How to get oil out of an entire load of laundry?

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A small container of shea butter went through wash and dry cycles of a brightly colored load of laundry and now all the clothes are covered in oil stains. I tried soaking the whole load in Dawn dishwashing liquid and then re-washing it but it did not help. I read several other answers to similar questions but a lot of them were aimed at small stain removal (i.e. using baby powder, etc). Any large scale suggestions?

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  1. Shan says:
    March 24, 2010 at 10:09 am

    Try the Dawn again. Use Hot water if the clothes can tolerate Hot.

    But this time, run the load until sudsy. Then stop the machine and let it sit for a few hours. After this time period, re-start the machine and let the machine run completely through. Repeat if necessary.

    The Dawn should do it…if not try Palmolive or Ajax dish washing liqud. Repeat if necessary, but I doubt it will be necessary.

    As for the Dryer? I have no idea. Maybe a professional can clean it. If not, it might be time for a new one.

    -

  2. Scoot says:
    March 24, 2010 at 10:09 am

    get some auto hand cleaner in cream form a couple jars of it……….add to laundry after washing by hand first rub it all into the clthes let it soak and blast it with a hose if possible

  3. Ana says:
    March 24, 2010 at 10:09 am

    Below are some steps. Hpe they will work for you.
    –Pre-treat the clothing by laying it flat and covering the area with cornstarch. Leave it to stand for at least 1/2 hour to soak up some of the oil, then gently brush away.
    –If clothes can handle a regular washing, then try soaking it in the kitchen sink with Dawn dish soap. Use the hottest water that your item can be washed in. Leave it to soak for a while, then gently squeeze clothes over and over, underwater, until you are certain that it has been absolutely saturated with the soapy water. Drain the sink, then rinse clothes to get out most of the soap.
    –Finally, use some pre-wash sprays available in the market on the clothes, then run it through a regular wash cycle along with a couple of damp towels.

    Hopefully, the oil will be completely gone!

  4. M M T says:
    March 24, 2010 at 10:09 am

    Oh boy! What a mess! First thing you need to do is make sure the washing machine is cleaned out from all that and there are no residues left. Easiest way to do that is to use hot water and some dishwasher detergent. Yes, dishwasher detergent. Wash some old towels or something that you really don’t care about because the dishwasher detergent might slightly bleach them.

    Then get a bottle of Simple Green. It’s a concentrated liquid cleaner that’s available in a lot of hardware, automotive, grocery and discount stores. It’s non-toxic and biodegradable and will not bleach the color out. And it smells nice too! The Simple Green is highly concentrated so for most purposes, it needs to be diluted down with water but when I’m using it on laundry stains, I don’t.

    I would spray all the stains with the Simple Green and just leave them lay for awhile. Overnight is not out of the question. Then wash them in as warm of water as the fabrics will allow. One wash in warm water will not ruin the garments. All cold water is going to do is make the grease/oil solid and harder to get out. Go so far as to wash the clothes in the Simple Green too. I’d add about 1/2 c. to a full load. You might have to go back through and retreat any remaining spots but I’ve taken axle grease out of jeans using the Simple Green with great results.

  5. shazam says:
    March 24, 2010 at 10:09 am

    i heard that "GOJO" liquid hand cleaner works.

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