How to remove tomato or sauce stains
Coloured and slightly oily — rinse from the back. Here's the safe way to lift a tomato or sauce stain — these steps work for most fabrics, and you can tailor them to yours in the tool below.
Good odds
Usually lifts if you treat it promptly.
Do this now
- 1
Scrape off the excess with a blunt edge.
- 2
Rinse the back of the stain under cool water.
- 3
Dab on washing-up liquid with a little white vinegar; leave 10 minutes.
- 4
Wash as the label allows; treat again before drying if needed.
Use
- Washing-up liquid
- White vinegar
- Oxygen bleach
Avoid
- Hot water first
- Drying before it’s gone
- Never mix bleach with vinegar, ammonia, alcohol, rust remover, or other cleaners.
- Use only one stain-removal chemical at a time, then rinse before trying another.
Good to know
These steps suit most washable fabrics. Choose your fabric to tailor them — gentler for wool, silk and other delicates, firmer for cotton and denim.