As platters are passed and wine glasses raised, food stains become as common to Thanksgiving day as the turkey itself. How do you make Thanksgiving stains disappear before they become permanent? Acting quickly with detergent, cold water, dish soap or white vinegar can eliminate most spills and splashes. Learn how to remove Thanksgiving food stains with an arsenal of spot-fighting supplies and techniques.
Spills, Splashes, and Spots? Here’s How to Remove Thanksgiving Food Stains.
Without quick action, many Thanksgiving side dish recipes can cause permanent marks on fabrics. Here’s how to remove Thanksgiving food stains like cranberry sauce, gravy, and sweet potatoes, saving your table linens and clothes.
Gravy
Even if you know how to cook the perfect turkey, it’s still better with a splash of gravy. Unfortunately, splashes usually end up on your tablecloth too, leaving permanent stains if not addressed quickly.
Here’s how to remove gravy stains from most fabrics:
- Scrape off the excess gravy.
- Rub a small amount of dish soap into the stain.
- Rinse with cold water.
- Pretreat with an enzyme-based detergent or stain remover.
- Machine wash in the hottest water the fabric tolerates with detergent and chlorine or color-safe bleach. To avoid setting the stain, make sure it’s completely gone before drying.
Did gravy splatter your new carpet? Sprinkle the stain with baking soda before applying any cleaning liquids. Let it sit for 15 minutes to absorb the grease before blotting the stain with a mixture of laundry detergent and water.
Cranberry Sauce
Cranberries can leave such a deep mark that they’ve even been used as a natural dye. Fortunately, quick action with some white vinegar and rubbing alcohol can make accidental stains disappear.
Follow these steps to get cranberry sauce stains out of fabric:
- Remove any excess cranberry sauce and flush the stain with cool water.
- Mix a solution of 1 qt water, 1 Tbsp white vinegar, and ½ tsp laundry detergent. Soak the stain in the solution for 15 minutes.
- Rinse with cool water. If the stain is still visible, apply a small amount of rubbing alcohol to the area and rinse again.
- Machine wash with hot water, using chlorine or color-safe bleach per fabric recommendations.
Pumpkin
Wondering how to remove Thanksgiving food stains like the ubiquitous pumpkin? Since it’s often mixed with butter or oil, these bright orange stains can be tough to tackle. However, the right pretreatment can make all the difference.
These tips detail how to remove pumpkin stains:
- Scrape away as much pumpkin as possible from the stained area.
- Turn the fabric inside out and flush the stain with cold water.
- Pretreat with a commercial laundry stain remover.
- Machine wash in the hottest water the fabric can tolerate, using chlorine or color-safe bleach as appropriate.
Butter/Grease
Butter makes everything taste better but drips and smears can wreak havoc on fabric. While a dash of cold water works for some stains, the dairy fat in butter requires some additional action.
Here’s how to get butter stains off of clothing and table linens:
- Rub a small amount of liquid dish soap into the stain.
- Rinse the butter and soap away with cold water.
- Pretreat with a laundry stain remover.
- Machine wash with hot water and detergent.
Sweet Potatoes
Much like pumpkin, sweet potatoes are often mixed with other ingredients that increase their staining potential. However, with immediate action and a little elbow grease, most stains will disappear.
Here’s how to remove stains from sweet potatoes:
- Scrape away any excess pieces of potato.
- Turn the fabric inside out and use cold water to flush the stain.
- Pretreat with a laundry stain remover.
- Machine wash in hot water with chlorine or color-safe bleach.
Red Wine
It isn’t a party until someone spills red wine! However, with some immediate attention, only your happy Thanksgiving memories will linger.
Remove red wine stains with these simple steps:
- Soak the fabric in cool water for 30 minutes.
- Use a laundry stain remover to pretreat the stain.
- Machine wash white fabrics with chlorine bleach, substituting color-safe bleach for colored fabrics.
Knowing how to remove Thanksgiving food stains won’t be of much help if your washer isn’t up to the task. Call D&T Appliance Service for fast and professional pre-holiday service!
