I think we would all agree that chocolate is a fantastic part of life, whether it be in ice cream, chocolate bars or other desserts. However, if you’ve ever managed to get some chocolate on a shirt, or some other clothing item, you’ve probably already discovered that chocolate stains are far less pleasant than eating the chocolate. Fortunately, chocolate stains can be dealt with, and the sooner you get onto them, the easier it will be. We’ve briefly touched on how to get chocolate stains out of silk garments in our article on stain removal tips, so in this article, we’ll go a bit deeper into how to get rid of chocolate stains from your clothes.
If you don’t have time to be dealing with dirty washing though, you might want to consider booking one of our laundry services, we’ll pickup your dirty washing and deliver it back to you clean!
Does chocolate stain?
The short answer is: Yes! Chocolate does stain and it will stain your clothes. Once chocolate starts to melt into the fabric it can hang around quite stubbornly. You might have a chocolate stain if you discover a dark brown patch on your clothing. If it hasn’t already been washed, there will often be some smooshed, melted looking chocolate attached to the fabric as well. If you find a mark like this get onto it promptly to avoid it really settling in and becoming a stubborn stain.
Have a long-standing chocolate stain that you’ve neglected to eliminate? Heavy cream should be applied liberally and left to settle for 30 minutes. The cream’s fat aids in lifting the fatty chocolate off the fabric. Rinse the cream from the fabric after 30 minutes, then move on to step three below.
How to get chocolate stains out of your clothes
The steps are pretty similar no matter what kind of fabric you have found chocolate stains in.
Step 1 – Remove any excess chocolate
If there is still chocolate attached to the fabric, gently remove it using a knife or something else thin. Try to lift the excess chocolate up without pressing it into the fabric any further. We want to avoid spreading the chocolate as much as possible to avoid potentially creating more stains.
Step 2 – Cold water rinse
Run cold water over the stain to try and loosen any chocolate caught between the fibres. If possible, rinse both sides of the fabric by turning the garment inside out. Don’t try to scrub the fabric yet.
Step 3 – Detergent or stain remover
Check the washing instructions for the item and determine if you can use any stain removers on it. Many garments will say if an oxidiser is ok to be used.
Put detergent or stain remover that is appropriate for the fabric and lather it with some cold water on the chocolate-stained area.
Step 4 – Soak
Leave the chocolate-stained garment in cold water to soak for at least 30 minutes to give the detergent or stain remover time to work.
If you can still see the stain after soaking, repeat steps 2 through 4 until the stain is no longer visible.
Step 5 – Wash
Finally, wash the garment as per the washing instructions on the label, however, we don’t recommend putting it through a dryer unless the stain is completely gone as heat can make stains more stubborn.
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