - goddess of motherhood - all things related to motherhood

DEMETER - goddess of food & harvest - and for that reason, my favorite. Find tried and true recipes here

HESTIA - goddess of hearth & home - on making your house a home

ATHENA - goddess of wisdom - making learning a lifelong journey (plus a killer book list)

ELPHIS - goddess of hope - cause we could all use a little more!

Good for a laugh

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