Question
How Do I Remove Curry Stains From Clothing?
Answer
Curries can vary widely–from the spices used to the meat, tofu, or vegetables cooked in the sauce. Since most curry sauces start with a little oil used to brown the meat or sauté vegetables, it’s important to consider that first when working on these stains. The basic technique is to pretreat the oily component of the stain first; then you can work on any color from the spices, taking into consideration the color of the fabric and its composition. Here’s what you can try:
Starting with dry fabric–that is, don’t rinse it first–apply a little liquid dishwashing detergent (the kind you use for hand washing dishes) and gently rub it into the stain. This breaks up the oily component of the stain. Wait 5 minutes then rinse the stain with a little warm water. Next, pretreat the stain again to work on the colored component.
For white bleachable fabrics (avoid bleaching wool, silk, mohair, leather, and spandex) you can pretreat the stain with Clorox® Bleach Pen Gel. Apply a little of the gel directly to the stain and then wash immediately in the warmest water recommended on the garment’s care label using detergent and 1/2 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach. Let the item air dry and then check for success. It’s always important to keep an item out of a hot dryer while you are working on getting a stain out. If any stain remains, you can repeat the treatment with a better chance of success when the stain hasn’t been tumble dried.
For items with color (or white items that include a small percentage of spandex–check that care label!) pretreat with liquid Clorox2®. Apply a little directly to the stain and gently rub it in. Wait 5-10 minutes and then wash in the warmest water recommended on the item care label using detergent and more Clorox2®. Air dry and check for success, and repeat if necessary.
With the Clorox® Bleach Pen Gel, it’s important to wash the item immediately after pretreating. With liquid Clorox2®, you can leave it on the fabric for a little longer, but not indefinitely (never let it dry out on the fabric!), so use a timer if that will help you keep the pretreat time to no more than 10 minutes. Please let me know if you have any other questions, and thanks for writing!
