Laundromat Tips for Barbeque Stains on Your Laundry
Warmer weather means it’s time to fire up the grill to enjoy some barbeque! Of course, enjoying some BBQ also means dealing with unwelcomed barbeque stains on your clothes! When it comes time to do your laundry, discovering your tasty BBQ left its mark can be frustrating.
Between our wash and fold service and busy coin laundry, we deal with these barbeque stains every day and have a few tips that may help.
Step-by-Step Process to Remove Barbeque Stains When Doing Laundry
Barbecue stains are stubborn, more so, if left for a longer period of time on your clothes. Although the ingredients vary, most barbecue sauces are made up of vinegar, tomato paste, or mayonnaise and liquid smoke, onion powder, mustard, black pepper, and sweeteners such as sugar or molasses. This plant and oil-based sauce leaves behind a greasy residue on garments and a discolored spot. You can follow a simple step-by-step process to remove barbeque stains from your clothing or fabric.
- Get rid of the excess sauce on your garment by scraping it with a butter knife or the back of a spoon.
Tip – Do not soak the fabric in water before this step! It can cause the stain to spread to other parts of the fabric.
- Turn the clothing inside out and flush the stain with water from the back.
Tip: Use cold water as hot water can set the stain and make it almost impossible to remove!
- Pour a liquid laundry detergent on the stain. Blot it or rub it gently with your fingers. If you do not have a liquid detergent, you can use a bit of grease-fighting liquid dish soap like Dawn.
Tip: Make sure both the sides of the stain are soaked well with the detergent.
- Let the detergent rest on the stain for at least 10-15 mins. Rinse it with water.
Tip: Using lukewarm water will ensure the best results!
- If your garment is white in color use a mild bleach-like white vinegar or hydrogen peroxide or lemon on the fabric. Blot the stain with the bleaching agent gently. Rinse thoroughly with cold water.
Tip: Even a mild bleach can discolor your garment. Hence, if you are in doubt, skip this step!
- If the stain is still there even after you have used the bleach (or you haven’t used the bleach as you were worried that it will discolor your fabric), use a stain removal gel, stick or spray and let it sit on the stain for a good 15 minutes at least.
Tip: Apply the stain removal liquid or gel on both sides of the stain to ensure that it gets removed completely from your favorite piece of clothing!
- Wash your garment with detergent and hot water (as hot as is safe for the fabric) and dry it. Before drying, make sure the stain has completely gone.
Tip: Line-dry the clothing and check again before putting it in the dryer!
You can repeat steps #3 through #6 if you see the stain is still there!
We, at Laundromart of Four Corners, offer wash-dry-fold services that let you spend less than 5 minutes dropping off your laundry and 2 minutes to pick it up clean and folded. Plus, it’s usually done in 24 hours! We have a state-of-the-art coin laundry facility with hi-tech, fast machines that are soft on your clothes, but hard on pre-treated stains, including barbecue stains.
Let us take care of your laundry woes as you sit back, relax and spend some quality time with your loved ones! We are just a call away!
