How to Remove Grass Stains from Your Favorite Jeans

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Plus, find out why you should pre-soak your jeans in cold water
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Spending time outside to play, garden, or do outdoor chores can be fun, but it's not so fun when you realize your favorite jeans are now grass-stained! Don't worry, though, because we're here to help you rescue your jeans and get them looking fresh, clean, and not grass green. Come with us to learn the best way to pre-soak your jeans before applying a grass stain treatment, followed by popular grass stain removal methods that use ingredients you have lying around the house.

Best Way to Get Grass Stains Out of Jeans

Soak the jeans in cold water for 30 minutes. Remove the jeans from the water, wring them out, and apply a dime-sized amount of enzyme laundry detergent to the stain. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes, then gently scrub the stained area with a clean toothbrush. After that, wash your jeans like normal.

Section 1 of 9:

Cold Water Pre-Soak

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  1. Soak the grass-stained area in cold water before applying a pre-treatment. If your jeans have been sitting with grass stains for a while, complete this step before trying any of the pre-treatments below. Pre-soaking is crucial to success because it loosens the stain and makes it easier for the pre-treatment to do its job the first time without repeat treatments. Fill your sink, a bowl, or a bucket with cold water, then add in your stained jeans . Let them soak for 30 minutes, then remove the jeans and wring out the excess water. [1]
    • Always use cold water only to soak your grass-stained jeans! Hot water will only cause the stain to settle into the fibers, making it all but impossible to remove those bright green and yellow pigments from your denim.
      • Hot water also causes denim to shrink. [2]
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Section 2 of 9:

Laundry Detergent

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  1. Pour a dime-sized amount of laundry detergent on the stain and brush it. Dry cleaner and laundry specialist Ayad Mirjan suggests pouring a dime-sized amount of detergent onto the grass stain (or however much you need to cover it). Then let it sit for 10-15 minutes to lift the stain. [3] Next, says Mirjan, "Brush the stain with a clean toothbrush." Throw your jeans in a normal wash cycle with cold water to finish clearing away any remaining pigment or debris from the grass. [4]
    • If you can get it, enzyme detergent works even better than regular detergent. It contains cleaning agents called enzymes, which tackle tough stains from grass and other biological substances. [5]
      • After applying the enzyme detergent to the stain as you would your regular detergent, letting it sit, and scrubbing the stain with a toothbrush, wash the jeans in the warmest setting recommended on the enzyme detergent label.
    • If all you have on hand is your regular laundry detergent, though, that works, too!
Section 3 of 9:

Dawn Dish Soap

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  1. Spray 2 spritzes of Dawn Powerwash onto the grass stain and rub it in. Use your fingers to work the soap from the Dawn Powerwash spray into the entire stain. Then wash the jeans in cold water in the washing machine with your regular laundry detergent. [6]
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Section 4 of 9:

Rubbing Alcohol

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  1. Blot rubbing alcohol onto the grass stain with a cotton ball or swab. Soak a cotton ball or the tip of a cotton swab in 70% rubbing alcohol . Then gently blot the alcohol onto the grass stain. Avoid scrubbing, or you might cause the fibers to pill or the stain to sink further into the denim. After the rubbing alcohol dries, rinse it in cold water and check for any lingering stains. If they're gone, wash your jeans in the washing machine to give them a final clean. [7]
Section 5 of 9:

Vinegar

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  1. Apply white vinegar and let it soak in for 15 minutes. Pour distilled white vinegar directly onto the grass stain and massage it into the denim. Pick up the jeans in your hands and gently rub the stained denim together. Let it sit for 15 minutes, then wash the jeans like normal in your washing machine. [8]
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Section 6 of 9:

Hydrogen Peroxide & Baking Soda

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  1. Apply a hydrogen peroxide & baking soda paste to the stain. Combine 1 tbsp (14.75 g) of baking soda with hydrogen peroxide and mix them together until a thick paste forms. Spread it over the grass stain with a spoon or a spatula and let it sit for 30 minutes. Then, gently scrub the area with a soft-bristle toothbrush . Rinse the area with cool water and check for stains. If you don't see any, let the jeans air dry or wash them. [9]
    • Alternatively, combine hydrogen peroxide with a few drops of dish soap and follow the rest of the steps above to get the same results.
Section 7 of 9:

Hairspray

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  1. Apply hairspray to the stain and scrub it with a toothbrush. Saturate the stain with hairspray and leave it to dry or get tacky. Then, scrub the stain gently with a soft-bristle toothbrush to take up the grassy pigment. Before you toss your jeans in the washing machine, apply a small amount of laundry detergent to the area, massage it in with your fingers, and let it sit for 5 minutes. After that, put it on a wash cycle in cold water. Your jeans should come out clean and grass stain-free! [10]
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Section 8 of 9:

How to Treat Your Jeans Post-Wash

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  1. 1
    Inspect your jeans after washing for any lingering grass stains. If you still notice grass stains on your jeans after pre-treatment and washing them in the washing machine in cold water, don't put them in the dryer ! Instead, treat the stain again with the same or another pre-treatment method that you think might work better. Afterward, wash the jeans again, but use warm water instead of cold. [11]
    • Once again, avoid hot water because it will set the stain, make your jeans shrink, and possibly damage the denim.
  2. 2
    Put your jeans in the dryer when you no longer see any grass stains. You know your grass stain pre-treatment worked if you take your jeans out of the washing machine and they're completely clean! Now you can load them into the dryer, so you can enjoy wearing them again as soon as possible.
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Section 9 of 9:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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  1. 1
    Is hot water or cold water better for grass stains? Cold water works better than hot water for washing grass-stained jeans. If you soak or wash the jeans in hot water before treating the stain, the green and yellow pigments from the grass will settle further into the fibers. After that, it becomes much harder to remove them. [12]
  2. 2
    Does Dawn dish soap get out grass stains? Yes, Dawn dish soap and Dawn Powerwash spray make great spot treatments for jeans with grass stains.
  3. 3
    Are grass stains permanent? Not if you pre-treat them before washing them! The more you wash them without treating them with a stain remover, the more they'll become set-in stains , which are much more difficult to get out.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.stitchfix.com/women/blog/fashion-tips/how-to-get-grass-stains-out-of-jeans/
      2. ↑ https://www.clorox.com/learn/how-much-do-jeans-shrink-when-washing-drying/
      3. ↑ https://www.cleanipedia.com/gb/laundry/how-to-remove-grass-stains-from-clothing.html
      4. ↑ https://www.whirlpool.com/blog/washers-and-dryers/how-to-wash-jeans.html
      5. ↑ https://www.maytag.com/blog/washers-and-dryers/how-to-remove-grass-stains-from-clothes.html
      6. ↑ https://dawn-dish.com/en-us/how-to/laundry-stains-out-of-clothes/
      7. ↑ https://www.stitchfix.com/women/blog/fashion-tips/how-to-get-grass-stains-out-of-jeans/
      8. ↑ https://utopia.org/guide/how-to-get-grass-stains-out-of-jeans/
      9. ↑ https://food52.com/blog/24414-how-to-remove-grass-stains
      1. ↑ https://www.cleanipedia.com/gb/laundry/how-to-remove-grass-stains-from-clothing.html
      2. ↑ https://www.whirlpool.com/blog/washers-and-dryers/how-to-wash-jeans.html
      3. ↑ https://www.stitchfix.com/women/blog/fashion-tips/how-to-get-grass-stains-out-of-jeans/

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