How to Remove Fabric Softener Stains With Lemon

When you put fabric softener in with your laundry, you hope to pull out soft, comfortable clothes, towels and linens. What you don't hope to find are greasy splotches on the fabric. However, the nature of fabric softener sheets and some liquids is that they can stain fabrics. This is especially true if liquid fabric softener drips onto dry laundry. When such an incident occurs, the best thing to do is grab some lemon juice or a lemon and get cleaning immediately.

Things You'll Need

• Lemon juice or lemon
• Dish soap
• Old towel or rag
• Sponge or small brush

Instructions

1. Juice a lemon if you don't have bottled lemon juice.

2. Mix one part lemon juice with one part very hot water and a couple of drops of dish soap.

3. Set the soiled fabric on an old towel. Make sure the back of the soiled area is on the towel, not folded over onto other parts of the fabric as that could cause the stain to spread.

4. Dip the sponge or small brush into the lemon juice solution and scrub the area.

5. Wash the fabric on the highest setting tolerable.

6. Check again for the stain. Continue scrubbing and washing until the area is cleaned.

Tips & Warnings

• Note that lemon juice is a bleaching agent, so this method may not work best on dark fabrics.

References

• Ohio State University Extension: Quick 'n Easy Stain Removal
• RealSimple.com: Stain Removal 101
• GoodHousekeeping.com: Heloise's Hints-Stains