Sometimes you wish that chapstick weren’t so handy when they stain your clothes. And these oily stains are more annoying when they become dry. You need to remove it quickly before the fabric further absorbs it.
How to remove chapstick stains from clothes after drying?
The key to the removal of chapstick stain is first tackling the oily greasy residue of the stain. Because chapstick is made of wax and oils. But it can be easily removed with ingredients already present at your home. You just need to use these ingredients in conjunction with each other.
Now to get rid of the stain we’ll walk you through the step-by-step process. So that you don’t get confused and remove them successfully.
You just need to stick around with us for a bit.
Why are Chapstick Stains Harder to Remove?
The reason is that chapsticks, lipsticks, or lip balm are made from petroleum jelly and lanolin. Both of them are known to be oily substances. And oily substances are harder to remove.
While fabrics are designed to be water repellents so they dry out quickly. But oil being hydrophobic doesn’t mix with water.
This is why fabrics are ineffective when it comes to absorbing oil.
Quick Tip Before Application!
Any cleaning solution may discolor your fabric. So, make sure that you test your cleaning solution before the application.
Before applying, test any detergent or cleaning solution in an unnoticeable area. And after that, you are good to walk through the removal steps.
Remove Annoying Chapstick Stains in 6 Steps
Some stains are more annoying than others and chapstick stain is not an exception. To successfully remove these tough chapstick stains the first and foremost target is oily residue.
If the item is dry-clean only, we suggest taking it to a quality dry cleaner. They know best what they do. But, if the item is machine-washable clothing, then stains can be removed at home.
Let us first see what are the stain removing housekeeping items that you need:
- Old credit card, spoon or knife
- Paper towel or brown paper bag
- Clothes Iron
- Toothbrush
- Baking soda
- Vinegar or dish soap
- Enzyme-based stain remover or laundry detergent
- Hot Water
Furthermore, your clothes smell oily. So, you may want to get rid of the oil smell out of clothes as well. Anyway, without further ado, let us remove the stain.
Step 1 of 6: Scrape Away
First of all, gently scrape off the remaining solid stuff of chapstick. The best tool to scrape it with is the edge of your credit card or spoon. A dull knife would also help.
Remember, avoid scrubbing or rubbing it at this point. You surely don’t want oils going further deep in the fabric.
Step 2 of 6: Iron Over the Stain
As the stain is dry, first you need to melt it with iron. But there is a chance that you melt the chapstick stain further into the fabric. So, use a paper towel or brown paper bag to soak the melted wax. Here is what you need to do.
- Place the piece of brown paper on an ironing board.
- Then place your clothing on top of this paper.
- Now, place another brown bag paper over the chapstick stain.
- And lastly, put the medium heated iron on the paper over the stain.
This will cause the melting of the stain and absorption into the paper. If there are a lot of stains, replace brown bag papers with new ones.
Step 3 of 6: Apply Baking Soda
Oil stains may be left behind even after ironing the stain. So, you need to immediately apply baking soda while it’s still melted. Here is how to do it:
- Apply Baking soda over the stain.
- Now you gently scrub it with a toothbrush.
- Baking powder will mix up with the stain stuff, which is an indication of oil absorption.
- Now dust it and apply new baking soda.
- Scrub it again until you see no more clumps.
Baking soda is not just helpful in removing stains from clothes. But also helpful for other stains, like removing melted plastic from the roaster pan.
Now, seeing no clumps means soda is absorbing as much oil as it can. You may still see some stain traces left.No worries, walk with us a little more.
Step 4 of 6: Vinegar
Vinegar has acidic properties. Therefore it’s effective on grease stains. You just have to mix up a few tablespoons with water.
After getting the diluted solution of vinegar and water, apply it directly onto the stain. And let the acids break down the stain for 15 to 20 minutes.
You might need to try the same diluted solution with dish soap instead of vinegar.
Step 5 of 6: Stain Pre-Treatment
Before washing you have to apply the enzyme-based stain remover. If you don’t have one, you can also use some laundry detergent.
The stain removal will penetrate inside the fabric and remove what’s left of the oily stain. For your ease, check out these quick action stain removing products:
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I hope you find them helpful.
Step 6 of 6: Wash with Hot Water
After following the above steps, now it’s time to wash your clothes with hot water. Make sure that your fabric can handle the hotness of water.
Do not put your clothing in the dryer until you are sure that chapstick is removed. If some traces are still left, apply the above-mentioned ingredients once more.
If you follow all the steps accordingly, you’ll be good to go.
FAQs
Question: Are chapstick stains permanent?
Answer: Not really but they can be if left untreated. Because of the heat it liquifies and transfers deep into the fabric. But no need to panic. Follow the steps above and you will be relieved of that annoying stain.
Question: How much baking soda does it take to remove stains?
Answer: Six tablespoons of baking soda with ⅓ cup of warm water is good enough. After having the solution you need to gently rub it over the stain. But remember, asking how much would not have an absolute figure answer. Because It depends on the stain.
Question: Can hand sanitizer remove stains?
Answer: The main ingredient in hand sanitizers is alcohol. So it’s safe to say that rubbing alcohol removes hot sauce stains, ink stains, and makeup stains. But you need to avoid it using rayon, wool, acetate, or silk fabrics.
Conclusion
I hope now you are clear about how to remove chapstick stains from clothes after drying. You might also want to get rid of the oil smell out of clothes.
In addition to that, Keep in mind that you should hurry up applying a solution to stains. Also, you may need to repeat steps that we told you to, to get rid of it permanently.
That’s all!