How to Get Baby Oil Out of Your Clothes

Baby oil stains are among the trickiest to remove from clothes.

That’s mainly because the stains often go undetected! Grass stains or food stains are easy to catch before doing a load of laundry. But baby oil stains are subtle – just slightly darker than the original garment. But once you see the stain, it is very noticeable.

Not to mention, baby oil is so slippery (more so than other oils) that it is nearly impossible to use without letting a few drops spill by accident. 

This article will explain step-by-step how to treat those stubborn baby oil stains to keep your clothes looking new!

How to Remove Baby Oil Stains From Clothes

How to Use Dish Soap and Detergent to Remove Baby Oil Stains

The most important thing you can do to remove baby oil from your clothes is to act quickly. The sooner you can treat baby oil stains after they happen, the better. The longer the oil sets into fabrics, the harder it is to remove. And once clothes with baby oil stains have gone through the dryer, it is extremely difficult to eliminate the stain.

Supplies Needed

Here’s what you will need to remove baby oil stains from clothes if you’ve caught the problem early.

• Liquid dishwashing soap
• Pre-treatment laundry stain remover
• Old toothbrush or scrub
• Laundry detergent
• Paper towels

Method

1. If you caught the stain early, use paper towels to blot as much of the baby oil from the fabric as possible. Be sure not to rub the stain with paper towels. This will do the opposite of what you want by spreading the oil around. 
2. Hand wash the stain with a dishwashing liquid soap, using an old toothbrush to scrub the fabric. Dishwashing liquid soap is key here, as it is formulated to cut through grease stains on your dishes. Choose a petroleum-based dishwashing liquid soap, such as Dawn. Those with added moisturizers, plant-based or all-natural soaps will not work effectively.
3. Rinse the garment of the dishwashing liquid and then spray the pre-treatment laundry stain remover over the stain. 
4. Wait a few minutes and wash the clothes in the hottest water allowed by the fabric label. 
5. Air-dry the garment. This is very important. Do not throw the clothes into the dryer. If the baby oil is not removed, going through the dry cycle will only set the stain. It is difficult to see if the stain is truly gone when clothes are still wet since baby oil stains tend to be a similar color to water on the fabric. 
6. Once the stain is gone, you can run the clothes through the dryer as normal.
7. If the baby oil is still there after the clothes are air-dried, you can repeat the steps above or move on to bleach treatment. More on that below.

RELATED: The Best Baby Laundry Detergent

How to Use Bleach to Remove Baby Oil Stains

If baby oil stains remain after repeating the steps above, you can incorporate chlorine bleach or oxygen bleach to your list of items.

Supplies Needed

• Liquid dishwashing soap
• Pre-treatment laundry stain remover
• Old toothbrush or scrub
• Laundry detergent
• Chlorine bleach or oxygen bleach

Method

For white clothes, you can use regular bleach. You can try a stronger stain remover for colors, such as Clorox2 Stain Remover and Color Booster. The steps remain largely the same.

1. Pre-treat the baby oil stain with a small amount of liquid dishwashing soap, such as Dawn. Use an old toothbrush or rub it in with your fingers. Let the soap do its magic for a few minutes. 
2. If the stained clothes are white, wash the garment in the hottest water possible with detergent and bleach.
3. For colors, wash clothes in the hottest water possible with detergent and stain remover formulated for non-white garments.
4. Air-dry the items to make sure the stain is truly gone. 
5. Repeat steps if necessary.

How to Remove Old Baby Oil Stains

What’s a mom to do if you caught the pesky baby oil stain after you’ve run clothes through the washer and dryer? This likely means that the stains have set and that they may be near impossible to remove. 

Try these two hacks to see if they do the trick. Many parents swear by them. What have you got to lose? 

How to Use Dry Cleaning Solvent to Remove Baby Oil Stains

Dry cleaning solvent is often used to remove oil stains from upholstery and other items that can not be run through the washing machine. As the name suggests, the chemical is what professional cleaners use to treat clothes and delicate fabrics. Here is what you will need to tackle baby oil stains on clothes when using dry cleaning solvent at home.

Supplies Needed

• Dry cleaning solvent
• Absorbent paper towels
• Liquid dishwashing soap
• Pre-treatment laundry stain remover
• Old toothbrush or scrub
• Laundry detergent

Method

1. For extra heavy stains that have set, layer absorbent paper towels underneath the garment and apply dry cleaning solvent over the stain. Allow the solvent to dry.
2. Once dry, rinse the dry cleaning solvent out of the garment before the next steps.
3. Saturate the area with liquid dishwashing soap and scrub with an old toothbrush or fingers. Rinse the clothes of the dishwashing soap.
4. Spray with a pre-treatment laundry stain remover.
5. Wash in the hottest water allowed by fabric label with liquid detergent.
6. Air dry to check stain that the stain is gone.

How to Use WD-40 to Remove Baby Oil Stains

You may be thinking, “WD-40?! The stuff I use to get rid of a squeaky door?” Yes, that WD-40 has been known to remove very stubborn oil stains out of clothes. The idea behind it is using oil (in this case, a household lubricant) to draw out the oil set into clothes. The method recently gained momentum after a viral social media video.

There are some things to consider before using this household chemical to treat clothes. I would not recommend using it on your baby’s clothes. Even if you use the smallest amount, you don’t want any possible residue near your baby’s sensitive skin. If you are going to use WD-40 to treat an oil stain, I’d keep it to adult clothes, preferably made of cotton or cotton blends.

Here’s what you will need and the very careful steps you must follow to avoid an even bigger mess. 

Supplies Needed

• WD-40
• Baking soda
• Cardboard
• Liquid dishwashing soap
• Old toothbrush
• Laundry detergent

Method

1. Put cardboard underneath the baby oil stain. This is a very important step. You don’t want the WD-40 to bleed onto the other side or other areas of the garment. This will create even more oil stains that will be hard to remove. 
2. Spray a little WD-40 onto the baby oil stain. You can use q-tips or a clean white cloth to make sure you don’t go overboard.
3. Sprinkle the area with baking soda, and then use a toothbrush to rub the baking soda into the stain. 
4. Repeat step 3 until you don’t see any more lumps in the baking soda. Once the baking soda becomes a fine powder, it means most of the grease has been absorbed.
5. Treat the stain with liquid dishwashing soap and rub it in with your fingers. Allow the soap to sit for at least 30 minutes.
6. Wash the garment with laundry detergent.
7. Air dry to make sure the baby oil stain is actually gone.
8. Repeat steps as necessary.

RELATED: How to Remove Baby Food Stains

Wrap Up About Baby Oil Stains

The most important thing you can do is to treat the baby oil stain immediately. You will have much more success in removing the oil stain if you act fast. 

The most common ingredient in baby oil is mineral oil. One of the main properties of mineral oil is that it does not dissolve in water. Hence, why mineral oil-based baby oil is so difficult to remove from clothes with just a regular wash and dry cycle. To get baby oil out of clothes, you must use a degreasing liquid dishwashing soap, dry cleaning solvent, or household products, such as baking soda and WD-40, to help draw the oil out. 

The method you choose will depend on how large the stain is, how long it’s been there, if you’ve already pre-treated the garment, or if the stains have already set. Try treating the baby oil stain with liquid dishwashing soap first if you have not tried anything yet, as it will be the most gentle on fabrics. 

If none of the methods above work to remove the baby oil from your clothes or your baby’s clothes, don’t toss the garments right away. Baby oil-stained clothes work great when you are working with more baby oil in the future! Just toss it on any time you have to deal with it, and you won’t have to worry about being so careful. Previously stained baby clothes also make great outfit options for messy crafts or spaghetti night on your little one!