Chapstick in laundry. Save DD's clothes.

[Tiramisu]

DD now has grease stains all over a load of her most often worn clothes. I told her to leave them with me when she retired to college, so I could try to save them.

 

I googled solutions and they are very labor intensive. I need something easy. Help!

[fraidycat]

We use non-flammable brake cleaner in a spray can to get grease and oil stains out - just spray it on then toss it in the washing machine. It works, but it stinks, so you might want to wash them again after using the cleaner before drying. The scent doesn't seem to linger after drying, but I've only ever used it on one or two pieces in a load, not the whole load.

Edited November 27, 2016 by fraidycat

[Laurie4b]

Based on having this happen with another product, the best thing to do is to call Chapstick's customer service and ask them. Then follow those instructions. It may well be arduous, but at least you will know what the results will be. 

[Melissa in Australia]

petrol ( gasoline)? it makes the clothes stink for a long time but gets grease out in a jiffy

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Can you try blue Dawn dish detergent? You'll probably have to treat each stain individually, but it's a pretty powerful degreaser. I don't know of any way you could degrease the entire load at once though. Whatever could do that would probably be pretty hard on the clothes :(

 

Good luck!

[Carol in Cal.]

Spray and wash followed by a hot water wash got lipstick out of my clothes in similar circumstances.  It took two tries.

[Tiramisu]

Can you try blue Dawn dish detergent? You'll probably have to treat each stain individually, but it's a pretty powerful degreaser. I don't know of any way you could degrease the entire load at once though. Whatever could do that would probably be pretty hard on the clothes :(

 

Good luck!

I tried this before on one piece of clothing and the rinsing to get all he Dawn out was laborious. I wouldn't want to do it for the whole load.

 

It's a good idea but I'm lazy,

[Tiramisu]

Spray and wash followed by a hot water wash got lipstick out of my clothes in similar circumstances. It took two tries.

Could it be that easy? That would be awesome if it would work.

[Tiramisu]

petrol ( gasoline)? it makes the clothes stink for a long time but gets grease out in a jiffy

Might work for a last resort. Our washing machine and utility sink are next to the heater, so I'd be nervous about causing an explosion 💥

[Carol in Cal.]

It might be worth a try.  I think it was the hot water that made it work for me.  First I tried cool, because most of the clothes were supposed to only be washed in cool water, but it didn't touch it.  The hot water may have melted some of the substrate material away, assisted by the spray and wash.  I could see that it had helped a lot, so I repeated it, and it all came out of everything, except for one pair of pale blue denim shorts that still showed a faint reddish stain outline after the second try.

[Tiramisu]

Based on having this happen with another product, the best thing to do is to call Chapstick's customer service and ask them. Then follow those instructions. It may well be arduous, but at least you will know what the results will be.

Good thought. I might try calling tomorrow.

[Tiramisu]

We use non-flammable brake cleaner in a spray can to get grease and oil stains out - just spray it on then toss it in the washing machine. It works, but it stinks, so you might want to wash them again after using the cleaner before drying. The scent doesn't seem to linger after drying, but I've only ever used it on one or two pieces in a load, not the whole load.

Is there a name for this stuff?

[Tiramisu]

Thanks to everyone for all the great ideas!

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

I tried this before on one piece of clothing and the rinsing to get all he Dawn out was laborious. I wouldn't want to do it for the whole load.

 

It's a good idea but I'm lazy,

 

Were you hand rinsing? I don't ever hand rinse when I do it. I treat all the pieces that need treating (covering each grease spot individually), let them sit overnight, throw them all into the washer without any additional detergent, and run them through a regular cycle. Works every time. 

 

You could also maybe try hand scrubbing (quickly, like just rubbing them around together a bit to make sure they're all well soaked) a bunch of items at a time in a bucket full of hot water and LOTS of Dawn, letting them soak for a few hours, and then pouring out the excess water and dropping it all into your washer. Might that work? 

 

Although...I do have a top loader. Maybe this is all different if you have a front loader?

Edited November 27, 2016 by ILiveInFlipFlops

[barnwife]

Is there a name for this stuff?

Chlorinated solvent of some kind.  Similar to dry cleaning solvent, perchloro whatever, "perc".  "Brakeleen" is the most common brand name, but it's all the same chemical if it's non flammable. 

 

If you need to know how to find it, any auto parts store, Menards, HD, farm store etc. will have it in the auto chemicals aisle. Aerosol can 11 oz or so for $2-4.  The flammable stuff is better for the environment, but might melt some of the clothes or burn your house down.  

[Tiramisu]

Were you hand rinsing? I don't ever hand rinse when I do it. I treat all the pieces that need treating (covering each grease spot individually), let them sit overnight, throw them all into the washer without any additional detergent, and run them through a regular cycle. Works every time.

 

You could also maybe try hand scrubbing (quickly, like just rubbing them around together a bit to make sure they're all well soaked) a bunch of items at a time in a bucket full of hot water and LOTS of Dawn, letting them soak for a few hours, and then pouring out the excess water and dropping it all into your washer. Might that work?

 

Although...I do have a top loader. Maybe this is all different if you have a front loader?

I have a front loader. I thought if I don't rinse it out bubbles will fill my house like a cartoon. ðŸ›

[Tiramisu]

Chlorinated solvent of some kind. Similar to dry cleaning solvent, perchloro whatever, "perc". "Brakeleen" is the most common brand name, but it's all the same chemical if it's non flammable.

 

If you need to know how to find it, any auto parts store, Menards, HD, farm store etc. will have it in the auto chemicals aisle. Aerosol can 11 oz or so for $2-4. The flammable stuff is better for the environment, but might melt some of the clothes or burn your house down.

Thanks for the tip. I would like to keep my house intact and not burn my hair off. 🙂

[Tiramisu]

A good dish soap like dawn or Palmolive on every spot. This happened once to a load of Dh's dress clothes and the dish soap worked like a charm. I have used it a couple of times since and it always works.

Did you rinse first, before putting it in the washer?

Edited November 27, 2016 by Tiramisu

[TammyinTN]

We had this happen recently...we put Dawn dishwashing on each spot scrubbed a little and rewashed with Tide twice.  It came out thankfully or her Matilda Jane dresses would have been toast.  

[mathnerd]

soak them in hot water and laundry detergent for a few hours (my machine as a soak setting that I use) and then wash in hot water. I think that the heat will melt away the chapstick remnants. This worked before for lipstick for me, so I think that it might work for you for chapstick.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

I have a front loader. I thought if I don't rinse it out bubbles will fill my house like a cartoon. ðŸ›

 

 

Ahhh, in that case, you're probably right. Might it be worth taking them to a laundromat for this one thing? 

 

I did a quick Google search and yeah, it looks like everything is fairly labor intensive. I'm sorry!

[kbutton]

Lestoil might work really well. It's stinky, but then you can wash the clothes in regular detergent later.

 

If you use gasoline, you air things out outside before putting them in the washer or dryer. DH's family used to do this all the time due to working with greasy equipment. It evaporates. I don't know how long it takes for it to evaporate if time is short with the situation.

 

Don't put anything in the dryer until you know if the stain is out or not. Air drying is fine.

[Tammi K]

TSP is a very heavy duty de-greaser detergent.  You can pick it up at any hardware store or even the 'marts'.  

[pink&bluemommy]

Grandmas stain spray got out some kind of greasy stain on a dress (it was huge and didn't come out with a tide wash). I got mine at Walmart. It might also be in a stick or bar but it's supposed to be awesome stuff!

[HSmomof2]

Spray and wash followed by a hot water wash got lipstick out of my clothes in similar circumstances. It took two tries.

This will work....it may take two washes, but it should come out. Dh has a bad habit of leaving Chapstick in his pockets. I cannot tell you how many times I've re-washed Chapstick stained clothes in the last 20 years. ðŸ˜

[HS Mom in NC]

My husband is a chapstick addict and leaves them in his pockets sometimes.  Goo Gone is made for getting rid of exactly that kind of thing and others :

https://www.amazon.com/Goo-Gone-Original-Liquid-Adhesive/dp/B00006IBNJ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480303378&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=goo+gone&psc=1

 

The only down side is the heavy orange smell.  The shirt has to be rewashed 2 or 3 times to get rid of the smell.

[cera2]

I've always just washed the clothes a bunch more times on hot (sometimes with a little dawn dish soap, sometimes not) and eventually it almost all comes out.

[fraidycat]

Chlorinated solvent of some kind. Similar to dry cleaning solvent, perchloro whatever, "perc". "Brakeleen" is the most common brand name, but it's all the same chemical if it's non flammable.

 

If you need to know how to find it, any auto parts store, Menards, HD, farm store etc. will have it in the auto chemicals aisle. Aerosol can 11 oz or so for $2-4. The flammable stuff is better for the environment, but might melt some of the clothes or burn your house down.

This is exactly how we (my dad) discovered to use Brakeleen. He was using it one day and thought "this smells just like dry cleaning fluid", so tried it on some of his greasy coveralls to see what would happen. Obviously it worked, because brake cleaner now sits on the shelf in the laundry room at all times. :)

[Reefgazer]

Stain stick, applied to the grease stains and then clothes thrown in the wash, take care of them. I do this all the time because I forget to check pockets.

DD now has grease stains all over a load of her most often worn clothes. I told her to leave them with me when she retired to college, so I could try to save them.

 

I googled solutions and they are very labor intensive. I need something easy. Help!

[Hilltopmom]

Great timing! This just happened here too. Empty your pockets,my people!

 

Have a dress shirt soaking right now.

[barnwife]

This is exactly how we (my dad) discovered to use Brakeleen. He was using it one day and thought "this smells just like dry cleaning fluid", so tried it on some of his greasy coveralls to see what would happen. Obviously it worked, because brake cleaner now sits on the shelf in the laundry room at all times. :)

Just to be sure I was clear, the clorinated stuff is non flammable.  That's why it's used in drycleaning.  The non chlorinated stuff is a hot solvent similar to gasoline, but a little "cleaner", very flammable.  

[Zinnia]

Lestoil has worked for me before

[Tiramisu]

First day of pre-treating, soaking, and a long, hot cycle did not work. I will repeat today.

 

High fever in the house so I haven't gone shopping for special supplies yet.