How to remove common stains from clothes: what actually works

2 min read · 8 steps · Updated 3 October 2026

Most stains come out with things already in the kitchen, as long as you treat them before they dry and do not cook them into the fabric with hot water. The methods below are the ones that worked when the UK consumer organisation Which? tested popular tips, and the reasons why.

Step by step

1. Learn the three rules

   Act quickly, before the stain dries. Blot with a clean cloth rather than rubbing, which spreads the stain and pushes it deeper. Use cold or cool water: heat bonds proteins and many pigments to the fibres, and a stain that has been through a hot wash and a dryer is usually permanent.

   Done

2. Blood

   Soak the item in cold water with a few spoonfuls of salt dissolved in it, then wash on a cool cycle. The salt draws out the moisture and helps break down the blood. Never use hot water. For old marks, an enzyme stain remover made for protein stains helps.

   Done

3. Red wine

   Blot up as much as you can. Work undiluted washing-up liquid into the stain, rinse thoroughly and repeat if needed, then wash cool. Hairspray also works, because the alcohol in it breaks down the pigment, but the washing-up liquid is kinder to the fabric.

   Done

4. Tomato sauce and curry

   Rub undiluted washing-up liquid into the stain with a soft brush or nail brush, leave it overnight, then wash. Hang the item to dry in direct sunlight, which bleaches the last of the orange out. The sun is the step that finishes the job.

   Done

5. Grass

   Make a paste of washing-up liquid and bicarbonate of soda, rub it into the stain, leave it for an hour, rinse and wash as normal. On white cotton, a bleach-based stain remover is an alternative, but never on wool or silk.

   Done

6. Sun cream

   The oily, mineral mixture leaves yellow marks that look like sweat stains. Soak the stain in white vinegar overnight, rinse and wash. For a stubborn mark, follow with a bicarbonate paste. Do not use bleach on sun cream: it turns the mark pink.

   Done

7. Grease and oil

   Sprinkle the fresh stain with bicarbonate of soda, talc or cornflour to soak up the oil, brush it off after half an hour, then work in washing-up liquid, which is made to cut grease, and wash as warm as the care label allows.

   Done

8. Check before you dry

   After washing, look at the stain while the item is still wet. If a shadow remains, treat it again and wash again. Once it has been through the dryer, it is set.

   Done

Good to know

Always read the care label first and test any method on a hidden seam of coloured or delicate fabrics.

Rinse treatments out before the item goes into the washing machine, so vinegar and washing-up liquid do not foam or react with the detergent.

Unknown stain? Start with cold water and washing-up liquid. It is safe on almost everything and solves a good share of cases.

On carpets, blot with cold water first and never soak the backing. For the machine itself: washing machine smells bad: how to clean it.

In short: Fast, blot, cold. Blood: cold salted water. Wine and tomato: washing-up liquid, sun for tomato. Grass: washing-up liquid and bicarbonate paste. Sun cream: vinegar, no bleach. Grease: powder, then washing-up liquid. Check before drying.