Question
I’ve washed and dried my Chapstick inside my pants. Other clothes were also affected. What should I do to remove the oily spots?
Answer
This is a very challenging situation. Dryer heat liquefies the lip balm, which can then easily transfer to other clothing items in the dryer. While it is liquid it flows into the fibers and then, as the dryer temperatures drops, it solidifies, making total removal extremely difficult. However, it’s not impossible. The trick is to break up the oil from the lip balm making it easier for the laundry detergent and the appropriate bleach to get the stains all the way out.
A couple of things to try:
- Scrape any surface material away.
- Pretreat with a little dishwashing detergent by applying it to the stains, rubbing it in, and waiting 5 minutes before rinsing the dish detergent away with warm water. It’s important to rinse away the dish detergent so it doesn’t get in your clothes washer where it will cause too much suds.
- Next, machine wash the items in the hottest water recommended on the care label using detergent and the appropriate bleach: For bleach-safe whites, use Clorox® Disinfecting Bleach. For colors or white items with spandex, use Clorox 2® For Colors Stain Remover and Laundry Additive.
- Let items air dry and check for success incase you need to repeat the treatment for complete success.