How to Get Oil Stains Out of Clothes: A Fabric Guide

If you are wondering how to get oil stains out of clothes, the answer starts before the washing machine, not inside it. Pre-treat the stain with cold water, wash the item with the detergent its fabric calls for at the coolest temperature it can take, and keep it away from the dryer until you are sure the stain is gone. This guide is built on the fabric handbook Wilow's laundry team follows. It walks you through the steps and then through each fabric, from a cotton T-shirt or a pair of jeans to a white thobe or an abaya.

Why do oil stains set into fabric?

An oil stain sets when it meets heat before it has been removed, whether from hot water or from a tumble dryer. Once that happens, the stain is set permanently.

The fabric care handbook Wilow's laundry team uses states this plainly: stains set permanently in the dryer or with hot water, and oil stains on polyester set permanently if washed in hot water. So the first rule is simple. Keep heat away from the stain until it is out. That means no hot water and no dryer while the mark is still there.

What are the steps to remove an oil stain?

Keep the stain away from heat, pre-treat it with cold water, then wash it with the right detergent at the coolest temperature its label allows. Check it before drying and repeat if needed.

1. Keep it away from heat. Do not put it in hot water or toss it in the dryer. Either can set it permanently.
2. Read the care label. It tells you the garment's maximum temperature, whether bleach is allowed and whether it can be washed in water at all. The symbols are explained further down.
3. Pre-treat the stained area with cold water before washing. Do this before the item goes into the machine, not as part of the wash. On chiffon and other sheer fabrics, dab the stain gently with a damp cloth instead of rubbing, because chiffon snags and tears easily. Crepe and viscose are weaker when wet, so do not pull, stretch or wring them while you work.
4. Wash with the detergent the fabric calls for. For polyester, nylon, crepe and viscose that means a mild liquid detergent. For chiffon it means a very mild delicate formula, and for cotton, blends and denim a regular detergent. The table below lists each fabric's detergent and temperature. Turn jeans and jersey inside-out first.
5. Check the stain before drying. If it is gone, dry the item the way its fabric allows. If any mark is left, do not heat dry. Go back to step 3, then wash again.

The handbook does not set a soaking time or name a special oil remover. What it fixes is the order: cold water first, a wash with the fabric's own detergent second, heat last. Following that order is what keeps a stain removable.

Does hot water remove oil stains better?

No. Hot water sets stains. Whenever Wilow's laundry team is unsure, the rule is to go colder and gentler: you can always wash something again, but you cannot un-shrink it, and a stain set by heat is set permanently.

Cold water protects more than the stain. Cotton shrinks in hot water, linen can shrink 3–10% in its first wash, and viscose can shrink by up to 25% in hot water. A garment with an oil stain on it is no reason to turn the temperature up.

Which detergent and temperature does each fabric need?

Identify the fabric first, then use its detergent and stay within its temperature limit. This table sums up what Wilow's laundry team uses for each one:

White thobes

A polyester thobe does not like heat. Hot water sets stains and can turn white fabric yellow. Pre-treat the oil with cold water, then wash the thobe at 30–40°C with a mild liquid detergent. For the full routine, see our guide on the best way to wash a thobe and iron it.

Abayas and hijabs

Abaya fabrics such as crepe, chiffon and nylon need a light hand: cold water, a mild liquid detergent, no bleach and no wringing. Treat the stain without pulling or stretching the fabric. Always air dry, and keep the garment out of direct sunlight, which fades black fabric. The same care applies to chiffon and crepe hijabs (headscarves). For more on abaya fabrics, read how often to wash an abaya, fabric by fabric.

Should you reach for bleach on an oil stain?

The handbook Wilow's laundry team follows treats oil with cold-water pre-treatment before washing, and it does not list bleach as an oil treatment. It also limits bleach use by fabric, and many fabrics take none at all.

If you do use a whitening product on a white item, stay within what its fabric and label allow:

• An oxygen-based brightener is fine on a white polyester thobe and on white cotton-polyester blends.
• Chlorine bleach is fine on white cotton alone.
• Never use chlorine bleach on polyester. Nylon, crepe, chiffon, linen and viscose get no bleach of any kind, and neither do coloured clothes or coloured denim.

When in doubt, oxygen or colour-safe bleach is the safer choice, and the triangle on the care label has the final say.

What does the care label tell you before you start?

The label sets the limit of what the garment can take, and it comes before any guide, this one included. Focus on three symbols: the washtub, the triangle and the square.

• The number inside the washtub is the maximum wash temperature in Celsius. Do not go above it, however stubborn the stain.
• A hand in the washtub means hand wash only, in lukewarm water no hotter than 40°C. Gently squeeze the water out; do not wring.
• A washtub with an X means no water at all. The item is for dry cleaning.
• An empty triangle means any bleach is fine. A triangle with two diagonal lines means oxygen bleach only. A triangle with an X means no bleach.
• A square with a circle inside and an X through it means do not tumble dry; air dry only.

What if the stain is still there, or it's an old one?

If a mark is still there after washing, do not dry it with heat. Pre-treat it with cold water again and rewash. If the stain has already been through hot water or a dryer, it has likely set permanently and may not come out.

You can still try an old stain the same way: cold-water pre-treatment, then a fresh wash at the coolest temperature the label allows, with no heat until you have checked the result. Go in knowing it may stay.

If the label shows a washtub with an X or says "Dry Clean Only", stop trying with water. At Wilow, items such as silk, wool or two-tone pieces go to dry cleaning, a separate service you book in the app and priced per item. It costs 29 SAR for a top, a bottom or a shemagh (a man's headcloth), and 39 SAR for a full outfit such as an abaya or a bisht (the formal cloak worn over a thobe). Delivery is estimated within 3 days of pickup. See all the extra services (in Arabic) for details.

What happens to a stained item you send to Wilow?

It is photographed during sorting, and you get an in-app notification and a sorting email with its photo before washing begins. A laundry expert then decides how to wash it based on its fabric and condition.

Each stained item is logged on its own and photographed under the sorting camera. It is never counted in a batch with items in good condition. The laundry expert then chooses steam, regular or hand washing for that piece. You can add a note about the stain in the notes box when you order. If the item is a luxury or delicate piece, the Terms ask you to disclose it before pickup, because without that disclosure Wilow is not liable for damage caused by standard processing. Washed and ironed clothes come back within an estimated 24 hours of pickup.

Wilow does not guarantee the removal of all stains in every case. If you are not happy with a specific item, you can report it within 48 hours of delivery through the app or by email. Wilow assesses it first and may re-clean it free of charge or offer partial compensation. The full details are in the Terms and Conditions, and plan prices and bag sizes are in the plans section (in Arabic).