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How to get curry stains out of clothes
Dribbling a dopiaza down your best clobber doesn’t have to ruin a great meal.
Ah, curry. We love it, but it’s a menace to get out once it’s splattered down your front. Until now. That’s right! We’ve got a tried and tested technique that means you can shovel in your favourite meal without thinking about disrobing first. No more topless tikka masala - your dinner guests will be pleased.
One of the best, and worst, things about a tasty curry is that it usually contains turmeric. It’s a really common spice in lots of traditional dishes, but its yellow colour is what causes problems when it lands on fabric. So much so, some people even use it as a natural clothing dye.
The trick is to act fast, so, next time you miss your mouth, here’s your recipe for stain-removing success.
1. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape.
Get off as much excess as you can, as soon as you can. The longer it sits, the deeper into the fabric it’ll get.
2. Keep your cool
Run the stain under cold water. This bit is where lots of people go wrong, because while hot water works well for lots of stains, it makes curry stick.
3. Lather on dish soap
Curry is usually an oil-based stain, so your trusty dish soap will work brilliantly for pretreatment. No fancy formula required. Just cover your stain and gently rub it in.
4. Crunch time
Give the cleaning solution a good 10-15 minutes to do its thing. The soap will start to separate the oil from the fabric. After that, give it another rinse under cold water.
5. It all comes out in the wash
Pop it in the washing machine on a cool cycle. Most modern machines from brands like Samsung, Hotpoint and Beko offer great results on low temperatures. 20 or 30°C will do the trick.
6. Air dry (in the sun, if there is any)
You’ll want to avoid heat from tumble dyers or irons, but sunlight – that stuff works miracles. The UV rays act as a natural gentle bleach to help fade the stain.
After that, you’ll have rescued your best top from almost-certain retirement. And you didn’t even need to buy any stain remover or spend hours scrubbing - or do anything drastic, like ban yourself from weekly curry night forever. You’re welcome.
