Motor oil and garments

[sunshineliz]

My husband recently started a job working on cars. He's coming home with motor oil on his clothes and soaked through to his garments. I have no idea how to get this out! I've tried some online suggestions like dish soap and the like but they aren't working. 

Any suggestions? Do we need to replace them if I can't get the stains out? Money is very tight and we can't replace all or most of his garments. Is it ok to keep some set aside for work that have the stains and keep non stained ones for Sunday and other non work times?

[Just_A_Guy]

30 minutes ago, sunshineliz said:

My husband recently started a job working on cars. He's coming home with motor oil on his clothes and soaked through to his garments. I have no idea how to get this out! I've tried some online suggestions like dish soap and the like but they aren't working. 

Any suggestions? Do we need to replace them if I can't get the stains out? Money is very tight and we can't replace all or most of his garments. Is it ok to keep some set aside for work that have the stains and keep non stained ones for Sunday and other non work times?

I’m no laundry guru; but my inclination would be to do as you suggest and just reserve some of the garments for work wear knowing that they are going to get stained.  

[zil]

Welcome (back), @sunshineliz!  I have no idea how to get motor oil out of garments - seems like some specialized stuff would be needed - but would it be possible to get him some sort of specialized shirt that doesn't allow the oil to soak through?  Alternately, I wonder if some garment fabrics are less likely to stain / more easily cleaned (from motor oil) than others.

Alternately, much as I don't like the idea, it may be that he'd be better off not wearing them to work.

[Vort]

In my personal opinion, I see nothing wrong with wearing an oil-stained garment. If it were me, I would probably try to limit my work underwear to specific sets so that not all of them get stained, but that's just personal preference.

As for how to get stains out, a good detergent is all I can think of. I doubt bleach will do anything to petrochemical stains. Since most LDS temple garments are made of synthetic (petroleum-based) plastic textiles of some sort, my guess is that the oil stains have bonded with the synthetic elements of the garment and are therefore permanent. So trying to wash them clean may be a hopeless task.

Edited November 16, 2018 by Vort

[zil]

I googled (briefly) and the best ideas I saw were dish (not dishwasher) soap - and there's a reason Dawn has the reputation it does (and is used for washing poor duckies with crude oil on them).  And WD-40 - which is like the miracle spray!   It's worth a try.  If it doesn't work, and you don't mind breaking fishing laws, you can use the rest of the can on fish bait - apparently fish really like WD-40 (gots fish oil in it).

[Vort]

Just now, zil said:

I googled (briefly) and the best ideas I saw were dish (not dishwasher) soap - and there's a reason Dawn has the reputation it does (and is used for washing poor duckies with crude oil on them).  And WD-40 - which is like the miracle spray!   It's worth a try.  If it doesn't work, and you don't mind breaking fishing laws, you can use the rest of the can on fish bait - apparently fish really like WD-40 (gots fish oil in it).

Factoid of the Day: The "WD" in WD-40 stands for "water displacement". Who knew?

[zil]

Just now, Vort said:

Factoid of the Day: The "WD" in WD-40 stands for "water displacement". Who knew?

Not I.  Interesting - or, more interestingly, esterinting.  (Syllables are more fun when you rearrange them. )

[Just_A_Guy]

11 minutes ago, Vort said:

Factoid of the Day: The "WD" in WD-40 stands for "water displacement". Who knew?

Wasn’t it invented by guys who were trying to come up with a compound that would force water condensate out of fine machinery, and the lubricating properties were discovered by accident?

[Vort]

5 minutes ago, Just_A_Guy said:

Wasn’t it invented by guys who were trying to come up with a compound that would force water condensate out of fine machinery, and the lubricating properties were discovered by accident?

...yeah. Sure. That's the ticket. I was just about to say that.

[KScience]

http://www.dr-beckmann.co.uk/product/stain-devils-grease-stain-remover/

These work well on cotton

[Fether]

Soak them in motor oil, that way there is nothing to stain 👍

... but in all honesty I would just save some special garments for cleaner activities and have a few work sets.

Edited November 17, 2018 by Fether

[Iggy]

If you have Zout https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/zout-laundry-stain-remover-spray/ID=prod2056057-product?ext=gooKBM_PLA_-_All_Products&pla&adtype=pla&kpid=sku2055537&sst=_k_CjwKCAiA8rnfBRB3EiwAhrhBGt3XEi_A7QvtBFZwd9eROrYs6nkM1JpExbGZX_3cmZ7bSNvw6QUb-RoCA5sQAvD_BwE_k_&gclid=CjwKCAiA8rnfBRB3EiwAhrhBGt3XEi_A7QvtBFZwd9eROrYs6nkM1JpExbGZX_3cmZ7bSNvw6QUb-RoCA5sQAvD_BwE available in the stores in your area use that directly on the stains, gently rub or brush in (I have a nail/hand brush for this) then wash in the hottest water recommended for your garments.

IF you used Dawn, you will need to drastically reduce the amount of laundry detergent other wise be prepared to rinse three or more times to get it all out. Also Grease Relief https://www.walmart.com/ip/Grease-Relief-All-Purpose-Degreaser-and-Cleaner-22-Oz/756813964 is great.

NOTE: Check each item that you treated BEFORE you put it in the dryer. IF the stain is not gone, spray/treat and wash again. Putting it in the dryer will set the stain.

My husbands 100% cotton garments would get stained from lots of different chemicals including different kinds of oils at work. We didn't give a rat's patootie about his work pants and shirts - but de-staining his garments was quite a challenge. Rather than guess what the stain was, I had to do the 20 questions with him about what he did at work each work day to match the stain to his knickers. Oh, then there was the tomato based sauce stains from his lunch from the Mexican restaurants. Zout to the rescue there!!

Need to get blood out ~ doesn't matter if it is old and dried on or fresh, just as long as it hasn't already been through the wash. Pour Hydrogen Peroxide on it, rub the fabric together, add more Hydrogen Peroxide, repeat until all the blood is gone. Now wash in the machine!!!  A surgical nurse gave me that hint. That is how she got her clothes AND garments clean of blood and how the hospital laundry got EVERYTHING clean of blood.

[sunshineliz]

Thanks for the suggestions. He prefers 100% cotton garments. He's getting better about not getting motor oil on his clothes but he still gets spots. He hates "silkies" but has a few pairs so he suggested wearing those for Sunday.

I tried Dawn but it didn't get it out. 😕  I'll have to look into the other suggestions. 

His work sends out his work clothes to be cleaned and they always look nice and stain free ( though they are navy blue so maybe I wouldn't see a stain as well?) I wonder if I could find out how they clean them?

[pam]

3 minutes ago, sunshineliz said:

Thanks for the suggestions. He prefers 100% cotton garments. He's getting better about not getting motor oil on his clothes but he still gets spots. He hates "silkies" but has a few pairs so he suggested wearing those for Sunday.

I tried Dawn but it didn't get it out. 😕  I'll have to look into the other suggestions. 

His work sends out his work clothes to be cleaned and they always look nice and stain free ( though they are navy blue so maybe I wouldn't see a stain as well?) I wonder if I could find out how they clean them?

I don't know where you live but....  If you live anywhere near a Hobby Lobby.  Go to the fabric counter and get a bottle of Grandma's Secret Spot Remover.  It has gotten everything out for me except red finger nail polish.  Haven't tried motor oil but it's worth a try.  

[zil]

7 minutes ago, pam said:

Grandma's Secret Spot Remover

Hey!  Why does grandma secretly hate dogs! 🐶

[mordorbund]

On 11/17/2018 at 7:02 PM, zil said:

Hey!  Why does grandma secretly hate dogs! 🐶

They know what they did...

[anatess2]

On 11/16/2018 at 2:21 PM, sunshineliz said:

My husband recently started a job working on cars. He's coming home with motor oil on his clothes and soaked through to his garments. I have no idea how to get this out! I've tried some online suggestions like dish soap and the like but they aren't working. 

Any suggestions? Do we need to replace them if I can't get the stains out? Money is very tight and we can't replace all or most of his garments. Is it ok to keep some set aside for work that have the stains and keep non stained ones for Sunday and other non work times?

The "modern" method of soaking the garments completely in Tide Ultra Stain Release detergent works well with grease stains (never tried it on motor oil, though).  I even put the detergent right into the stain before soaking it in.  If that doesn't work, you can try my mom's answer to everything stain - vinegar, lemon, and baking soda.

But, if you already ran the garments through the dryer, it's gonna be almost impossible to take that out.  I say, dedicate those garments for work use only and it will be fine.

 

[unixknight]

When I worked on cars I had some that were the "good set" and ones for work.

That said, know what is awesome for getting out oil and grease stains?  Brake Clean spray.  Not even joking.  I used to use it to clean customers' upholstery if I accidentally got grease on it.  It uses the same chemical as in dry cleaning.