How To Get Bacon Grease Out Of Clothes? (Step-by-Step Guide)

Bacon grease should be an essential food item in your kitchen. Whether you want to prepare snacks for your family or a large dish to fill empty stomachs and add some color to the atmosphere, you need the enticing flavor bacon grease provides. But if the grease spills on your clothes in the process, your clothes aren’t ruined.

Can Bacon Grease Ruin Your Clothes?

The chances of bacon grease ruining your clothes depend on how you handle the stain. If you allow it to set, your clothes might end up in the back of your wardrobe.

But if you pre-treat the stain before cleaning it, you’ll be able to salvage your clothes.

However, you should avoid bacon grease staining your clothes in the first place. You can do this by wearing kitchen overalls when cooking.

Also, you don’t have to wear the best of your wardrobe choices when working in the kitchen. Be careful when handling liquids too. Put them in places you can’t stumble upon or forget.

What You Need To Remove Bacon Grease From Your Clothes

 

All the items you need to remove bacon-grease stain from your clothes are in your kitchen and laundry room. You don’t need to buy anything, but of course, you’ve to put in the required effort. Below are some of the items you need.

• Liquid soap: only liquid soap can break down the stain’s molecules on your clothes. Powdered detergents can’t penetrate the fibers as deep as liquid soap.
• Baking soda/cornstarch/chalk/tape: To remove bacon grease from your clothes, you need something to lift the stain. You can use baking soda, chalk, tape, or cornstarch for washable and non-washable fabrics. Continue applying the stain lifter until it absorbs all the oil.
• Rubbing alcohol/vinegar: for stubborn stains, you need to apply vinegar or rubbing alcohol. Allow it to sit on the stain for a few minutes, and you’ll see the stain quickly come out when laundering the clothes.
• Knife: if the bacon grease is thick, you’ve to scrape off the excess before treating the stain. You can use the blunt edge of the knife or a spoon to remove the excess oil before applying the stain lifter.
• Dry cleaning kit: some clothes such as acetate, silk, wool, rayon, leather, etc., aren’t washable but dry-cleaned. If you’re removing bacon grease from such clothes, you need a dry-cleaning kit.
• A small cloth/table towel: you need to place a table towel beneath the stained part not to smear the surface it’s placed on. If you’re dealing with non-washables, you need a small cloth to clean off the stains.

A Step-by-step Guide To Removing Bacon Grease From Washable Clothes

Before you dip any piece of cloth into the washer, you should first check the care label to know if it’s meant to be laundered or dry-cleaned. If it can be washed, follow the steps below to remove bacon-grease stains.

• First, lay the affected clothes on a paper towel or dishcloth to not stain the surface it’s placed on.
• After, use a spoon or the blunt edge of a knife to remove the thick oil on the stain. If you don’t, any treatment to the stain will only cause the oil molecules to penetrate deeper and spread farther.
• Apply some cornstarch or baking soda to the stain. Allow it to sit for some minutes before you brush it away gently. The powder’s purpose is to lift the stain so that it’s easier to wash off the clothes. Keep applying the cornstarch or baking soda and brush it off till the stain is gone.
• You can apply a solution of hydrogen peroxide and liquid dish soap. Mix both in small, equal parts and spray some on the stain. Allow the solution to sit for about 15 minutes before you launder.
• You should completely remove the stain before washing the clothes. When clothes are wet, it’s not easy to spot the stains. And the chances are high that you’ll dry the clothes like that, making the stain set.
• After the stain is gone, launder the clothes with warm water as long as the care label allows. Warm water will enable stains to come off clothes easily.
• Wash the clothes in a normal, gentle cycle in the washer. After, rinse and air-dry. If the stain still appears once the clothes are dry, repeat the process from start to finish.
• For tough stains, mix equal parts of vinegar and water and spray on the stain. Let it sit for 15 minutes before you sprinkle some baking soda too. After, brush off the soda and wash with water and soap.
• If you’re outdoors and you can’t launder the stained clothes as soon as possible, pretreat with some prewash stain removal. Ensure you soak the clothes as soon as you get home before washing.

Bacon Grease On Non-washable Clothes? Here’s How To Remove It

Clothes made from fur, leather, silk, acetate, rayon, etc., can’t be washed like others. Due to the composition of the fibers, they aren’t water-friendly. As such, you remove stains from such clothes differently. Below is how to do so.

• First, remove the gloppy oil from the stain before you treat the stain. Be careful when removing the stain so as not to let it spread to the non-stained parts. Also, remove the stain using light strokes to prevent it from penetrating the fibers of the clothes.
• Next, put some cornstarch or talcum powder on the stain and let it absorb it. Brush off after 30 minutes. Apply some vinegar to a piece of cloth and use it to wipe the stain until it’s gone. You can use a solution of water and dish soap for the final cleaning before air-drying.
• For clothes made from fur, don’t use soap on them. Instead, apply baking soda, sawdust, or cornstarch on the stain and leave it overnight. The powder will soak up the stain. Brush it off. Dip a small piece of cloth in water and clean the white residue on the clothes.
• For suede clothes, you can also apply cornstarch to the stain. Leave it to absorb for a while before you brush it off with a suede brush. For tough stains, use stain removers specifically made for suede clothes.
• If you experience any difficulty removing bacon grease from non-washable clothes, try steaming the clothes first. The heat will help break down the stain molecules, making it easier to treat the stain.
• Check the other side of the clothes to see if the stain penetrates. If the stain does, you might need to apply the same cleaning procedures to the other side since you can’t launder the fabric.
• If you can’t remove the stain yourself, take the clothes to a professional dry cleaner. If you can’t afford to, get a dry cleaning kit for cleaning your non-washable fabrics.
• Air-dry the clothes after cleaning. Air-drying your non-washables in the sun not only gets rid of the stain but also disinfects the clothes.

6 Things To Avoid When Removing Bacon Grease From Clothes

There are cleaning mistakes to avoid when removing bacon grease from your clothes if you don’t want to waste your efforts. Here are some of the things to avoid.

Using too much water

Usually, you should avoid using too much water on non-washables. But you have to be careful with washables too.

Excessively washing fabrics damages the fibers of clothes and shortens their lifespan. If the clothes aren’t dirty, opt for stain-removing techniques that require no water.

Using a dry cloth

Don’t use a dry cloth to wipe the stain off your clothes, either for washables or non-washables. You should use a damp cloth that’ll attract all the stain particles quickly.

Using the wrong stain remover

Not every stain remover works well for every type of clothes. For instance, some fabrics are too delicate to bear heavy-duty, chemical-based stain removers.

You should read the instructions on any stain remover you purchase before applying it to your clothes. You don’t want to end up removing the stain at the expense of the clothing item.

Using too much stain remover

As much as you want to get rid of bacon grease from your clothes, be careful with the amount of stain remover you use. Besides bleaching, stain removers can damage your clothes’ fibers when used in excess.

Also, don’t spray heavy-duty stain removers directly on the stain to prevent build-up or damage to the clothes. You can apply the stain remover to the damp cloth first before using it to wipe the stain.

Scrubbing/rubbing the stain

Under no circumstances should you scrub or rub a bacon-grease stain. Doing that is equivalent to setting the stain and destroying the clothes.

Instead, you should gently wipe the stain till it’s completely blotted out. Ensure you start from the edges and your strokes are light.

Using a stained cloth

Don’t use the same cloth to remove all the stains on your laundry, such as wiping red wine stains off your fur gown and bacon grease from your cotton shirt.

You’re only transferring germs and dirt if you do. Only use a clean piece of cloth to clean bacon grease from your clothes.

Summary

Since bacon grease has become a staple ingredient in preparing many meals, the chances of avoiding stains on your clothes from it are slim.

But if you can’t avoid it altogether, you can get rid of it if it stains your clothes. Remove the extra grease, pretreat the stain, and dry clean/launder as the case may be.