First few minutes
Just happened? Do this first
- Flush the stain with cool or cold water right away.
- Skip bar soap and soap flakes. They set fruit stains.
- Blot gently. Don't rub.
- Keep the item out of the dryer until the stain is gone.
Juice on clothes hides well on patterned fabric, so it often goes untreated until later. Fresh juice lifts fairly easily with cold water, but once it dries it needs several rounds of treatment. Artificial fruit drinks act more like dye, so a red spill can leave a faint shadow even after it looks clean.
Check the care label first, since wool, silk and dry-clean-only pieces need a gentler route. For grape juice out of white clothes, an oxygen bleach powder dissolved in water is a common next step. Hold off on the dryer until you can't see any shadow, since heat is what sets the color in for good.
7 items
What you'll need
Tap an item to get it on Amazon, or tick what you already have.
- Cold waterDilutes the juice and flushes it out before anything else.
- Liquid enzyme pretreater or an enzyme detergentUsed in the first soak, for at least 30 minutes. (opens Amazon)
- Liquid hand dishwashing detergentGoes into the vinegar soak. It is a detergent, not a natural soap. (opens Amazon)
- White vinegarUsed in the vinegar soak. Colored vinegar can leave a stain. (opens Amazon)
- Rubbing alcohol, 70% isopropyl or 90% denaturedFor sponging the stain after the vinegar soak, with no added color or fragrance. (opens Amazon)
- Powdered oxygen bleachUsed in the oxygen soak before the final wash. (opens Amazon)
- Heavy-duty liquid laundry detergentFor the final wash in the hottest water the care label allows. (opens Amazon)
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
7 steps
How to get juice out of clothes
Step 1 of 7
Flush the stain with cold water
Hold the stain under cold running water, working from the back of the fabric so the juice pushes out rather than deeper in. Keep flushing until the water running through looks clear.
Tip. Put a towel under the stain to catch the water.
Step 2 of 730 minutes
Pretreat with an enzyme product
Work a product that contains enzymes into the stain and leave it on for at least 30 minutes. If the stain has been sitting for a while, leave it for several hours instead.
Tip. Rinse the item after the soak, before the next step.
Step 3 of 715 minutes
Soak in a vinegar and dish soap bath
If the stain is still visible after the enzyme soak, dissolve 1/2 teaspoon liquid hand dishwashing detergent and 1 tablespoon white vinegar in 1 quart warm water. Soak the item in it for 15 minutes, then rinse thoroughly.
Step 4 of 7
Sponge with rubbing alcohol
Dampen a clean cloth with rubbing alcohol and sponge the stain from the back, moving to a clean part of the cloth as it picks up color. Rinse the item thoroughly before the oxygen soak.
Tip. Work from the edges toward the center so the stain doesn't spread.
Careful. Alcohol damages acetate, triacetate, modacrylic and acrylic, so skip this step on those fibers.
Step 5 of 730 minutes
Soak in oxygen bleach
Dissolve 1 tablespoon powdered oxygen bleach in 1 quart warm water and soak the item in it for 30 minutes. Rinse out all of the bleach before the final wash.
Step 6 of 7
Launder in the hottest allowed water
Wash with heavy-duty liquid detergent in the hottest water the care label allows. If the stain is still there after the wash, run a second wash with a bleach that is safe for the fabric.
Step 7 of 7
Check the stain before drying
Look at the stain in good light while the item is still damp, and repeat the soaks if any color remains. Only dry the item once the stain is completely gone, because the heat of drying sets whatever is left.
If you'd rather buy than mix
Best products for juice
Pick a prewash stain remover spray or stick for the presoak in these steps, and check its ingredient list for natural soap before you buy.
Utopia Kitchen White Flour Sack Towels
How we picked these: each product is made for this type of stain, its maker doesn't warn against using it on this fabric, and its directions fit the steps above.
Finished the steps? How does it look?
Nice work. Let it dry completely and check it again in good light before using any heat. Here is what done looks like:
How to tell it's really gone →A faint mark usually needs one more round, not a stronger product.
If the stain was already dried or set, the method changes.
Old, dried or set-in stains →When to call a professional →Pick what it is on
Juice on every material
No match. Try the main search for anything else.
How to tell it's working
Color should start coming off into the flush water within the first few minutes, and the cloth you blot with should pick up tint. Once the spot is a faint shadow that disappears when damp, it's ready for the wash. If it hasn't budged after both soaks, it has probably set, so head to the section on old stains.
What changes for yours
Adjust for your fabric
Whites and white shirts
White cotton and linen are the easiest juice fabrics to bring back, because they can handle the full sequence. Run it as written, then wash in the hottest water the label allows.
If a faint shadow survives, chlorine bleach is the last tool, and only where the label allows it. Mix half a cup into two cups of water, add it about five or six minutes into the wash, and rinse out all vinegar and alcohol before it goes in.
Colors and denim
On colored shirts and jeans, the same sequence applies, minus chlorine bleach, since it can strip dye. Oxygen bleach does that job instead, but only if the dye holds up to it.
Test first by dampening a hidden seam with the solution and pressing a white cloth to it. Any color that transfers means you skip the bleach soak and repeat the detergent wash instead.
Silk, wool and delicates
A silk blouse or wool sweater can't take the full sequence, so the first move is cool water and a light blot. Chlorine bleach is never an option on wool, silk or spandex, and stronger products should wait until you've tested them on a hidden seam.
If the juice doesn't lift with a gentle pass, stop and take the piece to a dry cleaner rather than adding products at home. Another round of stronger products puts a delicate piece at more risk than a visit to the cleaner does.
Dry-clean-only items
A dry-clean-only label rules out the water-based soaks, so your job is limited to blotting. Use a dry white cloth, press gently to lift what's sitting on the surface, and don't let the cloth spread the juice across the fabric.
Get it to the cleaner while the spot is fresh, and mention whether it was real juice or a dye-based fruit drink. A fresh spot gives them far more to work with than one that has dried.
Red fruit punch and powdered drink mix
Artificial fruit drinks and powdered drink mix, including red fruit punch, behave like dye stains, so the sequence changes. Start by spraying the stain with a pre-wash stain remover, letting it sit for 15 minutes, and then flushing it with cold water.
Next, work heavy-duty liquid detergent into the stain for 5 minutes and flush again. Cover the stain with pre-wash and an oxygen bleach paste for 15 minutes, then move on to the heavy-duty wash.
Old, dried or set-in stains
An old juice stain is one you find after it has dried or sat for days, and it needs a longer soak than a fresh one. Give it an enzyme product for several hours, then wash it as usual. Older stains can take more than one round before they start to lift.
Once juice has dried, the color is bonded to the fibers, so it will not vanish in one wash. If the item has already been through the dryer, the heat has set the stain, and you should expect it to fade rather than disappear completely.
For a flavored drink stain that remains, soak the item for one or two days, stirring it now and then, then wash it again and let it air-dry. On white cotton or linen, a fabric-safe bleach can finish the last traces once everything else is rinsed out. A faint shadow can remain on a stain that has had a long time to set, and that is the realistic result.
Vinegar, baking soda, peroxide and more
Do home remedies work on juice?
Most home remedies for juice are variations on a few products, and only some belong in this sequence. Remedies marked as working are the ones to rely on; the others can help with a fresh spill or a light mark, but they aren't needed to finish the job.
Works4Helps4
Chemical safety
Never mix these
Some products in this guide react dangerously with each other. Use them one at a time and rinse with water in between.
Chlorine bleach + Vinegar
Vinegar is an acid, and acid mixed with bleach gives off toxic chlorine gas.
Chlorine bleach + Oxygen bleach (OxiClean)
Both makers advise against combining them: OxiClean says not to mix it with chlorine bleach, and Clorox says the two bleaches cancel each other out.
Chlorine bleach + Hydrogen peroxide (3%)
Washington State's health department says bleach reacts with hydrogen peroxide, and Clorox says not to mix bleach with other household chemicals.
Oxygen bleach (OxiClean) + Vinegar
OxiClean's maker says it should not be mixed with household chemicals other than detergent in the wash.
If they mix by accident: Stop and add nothing else; leave the area for fresh air, open windows and keep children and pets away; call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222, or 911 if anyone has trouble breathing.
What makes it worse
Mistakes to avoid
Don't skip the colorfast test
Oxygen bleach and rubbing alcohol can both change the color of fabric that isn't colorfast. Try them on an inconspicuous area first, and if the color shifts, stop and wash the item without that product.
Don't iron the stain to check it
Ironing heats the fabric just as a dryer does, so it sets juice the same way. Keep the iron away from the spot until the stain is completely gone.
Don't rub the spill before flushing
Rubbing works the juice deeper into the weave of cotton and blends, and it smears the color across a patterned print. Blot gently with a clean white cloth, then start the cold water flush right away.
Don't use rubbing alcohol on synthetic blends
The alcohol sponge in the stubborn-stain sequence can damage acetate, triacetate, modacrylic and acrylic. If the label lists any of these, skip the alcohol sponge and rely on the detergent and vinegar soak, after testing a hidden seam first.
Don't call it done while it's still damp
A spot can look clean while it's wet, and any juice left in the fabric will set once heat reaches it. Check the spot against a white cloth, and run the sequence again if any color transfers.
When to call a professional
A dry cleaner is the better call for a delicate piece, such as silk or wool, where chlorine bleach is off the table. Also take it there if a washable item still shows color after the full sequence has been repeated. Tell them whether it was a natural juice or a dye-based fruit drink, how long it sat, and which products you've already used.
Questions
Which juices stain clothes, and why?
Yes, most fruit juices stain, including orange and cranberry juice, because they are tannin stains. Juice is easy to miss on patterned fabric, which is why it often gets treated late. Artificial fruit drinks and powdered drink mix behave like dye stains instead, so they need their own sequence.
Do other fruit and food juice stains need a different method?
Most fruit juices are tannin stains, so the same sequence works: a cold flush, the enzyme soak, then the other soaks as needed. Artificial fruit drinks and powdered mixes are the exception, because they behave like dye, so they need the red fruit punch sequence.
Can you get juice out of white shirts?
Usually, yes, if you flush it with cold water right away and get the enzyme soak on it quickly. A fresh stain on white fabric tends to lift fully, while an old one may leave a faint shadow. Only use a bleach that is safe for the fabric, and only as the last step after everything is rinsed out.
Can you use bleach on a juice stain?
Only a bleach that is safe for the fabric, and only as a last step on white cotton or linen. Chlorine bleach is an option there, but only diluted and added partway through a wash, after everything is rinsed out.
How long should a juice stain soak?
A fresh stain needs at least 30 minutes in an enzyme product, and an older one can take several hours. If it is still visible after the soaks, one or two days of soaking can help a flavored drink stain, stirred now and then.
Can I skip the enzyme step and go straight to vinegar?
You can, but the enzyme soak is the first real step on the stain, so skipping it makes the vinegar soak work harder. Apple juice is handled the same way as grape and orange, so start with the enzyme soak for a fresh stain.
Related
How we know this
Every method, amount and warning here comes from university extension services, industry bodies and product makers. We read them, check every step for unsafe combinations and changed amounts, and write it up so you can follow it.