Washing Greasy Men's Work Clothes

By

Juanita S.

My husband delivered crude oil for years & years. He'd have to go to the site, load the product from the well, & then deliver it where ever. I used automatic dishwasher soap to get the crude oil out. Just fill your washer about halfway with hot water, add the dishwasher soap granules, swish the water around a little, add the clothes, finish filling with warm water, allow to wash for a few minutes, then turn the machine off & allow to soak for 30 minutes to an hour, turn the machine back on & allow to finish washing. I always used an extra rinse. I found that the generic or cheaper brands of dishwasher soap worked best. Read the package label & find the cheapest with the highest phosphorus content. I used about a cup for a large, heavily soiled load--sometimes more--& I added half the amount of wash detergent. Sometimes, due to the gravity (thickness) of the crude, I might have had to wash them twice--but not often. I have no idea if the gels or liquid forms of dishwasher detergent will work as well as the powder or granules.

By Susie form Buckhead, GA (Guest Post)

I use "Fabuloso" Lavendar Cleanser. I add this to my towels and our sons work clothes, He is an auto technition. He gets very greasey. All our laundry comes out smelling sooo good. I add about a 1/4 cup with my laundry detergent.

By glinda (Guest Post)

My husband delivers gas, and I get the grease and everything else with it, which is a hard case to wash. But, I use Era, (I put 2 caps per load, with hot water). And if the clothes are really bad, I add a cup of white Amonia. I keep a spray bottle on the side of 1/2 era, and 1/2 amonia for spots, (I also use a scrub brush on bad spots)...and it works great, even for my foot ball playing son.

By bonzai. (Guest Post)

The best thing I ever found to take out grease (or gum!) is Lestoil. You want to pour some on the spots or gum and let it sit awhile. It smells terrible, so you have to wash the clothes twice, once to get out the grease and another time to make it smell better, but it really works well. More recently I have found that OxiClean (the spray on prewash) works on just about anything. It's amazing. I must confess that I haven't had to remove any grease lately though.

By

NanPeg

I second the ammonia. Just make sure NEVER to combine bleach and ammonia in the same load. It creates a toxic gas.

By joan (Guest Post)

Blue Liquid Wisk will remove almost anything. Grease, lipstick, grass stains. Put a little right onto the stain, rub it in, toss into washing machine. It also made a "gray" white nylon shirt sparkling white again.

By

cjgeo

Soda pop works well.
Dawn dishwashing soap does too.
Ammonia works too

By Summer (Guest Post)

I'm pretty sure baking soda is supposed to work. Just add a cup and you're good to go. However, haven't had the opportunity to give it a try, yet so I can't tell you how credible the idea is.

By

KELLYCAJUN

I was told years ago to add a cup of salt to the wash. I used to do that with my husbands work clothes and it even helped with the smell. Haven't thought about this for a while.

By

MCW

http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf765043.tip.html

Scroll down the page there are several suggestions on how to clean greasy men's work clothes.

By

perfume and powder

Ammonia is a great grease cutter.