25 Great Ways to Get Rid of Common Stains

7. Tomatoes

Richardson drinks tomato juice three or four days a week and occasionally spills some, usually when he’s on the go.

Tomato stains usually wash out. Tomato sauce, typically made with olive oil, is another story. “The second you add oil to it, it becomes so much harder to get out,” he says.

For that kind of tough stain on fabric, the American Cleaning Institute advises scraping off any excess sauce, flushing the stain with cold water from the back side of the material, and sponging it with a small amount of white vinegar. “You repeat that process to get up as much as you can before you put it in the laundry,” Ek says. Do that, and you’ll “get it to the point where it’s going to be removed entirely in the wash — as long as you act quickly.”

8. Berries

Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries. The juicier, the better — both for flavor and, unfortunately, for creating stains.

Sprinkle with baking soda and lemon juice, which will cause the stain to fizz and turn color, says Richardson. Watch a strawberry stain turn from red to dark purple, and a blueberry stain turn from blue to red or pink.

Ek endorses lemon juice but says she’s had more success with the enzyme pectinase. It’s known for helping with fruit-based stains, and you can find it in store-bought stain removers such as Puracy, Eco-Max and Seventh Generation. Using an enzyme specifically geared toward breaking down berries “will give you the most stain-fighting power for your effort,” she says. 

9. Coffee  

Rushing for your morning brew? Grab-and-go can mean surprise spills. Treatment is an exercise in patience, because the secret — after getting rid of excess liquid pronto with a clean cloth — is to “keep blotting and blotting and blotting” with one part vinegar to two parts water, says Saeta.

Start by testing the cleaning solution at the seam margins to make sure any colors won’t run, she adds.

10. Pet urine

Fifty-five percent of adults age 50 and older reported having a pet, according to the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging in September 2025. (Most pet owners have dogs, which tend to be much messier than our other furry friends.) 

And accidents happen. Oxygen bleach to the rescue once again, because it breaks down proteins found in urine. 

If the stain is on a dog bed, simply add oxygen bleach to the washing machine. “You wouldn’t even have to treat it,” Richardson says. If the urine stain is on the carpet, sponge on some oxygen bleach, let it sit for a few minutes, then blot with a wet towel to rinse.

Oxygen bleach is pet-safe and dissipates relatively quickly, says Richardson, who discourages chemical products, given that pet noses are so close to the floor.

11. Chocolate

To get chocolate stains out of aprons, dish towels or clothing, scrape off any chunks gently “as quickly as you can,” then pre-treat with dish soap and cold water, Saeta says. Rub your finger gently over the stain, then rinse with more cold water. After that, launder with warm water and a bleach-safe detergent.

12. Mud

Arm yourself with soap and a brush for this one, recommends Richardson. Wet the brush with water, run it back and forth across the soap, and scrub the stain. The bristles lift mud particles to the surface.

Mud is “like glitter,” Richardson says. “If you don’t lift it back up, it’s never coming out.”

Next, blot with a damp cloth. If you’re cleaning a carpet, refrain from rubbing at this point in the process, or you’ll untwist the fibers, causing the spot to look matted and contributing to a condition the carpet industry calls “uglying out,” according to the Carpet and Rug Institute in Dalton, Georgia.

Ossont sometimes uses the ribbing on the edge of a quarter instead of a brush to loosen and lift mud.

13. Water rings

Hot day, cold drink, no coaster? That can lead to an unwanted souvenir on a wooden table.

Richardson’s remedy, courtesy of an antiques dealer: Thoroughly dampen a kitchen towel, wring it out and place it over the ring. Apply a clothes iron at its lowest heat setting for 5 to 10 seconds at a time until the stain comes off. “Basically, you’re ironing the towel dry over the spot” while checking your progress, he says.

14. Sticker residue

This is a sticky situation in more ways than one, quips Marlene Geiger, a consumer specialist with the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach AnswerLine who has a master’s degree in textiles and clothing.  

She says the best treatment begins with a cotton ball for blotting and a squirt of adhesive remover, such as Goo Gone, De-Solv-It Contractors’ Solvent or Goof Off. “You want to work from the back side of the fabric if at all possible,” she says. “If you work from the front, then you’re actually pushing that ‘goo’ down into the fabric’s yarns and fibers, and it gets more and more difficult to get out.”

Also, place an absorbent white towel, or several layers of paper towel, on the front side of the fabric so the residue has someplace to go when it’s dislodged from the yarns and fibers, Geiger says.

Because polyester or other synthetic fabrics have “an affinity for oil,” consider using a detergent formulated to remove grease, and launder the garment as the care label indicates, adds Geiger.

Saeta’s warning, from personal experience: Try everything you can before laundering, because the sticky stuff “will pick up every bit of lint — anywhere — in your washer and dryer, and will make it worse.”

15. Lipstick

Lipstick is one of the hardest stains to remove from clothing, says Richardson, but he stands behind this specific regimen for the best odds at an effective fix: Spray with distilled white vinegar and water, blot, then scrub with a brush and bar of laundry soap.

Lipstick is made with oils, waxes and pigments. “Vinegar breaks the surface tension of the oil,” he explains. “Oil and water don’t mix, as we know, so if you don’t do anything to disperse the oil, it just kind of protects the stain.”

Prepare to do this two or three times. Being patient is better than using a more aggressive dish soap to remove the stain, which would get it out but damage the fiber, warns Richardson. “If it’s going to be mild enough for your skin, it’s going to be great for laundry,” he says. 

16. Hair dye

Trying to keep those grays at bay can do a number on clothes and towels.

If you’ve stained something white, you’re in luck. Chlorine bleach can break down dyes and is usually your best bet for natural fibers like linen and cotton, says Ek. “Oxygen bleach is usually color-fast, so it’s not going to do as well on dyes, but if that’s all that’s safe for the fabric, it’s worth a shot.”

Apply detergent or a stain remover beforehand and let it sit for at least 5 minutes before laundering, says Ek. Follow up by washing in water as hot as is safe for the fabric.

17. Pen ink

Rubbing alcohol, hand sanitizer or hair spray can lighten and remove stains. If you’re going with hair spray, Richardson notes that you should use a brand that contains alcohol, which breaks the ink down into a liquid that can be washed away. (Some modern hair spray formulas don’t contain alcohol.)

18. Sunscreen

Stains from sunscreen seem to happen immediately after lathering up as directed — no spills needed. 

According to Geiger, sunscreen stains should come out in a regular wash. However, look at the product ingredients before laundering, as pre-treatment may be necessary. Is avobenzone listed? It reacts with iron in tap water during the wash cycle, leaving rust-colored stains on the fabric. A rust-removal product should be used before laundering; do not use chlorine bleach, as it will further discolor the fabric. 

Titanium oxide and zinc oxide are also commonly used in sunscreen. While they don’t necessarily damage fabric, their tiny white particles tend to cling, leaving white or chalky grease marks that make removal difficult. Brush away loose particles, then treat the stain with dish detergent before laundering, Geiger says.

19. Turmeric and other vibrant spices

Because oxygen bleach breaks down anything organic, it comes to the rescue once again when treating colorful spices that wind up on clothes. Turmeric, for example, contains a high concentration of curcumin, the intensely yellow, notoriously obstinate active ingredient that likes to bind to fabric.

If the stain is on a shirt, use mild hand soap. Tarnished dish towels are strong enough to handle dish soap, says Richardson.

20. Sweat stains on a baseball cap

This cleaning hack makes Richardson practically swoon, given how easy it is to clean the sweat-soaked brim of a baseball cap — along with other things in the house that rarely get a good disinfecting.

“Put the ballcap on the top rack of the dishwasher,” Richardson says, and fill the bottom rack with dog bowls and plastic organizers from the junk drawer. Then run the dishwasher using regular dishwasher soap and hot water. That’s what he does at home, explaining, “I don’t really want to put Grandma’s china on the bottom rack with a sweaty ballcap on the top.”

Before you put your cap in the dishwasher, though, check the material. If it’s made of wool, this technique could damage your hat.

21. Paint

Saeta is also a contemporary abstract artist, so she’s become an accidental expert in removing paint stains from clothing. For oil-based paint, she suggests blotting with a clean cloth and dabbing with a little paint thinner. For acrylics, she says rinse with warm water while the paint is still wet, then scrub with dish soap. If that doesn’t work, try an adhesive remover.

Either way, don’t let the material dry, or “you’re kind of out of luck,” she says.

22. Bicycle chain grease

The chain on Saeta’s e-bike tends to fall off, which can mean oily grease on her biking clothes. Her fix is to first blot the material with a rag or paper towel to remove excess grease. Then she follows these steps: Cover the stain with cornstarch or baby powder and let it sit for 15 minutes. Brush away what’s left, then apply dish soap and scrub gently. Let it sit for 10 more minutes. Finally, wash in the hottest water that’s safe for the material.

23. Hard-water spots on shower doors

Start with a solution of water and at least 80 percent cleaning vinegar. The more stubborn the buildup, the stronger the vinegar solution should be, says Richardson.

Spray generously, wait 15 minutes, scrub with a nonabrasive sponge and rinse with warm water.

Note: Hard-water stains can lead to soap scale, which Richardson describes as more streaky than spotty. While vinegar can probably do the job, he says over-the-counter calcium and lime removers tend to work even better, as does foaming dish soap.

24. Mold and mildew

If mold or mildew is on a garment or other material, first remove the existing spores by shaking and brushing them off outdoors, says Geiger. Next, soak in a nontoxic, enzyme-rich detergent or pre-soak product that catalyzes or breaks down the stain. Once the stain is removed, the item should be laundered in the hottest water appropriate for the fabric. (Look for detergents with these enzymes: protease, amylase, lipase and cellulase.)

“If it’s a white item, use an oxygenated bleach according to directions to bring it out,” says Geiger.

25. An unknown stain

For mystery stains, spray on a store-bought or homemade stain remover, let it soak, wash in cold water and air-dry. If that doesn’t work, break out the trusty oxygen bleach. Refrain from turning up the water temperature, which will “cook” protein-based stains, says Ek.

Repeat as necessary, though “if I’ve tried that a couple times and it hasn’t budged the stain at all, then I might be out of luck,” she adds.