Spilling anything on a favorite item of clothing can be a real disappointment, but it’s even worse when it’s hard to get out. Materials like oil and gas are absorbed by fabrics quickly, leaving unflattering stains that can ruin your favorite clothing items. That’s why everyone should know the quick and easy facts about how to get diesel fuel out of clothes.
Unfortunately, once you get diesel fuel or oil stain clothes, getting rid of them is not as simple as putting them through a cycle in the washing machine While dry cleaning can get the job done, those bills can add up quickly.
Fortunately, there are a lot of homemade stain removers you can make using simple and cheap household ingredients. Accidents happen, but they shouldn’t put a strain on your bank account. That’s why these easy DIY stain removal tips for diesel fuel will make your day!
Get Diesel Fuel Stains and Odors Out of Clothes
If you or your hubby work around cars or machinery, then your work clothes are probably a mess when you get home. Diesel has a different chemical composition than regular gasoline, which makes it more likely to stain.
It also has a more pungent odor due to the sulfur and nitrogen compounds within it. This makes diesel evaporate more slowly. In this article, we’ll guide you through how to remove diesel from clothing, so it doesn’t stain or leave the distinct diesel fuel smell behind.
How to Remove Diesel from Clothing
Diesel has more of an oil base than regular gasoline, so you need to pull the oil and grease out of the fabric to prevent or remove the stain. The same techniques you use to remove oil stains on clothes are useful to get rid of diesel.
As always, the best method of keeping stains out of your clothing is prevention. If you act quickly when you notice a spill, then you can stop stains from forming. Sometimes prevention isn’t an option, and you need to know the hands-on details of how to remove stains.
Remove Wet Stain
When you notice a spill and you need to get motor oil out of clothes, you need to act fast! But, it’s not as simple as figuring out how to wash clothes. Before throwing your clothing with the wet stain in the washer, you should do a few things first.
Blot the spill with a paper towel. Make sure you press the tissue to the stain without rubbing; otherwise, you will spread the mess. Before throwing the clothing in the washing machine, pre-treat it to ensure the stain doesn’t stick.
Apply a stain remover to the stain and rinse it in a tub of warm water. Repeat and then throw it in the wash with a cup of Tide on the hottest water setting. If you don’t have a commercial stain remover, some common household ingredients will work fine.
Remove Dry Stain
Just as removing rust stains from clothing can be a chore, so can removing diesel stains once they’ve set. Thankfully, the pre-treatment ingredients that work on wet stains also work on old stains.
Grab your favorite stain removal ingredient from the list above and rub it on the stain. Let the stain remover sit for at least 20 minutes and then throw it in the washing machine with your regular laundry detergent, using hot water. Allow the garment to dry.
The key to how to remove diesel from clothing is repetition. Check your clothes to see if the stain is still there. If it is, pre-treat the item again and wash it once more before drying.
How to Get Rid of Diesel Smell in Clothes
Sometimes the diesel smell in clothes remains even after the stain is gone. If this is the case, then you need to use an effective deodorizer.
These methods of removing the diesel fuel smell out of clothes are easy and cheap, helping you save money on dry cleaning. If you have an issue with the smell of diesel in your garage as well, these methods can help remove oil from concrete.
Coca Cola and Baking Soda
A common item you can use to get the diesel smell out of clothes is Coca Cola! Put the smelly clothes in a tub of warm water with a degreaser like dishwasher soap. Let it sits for approximately two hours and then rinse the clothing.
Refill the tub with clean water and then pour in a 2-liter bottle of Coke and a box of baking soda. Let sit for 12 to 24 hours and wash as you usually would. This powerful combination works even on the most heavy duty stains and diesel fuel odors and is quite effective to get grease smell out of clothes with little effort.
Vinegar
Vinegar is another natural deodorizer that works well with baking soda for all sorts of household cleaning and odor removal tasks. When you throw your laundry in the washer, add your regular detergent and then an additional scoop of baking soda. Pour in a cup of white vinegar and start the load.
This isn’t the most robust method, so your clothes may still have a hint of that diesel odor. If that’s the case, repeat the process once more. You can also use this solution to remove mildew smell from clothes if they are musty. If the vinegar doesn’t help, you can use Pine Sol instead.
Not only is vinegar an excellent tool to eliminate unwanted odors, but you can also use it to get car grease out of clothes and remove tar from shoes, too. Apply vinegar or a vinegar and water mixture to stains and watch them disappear. A little scrubbing with a cloth or old toothbrush can help.
Mouthwash
A mouthwash product like Listerine is perfect for removing smells from clothing. Some firemen even use it to get rid of the smell of smoke! It’s cheap, and you can find it at any grocery store or pharmacy.
Pour some Listerine into your washing machine when you do your laundry. As a bonus, the mouthwash will also help clean your machine.
Commercial Deodorizer
If you don’t have the patience for our homemade methods for diesel stain and odor removal, then you can always use a commercial deodorizer. There are many products available that will get diesel fuel smell out of clothes.
We prefer using commercial products that don’t use harsh chemicals, but that will still get the job done. Sometimes the best products aren’t meant for washing machines but are hand cleaners. They work just as well and have safe ingredients as they are meant for your skin.
Working closely with diesel can make keeping your clothes clean and smelling fresh a real challenge. Luckily, there are many household ingredients you can keep on hand to avoid having to throw out your favorite items of clothing. If you follow our simple tips, then you’ll never have to worry about diesel stains and odors ruining your clothes again!
If these tips helped you learn how to get diesel fuel out of clothes, then share our stain and odor removal tips with your friends and family online.