Your Ultimate Guide to Removing Dipping Sauce Stains

Breaking Down Saucy Stains

Every now and then, life should get a little extra saucy. After all, sauce can add extra spice and flavor to your favorite foods or snacks. But it’s also important to know the composition of different dipping sauces and what kind of stain they are in the context of stain removal.

You may already have the rundown on removing barbecue sauce stains or getting tomato sauce out of clothes. Similarly, you may have experience removing mustard spots or ketchup smudges from your kiddo’s clothes after their attempts at making a hot dog get messy at a family holiday barbecue.

But what about dipping sauces like salsa or your favorite wedge salad dressing? Let’s take a closer look:

You might notice that salsa, hot sauce, buffalo sauce, and taco sauce can be tannin-based or oil-based. Sometimes, that’s determined by the type of salsa or hot sauce being used. For example, red salsa is tomato-based, which contributes to the tannin-based stain. Alternatively, Italian salsa verde uses olive oil as a key ingredient and is thus an oil-based stain. Meanwhile, for taco sauce, some seasoning or ingredients may use chili pepper or vinegar.

Regardless, there’s some uniformity when it comes to the stain composition of the different dipping sauces – most are oil-based.

Why Are Oil-Based Stains Hard to Remove?

Oil stains can prove especially difficult to remove because oil is a hydrophobic lipid and repels water. In a laundry context, that makes it extremely difficult for the water and laundry detergent to fully penetrate the stain during a normal wash cycle.

Given their hydrophobic nature, oil-based stains tend to set into fabric fibers especially after they’ve gone through the dryer and been exposed to heat. Additionally, oil-based stains can be greasy.

Now, oil-based stains are not permanent. They can still be removed from clothing even if the stain has set into the fabric – but doing so will require some more leg work. You must pretreat laundry items with oily stains from dipping sauces and do so with a powerful laundry stain remover.

How to Get Salsa & Guacamole Stains Out of Clothes

Having various flavors of salsa and some homemade or fresh store-bought guacamole can pair well with that bowl of chips when you’re hosting friends over for a margarita night. Sometimes, though, you get a little too much dip for your chip! Salsa can slide and drip onto your clothes, and that clump of guacamole might be a bit more than you can chew. That’s why you need OxiClean™ Laundry + Home Stain Remover Spray to help get salsa and guacamole stains out of clothes.

1. Spray

Spray directly onto the salsa or guacamole stain until saturated.

2. Wait

Rub into fabric and let stand for up to 10 minutes depending on the severity of the salsa or guacamole stain.

3. Wash

Wash with your normal laundry detergent.

Whether you need to spot clean small salsa drips on your pants or accidentally spilled some guacamole on your shirt, OxiClean™ Laundry + Home Stain Remover Spray can help remove those stains in the blink of an eye. Plus, this laundry stain remover can help you clean water-washable upholstery when you have wine drips and other small stains that make their way to the couch.

How to Get Hot Sauce and Buffalo Sauce Stains Out of Clothes

Sometimes, you need to remove barbecue sauce stains after a cookout. But if you’re eating wings at that same cookout or breaking out the Tabasco hot sauce to spice things up before the big game, you might have to deal with those stains, too. After all, eating wings can get quite – messy. If they do, you can use a laundry pretreatment soaking method with OxiClean™ Versatile Stain Remover or OxiClean™ White Revive™ Laundry Whitener & Stain Remover Powder to help get Tabasco hot sauce or Buffalo sauce out of clothes.

1. Mix*

If using OxiClean™ Versatile Stain Remover, scoop to Line 2 to Line 4 per gallon of water. Fill to Line 2 for small hot sauce or Buffalo sauce stains and Line 4 for tougher stains. Submerge stained items in solution after dissolving. If using OxiClean™ White Revive™ Laundry Whitener & Stain Remover Powder, mix 1 scoop per gallon of the warmest water recommended by the garment care label.

2. Soak

Soak items for up to 6 hours. Depending on the severity of the stain(s), some items may require more time to soak. For best results, soak stained items for 6 hours. If using OxiClean™ White Revive™ Laundry Whitener & Stain Remover, soak items for 6 hours.

3. Wash

Wash as normal with detergent and OxiClean™ powder.

When you have a laundry problem, OxiClean™ Versatile Stain Remover is most likely up to the task. It’s the laundry additive powder with over 101 uses. That includes getting stains out of the carpet and cleaning grout tile lines in the bathroom! Not to mention, you can use OxiClean™ Versatile Stain Remover for all washable laundry items.

Meanwhile, OxiClean™ White Revive™ Laundry Whitener & Stain Remover can help you clean and restore the brightness of white garments. It’s the laundry solution you need when you find stains on your white dress shirts or new bedsheets. Plus, like other laundry stain removers, OxiClean™ White Revive™ Laundry Whitener & Stain Remover is color-safe, and it also offers 40 percent more whitening power than chlorine bleach per load.

So, if you’re cranking up the heat with some Buffalo sauce or Tabasco hot sauce, make sure to also crank up your stain removing capabilities by adding OxiClean™ Versatile Stain Remover and OxiClean™ White Revive™ Laundry Whitener & Stain Remover to your laundry repertoire!

How to Get Taco Sauce Out of Clothes

Whether it’s “Taco Tuesday” or you’re hoping to spice up your ground beef power bowls, having a flavorful taco sauce can add to the yumminess. Since it can be tannin- and oil-based, however, you need to be diligent to help get tough taco sauce stains out of clothes, and OxiClean™ Max Force™ Laundry Stain Remover Spray can come to your rescue!

1. Spray

Shake before use. Spray directly onto the taco sauce stain until saturated.

2. Wait

Let stand for 5 minutes or up to a week, depending on the severity of the stain. For fabrics prone to color change, do not let the spray stand longer than 5 minutes.

3. Wash

Wash with laundry detergent in the warmest water the fabric will accept.

OxiClean™ Max Force™ Laundry Stain Remover is an enzymatic laundry stain remover spray. That makes it especially tough on set-in stains, targeting and loosening stains so they are more easily removed in the wash. It’s also the stain remover you need to help get greasy stains out of clothes.

Need a stain remover that can help get blood stains out of your kiddos’ jeans after they took a tumble during recess? Grab the OxiClean™ Max Force™ Laundry Stain Remover Spray. Looking to take stain removal on the go before a camping trip? The 2 FL OZ. OxiClean™ Max Force™ Laundry Stain Remover Spray is a travel-sized stain remover you can bring anywhere, anytime.

Whether at home or on the go, OxiClean™ Max Force™ Laundry Stain Remover Spray lets you pretreat stains on clothes and wash them up to a week later – so you can take care of your garments even if it isn’t laundry day!

How to Get Hummus Out of Clothes

A cheese spread can make for a nice appetizer setup. But you might also need to supplement that spread with some veggies like carrots, broccoli, or snap peas – in which case, you might choose hummus as your dipping sauce of choice! Still, like the rest of the dipping sauces we’ve discussed, hummus can leave behind stains. Wash those worries and hummus stains away by pretreating with OxiClean™ Max Force™ Laundry Stain Remover Spray!

1. Spray

Shake before use. Spray directly onto the hummus stain until saturated.

2. Wait

Let stand for 5 minutes or up to a week, depending on the severity of the stain. For fabrics prone to color change, do not let the spray stand longer than 5 minutes.

3. Wash

Wash with laundry detergent in the warmest water the fabric will accept.

How to Get Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing Out of Clothes

You might bring salads for lunch or serve them family style. Regardless, no salad is complete without some dressing – and balsamic vinaigrette is an all-time classic dressing. Like other salad dressings, however, balsamic vinaigrette can get slippery. And that slipperiness may lead to stains. OxiClean™ Laundry + Home Stain Remover Spray can help get balsamic vinaigrette out of clothes so you can keep “dressing” for success!

1. Spray

Spray directly onto the balsamic vinaigrette spot or stain until saturated.

2. Wait

Rub into fabric and let stand for up to 10 minutes depending on the severity of the balsamic vinaigrette stain.

3. Wash

Wash with your normal laundry detergent.

Dip Into Your Laundry Bag with OxiClean™ Stain Removers!

Dipping sauces make great additives to any meal or occasion, but you shouldn’t have to worry about the stains that come with those sauces. So, keep the focus on the food you’re eating and the people you’re enjoying the time with, and put dipping sauce and dressing stains on the backburner with OxiClean™ Stain Removers!