Fashion Fix: Dealing with Grass Stains

It’s summer time!  We start spending time outdoors doing all sorts of fun things: picnics, music festivals It’s also time for dreaded grass stains. They always end up on my white pants and shorts (right next to the ketchup stains!).  They’re annoying and can be difficult to remove, but we have some tricks to get them out easily and inexpensively!

Preventing Grass Stains

We get a lot of brides and summer wedding guests who want to remove grass stains.  While some grass stains can’t be prevented, some can.  For shoes, particularly pale colored ones, I really like Braza Heel Heros, which protect your heels from just about anything (including grass stains) by keeping them from sinking into the grass in the first place. They just lock over your heel — without damaging it — and ensure the grass or mud doesn’t touch your heels. I have a pair of nude heels that always “wear” Heel Heros. We also carry Braza Heel Protector Strips, which will protect a little more of your heel, with handy markings to show you where to cut, depending on the height of your heel. They’re transparent and disposable.

Get Out Grass Stains with the Right Detergent

Did you go for that line drive and get grass stains on your softball uniform? What about grass stains on your cute sundress after a picnic? The right detergent can fix these issues in short order.  For athletic clothing, try Nathan Sport-Wash. It’s specially formulated for high performance fabrics, and also specifically targets grass stains.

Don’t Let Grass Stains Set

Grass stains are often the worst because they sit a long time before we clean them.  If you can’t wash your grass stained items immediately (and who can?), be sure to pre-treat the stain with a product that is specially formulated to work on grass. We carry several products just for this purpose:

 Kiss off Stain Remover cleans a wide variety stains, including grass stains, and you can take it anywhere. All it needs is a little water to work– whether that’s from the water fountain or your sports bottle. Its convenient size makes it handy to take along to that picnic or sports event.

Tech Stain Remover is safe to use on all washable fabrics and comes in a squeeze bottle in several sizes. It works well when directly applied to your grass stain before you launder, or you can add an ounce or two in a white load with your regular detergent and you don’t need to use bleach (which is much harder on fabrics).

If your clothing is white, you can pre-treat it with Clorox Bleach Pen. You simply treat the stained areas and then wash it immediately with an all white load. Do not treat the garment while wearing as bleach can irritate your skin (ow!).

My absolute favorite product to attack grass stains is Zout. Its triple enzyme formula is guaranteed to remove not only grass stains but also salad oil, sports drinks and BBQ sauce.  You can dump an entire picnic on yourself and it’ll come out!  It comes in a 22oz. spray bottle, so stock up for your summer laundry needs.

Carbona Stain Devils are a favorite of wardrobe pros.  Formula #6 for Grass, Dirt and Makeup, works on all washable fabrics and it treats makeup and dirt stains as well as grass stains. This product works best if you remove the stain first and then add your garment to the wash.

With all of these products just make sure to cover the stain completely with the product, and if necessary, use a nail brush to further release the stain,then toss it in the laundry. Don’t forget to read the label carefully before using it!

What are your favorite ways to remove grass stains? Pick up your favorite stain removers at Manhattan Wardrobe Supply for any of your summer stains!