Laundry care tags are great at telling us how to wash and dry our clothes, but what about removing stains? Can you treat stains at home or should dry cleaners remove stains for you?
The short answer is yes, dry cleaners can get stains out of clothes. You should always take dry-clean only garments to a dry cleaner for stain removal as soon as possible.
Professional cleaners are also experts at treating many types of stains on a variety of fabrics. Letting them treat the stain for you takes away any troubleshooting at home and reduces the risk you'll damage your clothes.
Stains dry cleaners can remove
The dry cleaning process more effectively removes certain types of stains than cleaning clothes in a washing machine. Dry cleaners have different types and strengths of stain treatments than you’d find at home.
They also use different tools and techniques to work those solutions into the stains, and have the expertise to know how to treat each unique stain and fabric. Read on for examples of some of the stains dry cleaners are experts at treating.
Dry cleaners can remove oil stains
Oil-based stains, like grease or butter, cooking or motor oil, can be tough to remove at home. They also become tougher to remove the longer they sit on fabric.
Luckily, dry cleaning solvents are especially effective against oil stains. Your best shot at removing oil and grease stains is to let a dry cleaner treat them as soon as possible.
Dry cleaning can remove sweat stains
Sweat stains are an example of protein-based stains, which dry cleaners can treat well. Other protein-based stains include blood stains and milk stains.
One reason it's important to tell your dry cleaning what kind of stain you have is because they treat it differently. In this case, professional cleaners will use a special enzyme-based stain treatment before cleaning your clothes to treat the stain.
Dry cleaning can remove wine stains
Wine stains are a great example of tannin stains. Other tannin stains dry cleaners remove include juices, coffee, and grass stains. You need to take care of these plant-based stains quickly because they become much tougher to remove after setting in.
Dry cleaners can remove ink stains
Ink stains are an example of dye stains and can be some of the hardest to remove. Other dye stains might include permanent markers or even mustard.
If you catch it early enough, there's still hope. Don't wait before taking any dye-stained clothes to a professional to see if they can save it.
Dry cleaning can remove stains on delicate fabrics
By now you know to take "dry clean-only" clothes to the professionals for cleaning. But dry cleaners are also experts at removing stains from delicate fabrics you may usually wash at home too.
If you've already tried washing your stained silk at home or you're worried about ruining the delicate fibers, trust the professionals instead. Dry cleaners are also better equipped to treat leather, suede, fur, synthetic, embellished, lined, and pleated materials.
Tips for removing tough stains
Act fast! The longer the stain sits, the more likely it will set in. Keep a Tide to Go pen on you. Just make sure to test it on hidden part of the garment before treating the stain. It's also helpful to know where your nearest Tide Cleaners is so we can help right away.
Be careful with home remedies. Some can actually make stains set in worse or damage your clothes. Always check your laundry label to know how to care for your clothes, or leave it to the professionals to care for your clothes.
Don't dry your garment if the stain is still there. Drying it will set the stain in more, making it more difficult to remove.
Trust the professionals. Dry-clean-only garments need special attention, and they also know how to remove tougher stains. Plus, their expertise takes the guesswork out of stain removal.
Be descriptive. Give your dry cleaner as many details about the stain as possible. Tell them how old the stain is and what type it is so they can better treat it.
What do dry cleaners use to remove stains?
As professional clothes-cleaners, dry cleaners are better equipped to tackle a variety of stains on many different types of fabrics. They treat stains differently depending on what kind it is, how old it is, and what material the garment is.
The dry cleaning process and dry cleaning solvent is effective on its own against oil. Some tougher oil stains may call for stain treatment from a water-based stain remover.
Professional cleaners will often use enzymes to break down protein-based stains and free them from the fabrics.
More complicated and combination stains, meaning stains that crossover into several categories, may require multiple steps to treat. That's why it's so important to detail what kind of stain it is.
Are there stains dry cleaners can't remove?
Dry cleaners are experts at removing tough stains on a variety of fabrics, but they can't work miracles. Sometimes dry cleaners can remove old stains, depending on the situation. Sometimes dry cleaners may be able to lighten the old, tough stain without removing it completely.
With very old stains or really delicate fabrics, there is a chance it has already set and bonded with the clothing's fibers. In these cases, it is impossible to remove without damaging the garment. If there's a risk treatment will damage your garment, professional cleaners usually avoid it or ask you before proceeding.
Trust Tide Cleaners with your stain removal
To give your dry cleaner the best chance at removing the stain, take your garment in as soon as possible. Then, tell them what kind of stain it is and how old it is, so they can treat it best. Need a stain removed now? Find a Tide Cleaners near you.
