There really is nothing quite like indulging in some rich chocolate – until you spill that chocolate on your clothes. Suddenly, you go from feeling like a million bucks to dreading the possibility that your favorite garment is now ruined. Chocolate stains are some of the toughest to remove – but, that doesn’t mean that removing them is impossible.
You see, there is a tried-and-true method to taking care of chocolate stains on clothing, and the sooner you address it, the better the likelihood of leaving behind no stain at all.
Why is a Chocolate Stain So Tough to Remove?
Chocolate falls into the “double whammy” stain category, since it’s both the oils and the tannins that cause a tough stain.
- Oils, as you know, absorb very easily into fabric, and leave behind a greasy splotch that doesn’t readily come out with certain conventional stain removal methods.
- Tannins, meanwhile, make it so that the dark pigmentation of chocolate has a high risk of setting permanently by basically “cooking” into your clothing’s fibers.
Easy Steps for Removing a Chocolate Stain
As is the case with most stains, you want to work as quickly as possible. Basically, when instantly noticing there’s chocolate on your clothing, you need to know that the longer you wait, the more likely the chocolate is to set permanently.
Step #1: If it’s a glob of chocolate, use a butter knife to carefully scrape away the chocolate that’s sitting on top of the fabric, which hasn’t absorbed yet. The same goes for liquid chocolate, or an actual piece of chocolate.
Step #2: Now, go get the Grab Green Liquid Dish Soap and use your fingers to carefully work it into the stain. Liquid dish soap has grease-fighting properties, which is why it’s so good at cleaning your dishes. Those same grease-fighting properties can break up the tannins and lift the oils of the chocolate out of the fibers of your clothing.
Step #3: Allow the dish soap to sit for 15 minutes, to really make its way deep into those fibers.
Step #4: Next, fill up a bowl with cold water and more liquid dish soap. Allow the clothing item to soak in the solution for about 30 minutes. Then, check to see if the chocolate has either faded or, ideally, disappeared.
Step #5: If the stain is gone:
- You can launder the clothing as you normally do.
- If not, you can try to wash it in the washing machine using Grab Green’s 3 in 1 Laundry Detergent Pods or 3 in 1 Laundry Detergent Powder. If the clothing is delicate, then use our Delicate Laundry Detergent Pods.
However, if choosing the second option, do not place it in the dryer unless the stain is completely gone – otherwise, you will end up setting the stain permanently.
Recap: Even though it seems like a cruel twist of fate that one of the most delicious foods in the world is also one that has one of the highest chances of ruining our beloved garments, a chocolate stain isn’t necessarily the end of the world. Sure, it’s one of the most notoriously tough stains out there, but if you follow the steps above, you have a very good chance of making that garment look like brand new. With a chocolate stain, it really is a race against time. In other words, the sooner you address it, the better the outcome. So, the next time you eat chocolate, be extra mindful of whether or not any is getting on your clothes.
