A selection of the best oil stain removers

Unfortunately, not only work clothes, but also a completely new jacket or your favorite down jacket can easily suffer from fuel oil: it’s not enough to lean or lean on a contaminated surface. But removing stains from fuel oil is not so simple, because it has the property of eating into the structure of the fabric, which means that you certainly can’t do just the usual washing in such an unpleasant situation. Is it possible to clean your favorite clothes from such stains? We are sure that this is possible, and we are ready to tell you exactly what means should be used!

Gentle methods

Resins, including those in fuel oil, are best removed immediately after you get dirty: if you let them dry and eat into the fabric, then the time and effort to remove them will take several times more. Gentle means are suitable precisely for those cases when you quickly noticed a stain and can quickly start cleaning, and certainly will not help much with old stains. So what can be done?

• Detergents.

If you have the opportunity to immediately begin the operation to get rid of the stain from the jacket, then try to apply any stain remover or dishwashing liquid to the contamination. Leave the remedy for action should be for 1-2 hours. It’s not a fact that such a procedure will completely and at once help remove the stain and save you from the problem, but it certainly won’t make it worse, so we recommend starting with it.

• Tar soap.

You can also remove the stain with tar soap. Just do not wash it: the more you rub the fabric, the deeper the insoluble resins will penetrate into its structure, reducing your chances of quick cleaning. Just rub the dirt with soap, leave for 1-2 hours and rinse the thing. If the soap does not help to remove the fuel oil, move on.

• Car shampoo.

There is an opinion that this tool helps to clean things from fuel oil better than others, so if you have a jar of high-quality shampoo for cars, you can immediately soak the jacket in it.

• Fir or eucalyptus oil.

Try removing the stain with a cotton swab dipped in any of these essential oils. Of course, their dissolving properties are not so strong, but you also won’t have to worry about spoiling the fabric or leaving whitish spots. Be patient and change cotton pads more often: as soon as one absorbs part of the fuel oil, it is necessary to change it to a new one, otherwise you will only smear the spots from the fuel oil, which certainly will not help to remove it.

• Oil.

A fresh stain can be smeared with butter or margarine to prevent it from turning into a frozen tar contamination, and then removed, like other greasy stains, with an iron or detergent.

• Iron and napkins.

If it seems to you that it is impossible to remove fuel oil, refuse to use water and detergents in favor of a conventional iron. This method is suitable for fresh, but already beginning to harden, contaminants, since under the influence of high temperature, fuel oil will return its viscous consistency and will be able to soak into wipes. Just put one napkin under the stain and the other on top of it and gently walk through the contamination with a heated iron. It is worth saying that this method is more suitable for ordinary jackets and other clothes made of thinner fabric than for down jackets.

Tip

Most likely, you will have to repeat any of these procedures several times before you can see your jacket in its original form. If the spot does not want to dissolve in any way, it will be necessary to switch to heavy artillery.

Aggressive agents

If you didn’t succeed in wiping off the stain with delicate means, other derivatives of the oil industry or alcohol will help you remove it.

• Turpentine and ammonia.

A mixture of turpentine and ammonia can remove fuel oil stains if you moisten a cotton pad or cloth with a solution and carefully apply it to the dirt. Disks need to be changed, gradually removing more and more fuel oil, until the stain is completely dissolved.

• Petrol.

In order to remove fuel oil with gasoline, you need a well-refined product, which can be found in technical stores, and not at the gas station. Moisten a cotton wool with gasoline and apply to a fuel oil stain. As soon as the fleece turns black, change it to clean. At the same time, remember that you do not need to rub a lot of the contaminated area.

• "White Spirit" or acetone.

These solvents will also help. remove fuel oil, but it’s better to use them only in a well-ventilated area. The actions remain the same as with gasoline: dissolve and soak a little fuel oil with one cotton pad, change to a new one - and so on until the stain disappears.

• Toluene.

Another toxic, but effective tool that can remove fuel oil. But this time, we recommend adding gloves to the ventilated area and cotton pads.

Tip

All these substances can corrode the paint and leave a white spot on your jacket. That is why it is very important to do a test for tissue reaction in an inconspicuous area.

It is not necessary to carry the jacket in dry cleaning, even if you put a black oil stain on it. First, try one of these methods to get rid of it yourself: perhaps our tricks will save you a lot of money!