One of the things that people hate about bikes is the upkeep they require. Maintenance of a bike involves a lot of elbow grease and literal grease.
There is more than one reason as to why people tend to spend money in getting the bike fixed by someone else and not just do it themselves and a major one is GREASE. If we are being honest, using grease really is a pain.
If you have had any encounters with grease before, you know it gets everywhere, more so in places it really shouldn’t be. While living out the cool mechanic fantasy might be on your list, getting grease out of anywhere is a nightmare. Read on to know how to get bike grease out of clothes.
Getting grease out of your clothes might seem impossible after you’ve been at it for more than four hours and are getting nowhere, but there are some ways in which you could remove grease from your clothes without having a mental breakdown.
Grease is used as a lubricant to smooth out the functioning of certain parts. It is majorly used as lube to fix rusted old chains or chains that just need a little bit of oiling to reach their optimum level of working.
Grease is a wet type of lube which makes it perfect for bikes used in wet condition, for example when it’s raining. What grease essentially does in this case is that it does not only get the parts smooth and running but it also makes the parts somewhat waterproof. The water that gets onto the parts that are greased merely slip away because of the texture of grease.
Therefore, grease is almost irreplaceable in certain situations.
If you get grease on your clothes, you don’t need to worry about it because here’s how you can get it out of your clothes just as easily.
Just follow these simple steps for detailed guide on how to get bike grease out of clothes
There is more than one way to remove grease from your clothes depending upon the fabric of your clothing. Irrespective of the fabric, one thing that is very essential to ensure that the stain will come out is that you act quickly on it.
Do not leave the stain on the fabric for too long or it would be almost impossible to get it. Let’s dive right into how you can remove grease from your clothes.
For machine-wash fabrics (Lighter stains)
If you are dealing with fabrics like cotton, polyester, linens etc, aka the fabrics that you usually put in the washing machine during a normal load, these are the steps that you should be following.
These steps are to be considered when you have a light stain and are working on it almost immediately.
Step 1
Check the clothing tag for specifications regarding the cleaning of that particular garment. If it is dry-clean only you should probably skip this part and also stop washing it in the machine because it is clearly not meant to be washed in one.
Step 2
This is sort of a universal step that you need to follow for all types of clothing alike. Blot the stained region with either a cotton ball or a piece of paper napkin. What this does is pick up all of the excess oil from the surface of the grease stain so that it is easier for the water and the rest of the ingredients to work on the stain.
As we know, grease makes surfaces water resistant and to get anywhere with the stain, it is essential that you blot it first to get rid of the surface layer of oil/grease.
Step 3
Get some dish soap, preferably clear but any sort of dish soap that you have laying around will work. What you want to do now is cover the stain in dish soap completely.
Make sure that you soak the entirety of the stain right up to its edges in dish soap.
Step 4
Now use either your finger or a wet old toothbrush and start brushing the stained in area in circular motions.
The main aim in doing so is to get the product as deep into the fabric as possible so that it can start working on a deeper level rather than just surface level. This will help in breaking down the stain.
Step 5
Let the dish soap foam sit on the fabric for about half an hour. This way it has time to work on the stain. Once you think it has had enough time to rest on the garment, move on to the next step
Step 6
Rinse away the dish soap using room temperature water or lukewarm water. Check if the stain has been lifted or not.
If the stain has lifted, proceed with how you would normally wash the piece of clothing. Once you get the garment out of the washer, it should look as good as new.
For machine wash clothes (Stubborn stains)
If no matter how hard you try, the stain isn’t lifted using dish soap, there is an alternative
Step 1
The universal step, blot the stained area with a cotton pad or a paper napkin. Make sure that once you’re done, the surface should feel dryer than before.
Step 2
Once the surface stain is oil-free, grab some rubbing alcohol or acetone.(use acetone only when you don’t have another alternative or when the stain is too tough)
Dip a cotton ball in it and blot the stained area with it. Make sure that the stain is completely soaked in the liquid
Step 3
Let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes after which wash the spot with hot water. Wear gloves if required when dealing with hot water.
Step 4
If the stain still hasn’t lifted, you could do one of the two things, repeat the same process or take on a completely new one. If you choose to do the latter, get some hairspray and spray it onto the stain. When the hairspray has dried completely, use an old toothbrush to scrub the area, the stain should’ve dried up and lifted.
Step 5
Once you are satisfied with how the garment looks, put in the washing machine for one last wash. The stain should have lifted completely.
For clothes with the ‘dry- cleaning only’ tag
Pro tip: Whenever you are planning to carry out any activity that involves the use of grease, do not wear expensive or delicate clothing. It takes a lot of time and effort to get the stain out and even then no one can guarantee that the stain will be lifted without damaging the garment.
If you are dealing with delicate/expensive clothes that demand proper/professional care like leather, suede, silk, satin, velvet etc, then you need to follow these steps to try and get the stain out.
Just a reminder that while these steps are effective in most of the cases, they are milder versions of the most efficient ways to remove grease stains. Hence there is no guaranteeing that your clothes will come out stain free.
Step 1
You might be acquainted with the whole idea by now. In order to get rid of the surface level oil which might hinder the rest of the cleaning process, blot the stained area by dabbing a cotton pad or a paper napkin on it.
Step 2
Get some cornstarch or baby powder or even baking soda, whichever of the three that you have lying around the house.
Now douse the stain with the powder. Use generous amounts of it and make sure that the stain is covered completely. What the powder is supposed to do is soak up all of the oil/grease from the garment.
Step 3
Let the powder covered stain sit for a couple of hours or overnight. Give the powder enough time to get into the fabric and soak up all the grease.
Step 4
When it has been a couple of hours since the powder has been sitting on the stain, grab an old toothbrush. Use sweeping movements to brush away the powder that has soaked up the oil and the grease. Examine the area.
Step 5
If the stain has lifted, go about the usual process of cleaning the garment, if the stain hasn’t lifted you might want to look into getting some professional help for getting rid of the stain.
Do not use the techniques which were to be applied for the normal load clothes, you might end up damaging your clothes.
Conclusion
While all of these ways have been proven effective in most cases, it might not be in yours. In such a situation, you can go to a professional cleaner and get it fixed.
The best thing to do to avoid going through all of the trouble is to avoid wearing clothes that you would not like to soil while dealing with grease. And even if you don’t have any clothes around the house that you are ready to sacrifice, wear clothes that aren’t expensive or delicate.
This will not only save you a ton of time but it will also save you a lot of money that would either go into getting the clothes clean or the damage that might be caused to the expensive clothing items.