Butter looks better on bread than on my shirt, but considering the fact that I eat bread and butter almost every day and following murphy’s theory of ‘things going wrong if they could’, there are a lot of chances of butter landing on my shirt than you would think.
My daughter would just scrape it out and then forget about it. But not all of us would care so less about stains as she would. We want the butter stain removed, pronto.
How to Remove Butter stains from fabric?
When properly handled, butter stains are not much of a concern, as are some other oil stains involving other particles in it or coloring elements. These stains disappear fast enough from fabrics if treated with the right detergents containing the appropriate solvents that will melt the oil and remove the stains.
Your best chance of removing the butter stain, like any other self-respecting stain, is to treat it right away. The harder it is to remove a butter stain, you can be sure that the longer it has been there.
There are fabrics that can be washed, and fabrics that cannot be – maybe because it is fixed on a piece of furniture or because it is too precious that you dare not or it is one with a dry clean only label. Both these kinds merit different treatments.
But the first procedure is all the same – taking away the oiliness of the butter off the fabric surface.
First and foremost, remove as much butter from the upholstery as possible without spreading the stain. Scrape off butter chunks if they still remain on the fabric; careful not to spread them out. Scrape to the inside.
Next you need to absorb the oil off your fabric. Apply any absorbent on the stain and let it sit for about 15 minutes.
The things you can use as absorbents include cornstarch or baking soda, which will aid in absorbing the oily element of the butter stain. If you do not have any of the above powders, try face powder. If you do not have even that, use paper towels to blot the grease off.
Keep the absorbent powder for about 15 minutes, letting it absorb all the oil. Use a spoon to scrape off the absorbent once it has absorbed the butter.
If the baking soda or cornstarch continues to absorb the butter, you might need to repeat this procedure a few more times
Add more baking soda and leave it aside for about 20 minutes. Continue doing so until the stain appears to have disappeared completely.
Never rub the stain to the outside, since doing so may spread the grease around and push the oils farther into the fibres of the garment.
Removing butter stains from washable fabrics
Solution 1
I think the best cleaning agent for oil is dishwashing liquid detergent. That is meant to treat oil stains so it will be effective against butter stains too.
Your fabric should be cleansed with a tiny amount of hand dishwashing soap. The surfactants in liquid dish soap serve as an emulsifier to weaken the links between water and grease so that the water can wash the fat away.
Thoroughly rinse the stained area to remove the butter and the dishwashing liquid mixture.
Wash the whole clothing with your usual cleaning routine or for tougher stain, add some detergent mixed with water to the stain, then rub it with your fingertips. Let it settle for around 30 minutes, and then wash it off.
Solution 2
If the stain still remains, use a laundry stain remover to pre-soak the stain.
Launder the garment in the hottest water possible (for the fabric in question) to remove the discoloration from the butter grease.
How to remove butter stain from upholstery and other non-washable material?
Solution 1
After absorbing the extra oil with powder, as explained earlier, use a clean cloth to rub acetone-based nail-polish remover to blot at the stain.
Solution 2
Use methylated spirit on the stained area with a clean piece of fabric. Blot at the stain repeatedly.
Solution 3
Take a fresh white cloth and dab it with a dry-cleaning solvent to remove the stain.
Repeat the methods as necessary. Approach a professional cleaner if you get to the point when the stain is still evident and not fading. They might offer stain cleaning suggestions for the specific fabric to prevent the stain from becoming permanent.
It is not too difficult to learn how to get any sort of stain out of clothing. As long as you have the right cleaning products and are willing to try out different techniques, almost all stains (except may be mildew stains) can be removed.Try out the solutions given in this post on homebased stain removing remedies.
Important note: Before trying any remedy especially involving chemicals, always test on a place which is not seen outside.
