How to Remove Turmeric Stains from Clothes

Turmeric is a golden-yellow spice derived from the roots of the turmeric plant. It's one of the main ingredients in yellow curry powder, but it's definitely not as tasty when you spill it on your clothes. Fresh, dried, and ground turmeric will easily stain anything it comes in contact with, so when you get it on your clothes (especially white fabric) it’s important to act fast to remove the stain. With persistence, a little baking soda, detergent, and vinegar you should be able to get rid of stubborn turmeric stains.

Best Way to Remove Turmeric Stains

Use a clean paper towel to wipe off the turmeric as soon as possible.
Cover the stain with baking soda and let it stand for 20 minutes.
Rub liquid dish detergent into the stain, then let it sit for 30 minutes.
Rinse the stain with cold water to remove the liquid dish detergent.
If the stain is still visible, blot the stain with a paper towel soaked in vinegar.
Wash the clothing following the instructions on the care label.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Acting Fast to Remove the Stain

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1
Wipe off the turmeric from the clothing as soon as you notice it. Use a paper towel or a fingernail to carefully scrape as much of the turmeric off the clothing as you can. Be careful not to rub it into the clothing, especially if it is in liquid form (such as a curry sauce).^{[1]XResearch source}
- You can use the edge of a knife to carefully scrape underneath the turmeric and lift it up from the clothing to keep yourself from rubbing it in further.
2
Cover the stain with baking soda and let it sit for 20 minutes if it is oil-based. Remove the clothing item after you have scraped off the turmeric. Pour a small pile of baking soda to cover the stain and let it sit undisturbed for at least 20 minutes to suck out the oils from the stain.^{[2]XResearch source}
- This is only necessary for oily stains that come from things like curry sauce. If the stain is from powdered turmeric or a non-oily type of liquid (like turmeric tea), then you don’t need to do this.
- If you don’t have baking soda handy, you can also use flour or cornstarch to draw out the oils.
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3
Rub liquid dish detergent into the stain and let it sit for 30 minutes. Squeeze out enough liquid dish detergent onto the stain to cover it. Rub it in vigorously with your fingertips and fingernails to get it into the fibers of the clothing where the stain is. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes to soak in and treat the stain.^{[3]XResearch source}
- You can also do this with liquid laundry detergent if you don’t have any liquid dish detergent.
- Remove the baking soda first if you poured some on the stain to suck out oils.
4
Rinse the stain with cold water to remove the detergent. Hold the stain under running cold water to rinse out the detergent from the stain. Gently scrub it with your fingers while you rinse it to help loosen the stain.^{[4]XResearch source}
- In most cases, the stain will now have faded to a pale pink or orange color.
- Avoid using hot water as it could set the stain into the fabric.
5
Blot the stain with vinegar and a paper towel if it is still visible. Fold a paper towel into a small square and soak it with white vinegar. Dab at the stain until it disappears completely or at least fades more.^{[5]XResearch source}
- When the stain seems like it has faded as much as it is going to with the vinegar, then you can proceed to washing the garment.
6
Wash the clothing according to the care label’s instructions. Follow the recommendations for water temperature and cycle speed. Use your regular laundry detergent.^{[6]XResearch source}
- Don’t machine-dry the garment until the stain is completely gone or you risk setting it in the fabric.
- If the stain is still there after completing this process, you can repeat it to see if the stain disappears after a second cycle.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Getting Rid of Stubborn Stains

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1
Soak the stain in a mixture of vinegar and dish detergent for 30 minutes. Mix approximately 2 tsp (9.9 ml) of white vinegar with 1 tsp (4.9 ml) of liquid dish detergent in a bowl. Put the part of the garment that is stained into the bowl, fully submerged, and let it sit for at least 30 minutes.^{[7]XResearch source}
- This will help pretreat and loosen the stain so you can scrub it out.
2
Scrub out the stain with powdered laundry detergent and a toothbrush. Hold the stain under cold water from a slowly running faucet. Dip a wet toothbrush in some powdered laundry detergent and scrub the stain, repeating until it fades or is gone completely.^{[8]XResearch source}
- The abrasiveness of powdered laundry detergent will help to scrub the stain out of the fibers of the clothing.
- Don't use hot water because it could set the stain into the fabric.
3
Rinse out the detergent with cold water. Stop scrubbing the stain with detergent after it fades or disappears. Continue holding the garment under cold running water to rinse off all the laundry detergent.^{[9]XResearch source}
- Gently rub the cleaned area with your fingers or rub the fabric of the garment together to thoroughly rinse out all the detergent before drying.
4
Hang the garment in direct sunlight for at least 6 hours. Turmeric fades in the sun, so this will help get rid of any last traces of the stain. Hang the clothing to dry for at least 6 hours, then check on it to see if the stain is completely gone.^{[10]XResearch source}
- Leave it hanging longer if the stain is still there. Check on it every hour or so until it has disappeared.
- Because direct sunlight can bleach the colors of your clothing, be sure to take it down as soon as it’s dry and the stain is gone.

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Warnings

Take down the clothing as soon as the stain is gone if you hang dry it in direct sunlight.
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Helpful5 Not Helpful1
Don’t dry the clothing in a machine until the stain is completely gone or you could set the stain.
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Helpful5 Not Helpful1
Be careful not to rub the turmeric in further when you are wiping it off.
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