What should I do to remove oil stains from drapes?
Curtains are beautiful accessories in your living room that team up with your other soft furnishings to create a beautiful ambience in your living room. Curtains have many utilities, like providing privacy, light control, temperature regulation, sound absorption, and security to your home. To summarize, curtains serve both an aesthetic and practical purpose.
Sometimes, you stain curtains with oil stains due to smearing, touching the curtains with oily hands, or accidental spills. You may also clean your curtains improperly, which leaves oil residues on the curtains. Curtains in the kitchen areas are most likely to be smeared by oil stains.
We recommend that you use professionals. Local experts like Curtain Cleaning Canberra can clean your oil-stained curtains.
Some tips and tricks to clean oil stains from curtains
Create a routine to regularly clean your curtains. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions regarding the cleaning agents and methods to follow to clean curtains to avoid damaging them.
Hand hygiene: Always wash your hands with soap before touching the curtains. With your hands. This way, you can avoid oily stains on your curtains.
Use splatter guards. These protective measures will enable you to prevent oil stains from reaching the curtains.
Position curtains away from cooking areas. Tie your curtains back to avoid accidental spills of cooking oil on the curtains. This will minimize exposure to cooking oils.
Immediately clean up oil stains as and when they occur. This will prevent the curtains from staining and doing indelible damage.
When using cleaning agents, always test them in an inconspicuous corner to ensure that you do not damage the cloth.
Gently rub the cleaning agents to remove the oil stains. Do not scrub roughly, as this will result in spreading the stain to other areas of the curtains.
Cleaning agents and steps to use in removing oil stains from curtains
Mop up the excess oil. Blot the stains gently to remove the excess stains from the curtains. This will also reduce your cleaning work.
Use absorbent powders on the oily surface. Absorbent powders like corn flour, baking soda, and talcum help to absorb the oil stains. Let this remain on the surface for 10–15 minutes. Then either brush away or vacuum the excess powder.
Apply dishwashing liquid: When you apply dishwashing detergent liquid to the stain, this helps break down the grease and remove it easily. Gently scrub the area using a soft brush or even a sponge.
Rinse the area with hot water. After the above treatment, clean the area with hot water. First, ensure that your care labels allow cleaning with hot water.
Machine wash your curtains: If your curtains are not made of delicate fabrics and allow machine washing, use a laundry detergent to wash the oil-stained curtain fabric in a gentle wash.
At all costs, avoid damaging or spoiling the curtain materials.
Professional cleaning using curtain cleaners in Canberra, like Professional Curtain Cleaning Canberra, will thoroughly eliminate and leave no traces of oil stains.
Natural or organic cleaning agents are used in DIY cleaning of oil-stained curtain materials.
Vinegar: Make a mixture of equal parts water and white vinegar. Gently dab the solution on the oil-stained parts of the curtain. After it rests for 10–15 minutes, remove the residue from the liquid and oil by mopping up the excess stains.
Baking soda: Sprinkle baking soda liberally on the oil stain. Let it remain for some time. Afterwards, either brush it off or vacuum the oil-stained residue to clean the curtain cloth.
Lemon juice: Lemon juice is acidic and astringent. Apply a few drops of lemon juice, mixed with water, to the oil-stained curtain cloth. The lemon juice reacts with oil stains and lifts them out of the curtain cloth. Blot the residue with a clean cloth.
Corn flour: Sprinkle corn flour on the oil stains. Use a similar procedure to clean and remove the remnants of the corn flour from the curtain cloth.
Dish soap: Mix a non-abrasive dish soap with water and apply the mixture to the oil-stained curtain cloth. Blot it with a clean towel and remove the residue.
Curtain Cleaning Canberra is a well-known curtain and soft furnishings cleaning agency operating in Canberra and its environs. We work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Please contact our customer care at or online through our website to book an appointment.
