You’ve accidentally smeared your expensive, white shirt with a glob of pizza. And you’ve probably tried washing it away using the usual laundry and soap methods, but the pizza grease can’t seem to go away.

If that’s the case, don’t fret because I’ll take you through the tried-and-true methods on how to get pizza grease out of clothes. There are various ways to accomplish this, but the effectiveness depends on the clothing’s material – is it cotton, silk, or polyester?

It also depends on how long the stain has stayed on your clothes. Let’s go ahead and look at the different ways of getting rid of that greasy stain.

How to Get Pizza Grease Out of Clothes 

1. Using the Dish Soap to Remove Pizza Grease

The very first step is using the dish soap. This is not only the cheapest and easiest way to get rid of that pizza stain out of your clothing, but it’s also the most accessible. Yes, a dishwashing soap – such as the Dawn Ultra Liquid Soap – is meant for cleaning your utensils. However, it also works on your clothes.

Most dish soaps have been manufactured to clean grease off your plates, meaning that they apply a similar cleaning mechanism to your clothes. So, don’t feel weird cleaning your shirt using a dish soap meant for cleaning plates!

You’ll need to apply a few drops of the dish soap on the greasy spots, leave it for around 15 to 20 minutes, and then rinse the stained area with warm water to get rid of the stain. While applying the drops of soap to the fabric, make sure you don’t use too much of the liquid on other unaffected parts.

Once washed using warm water, leave it to dry. Then check if the stains have been cleaned completely. If not, and the grease seems to have faded off, it’s best to repeat the process until the fabric is spotless.

Still, if the stains are persistent, you can use additional reinforcements like baking soda, which helps in absorbing some of the greases. Watch this short video and see how dawn dishwashing liquid fights pizza grease stains from clothing:

2. Using the Baking Soda to Remove Pizza Grease

This best works with furniture or anything that isn’t easy to access for cleanup. You might have worn a heavy jacket during the winter. And perhaps take a delicious, hot Domino’s Hand Tossed pizza where some of it spilled on the jacket.

In this case, washing it using dish soap is out of the question. And neither can you sell the jacket because it’s a sentimental piece. Using baking soda is your best shot.

All you have to do is spread your fabric over a table to expose the greasy parts. Ensure the clothing is dry, enabling the baking soda to efficiently absorb the grease out of the fabric.

You’ll have to sprinkle the soda and let it sit for about 24 hours. Revisit the clothing after a day (or two, if you’ve got the time) and vacuum or wash off the baking soda using warm water.

Don’t forget to use a scrub and brush to further clean the greasy spots. And then dry the clothing.

Check to see any changes. Is the pizza grease completely gone? If not, how much has faded off? If there is only a slight improvement, you may want to repeat the process once or twice more.

This guarantees the fabric has been restored to its original color and free of stain. Also, I recommend using a color remover, which helps restore the original color without damaging the fabric.

3. Using Chalk to Remove Oil Stains

Oh yes, a piece of chalk works too! If you’ve been drawing some artistic pictures using chalk and have taken a break for a slice of pizza. Then you happen to spill a glob of pizza grease on your clothing, use the chalk to cover the stained parts of the fabric.

Its working mechanism is similar to baking soda or salt. It pulls out the grease or oily pizza stain from the fabric before it forever lodges itself.

The only catch with chalk is its ineffectiveness compared to baking soda or salt. Its adhesive properties aren’t as strong as the other alternatives.

Therefore, I’d recommend using chalk if there isn’t salt or baking soda nearby. However, be aware that chalk may be less effective on larger stains. The chalk is best for small grease splatters.

An example includes those small splatters and dots of oil. These are common when cooking a regular meal or when barbecuing. Usually, it’s hard to prevent spatters from ending up on your shirt.

For pizza spills, the trick is to clean off the cheese and crust before covering the spots with chalk. Leave for a few minutes before washing the stained parts using hot water.

I found this YouTube video useful when removing pizza grease stains out of clothes with chalk:

4. Apply Salt and Stain Remover

While dish soap and baking soda are practical and easily accessible, acquiring a stain remover can help you eliminate pizza greasy stains for good. However, this works best if you had initially applied salt on the greasy area.

As a matter of fact, it’s important to always use salt or any useful condiment at the table. Immediately after you’ve spilled the pizza grease on your shirt, find the salt and sprinkle some of it on the stain.

This helps prevent the grease from further getting lodged into the fabric. If you leave it without applying salt (or baking soda or chalk) to absorb the grease outside, then you’ll have a hard time getting rid of the stain later on.

Nonetheless, if you had forgotten about the salt trick, or didn’t know about it, you can always use the salt and leave it for like 24 hours.

Come back after a day and use the stain remover. As expected, use hot water alongside the stain remover to get the pizza grease stains out of your garments.

Other Alternative Methods to Use 

It took some digging, but I found a few other alternatives. Check them below:

5. Vinegar 

This works by creating a solution combining equal amounts of white vinegar and water. The next step is to damp a clean cloth in the solution and wipe the greasy stains from your garment. It helps remove the oily stains caused by pizza spillage.

6. Talcum Powder/Baby Powder

If you’ve just welcomed a newborn baby into your home, and you were taking a break with two or three slices of pizza, and it spilled off, use the baby powder (or Talcum powder).

Use a clean fabric to blot the greasy areas until you start seeing the stain fading off. You can then continue doing this until the clothing is clean.

7. Cornstarch

You can also apply cornstarch to the stained areas. The process is to use soft clothing to clean off the greasy parts. Sprinkle the cornstarch onto the clean clothing and carefully damp off the grease.

If you can’t seem to find clean clothing, use a napkin instead. You might also want to use a small towel or a tissue if both the clothing and napkin are out of reach.

8. Hair Spray

Experts suggest that the hair spray is very effective in ridding pizza grease from clothes. The chemical composition of a hair spray consists of properties capable of weakening grease molecules.

This instantly removes pizza grease marks from the fabric while retaining the clothing’s natural color. All you have to do is spray the hair spray on the greasy parts, leave for a few minutes, and then rinse using hot water.

9. Aloe Vera Gel

Soak the clothing in water for a few minutes. This is to make the clothing a little soft. After that, take out the garment and squeeze out the water.

Rub the Aloe Vera gel against the greasy parts. Then rinse the fabric and air dry it. You’ll notice stains gone. [15 Tips To Get Tomato Pizza Sauce Out Of Clothes]

6 Tips to Note When Getting Pizza Grease Out of Clothes 

• Always make sure you’ve checked the garment’s care label. This helps you determine the appropriate temperature required when washing off the clothing with warm or hot water.
• The more difficult the stain is, the longer it has stayed on the clothing. Therefore, it’s all about timing. Once you spill the pizza grease on your clothes, immediately look for the condiments on the table – and get the salt.
• Sprinkle some of that salt on the pizza stain. Alternatives to the salt are baking soda, baby powder, or chalk. Find one of these and sprinkle on the stain to prevent the grease from lodging deeper into the fabric.
• Make sure you always use warm or hot water to wash off the pizza stains once the salt (or baking soda or baby powered) has done its magic. The hot water further liquefies the grease to make it easier to wash off.
• Note that the effectiveness of either of the methods mentioned above relies on the type of material or fabric your clothing is made of. Polyester is the toughest. So, you’ll want to continue cleaning the garment until the pizza greasy parts are no more.

Final Thoughts 

If you’re contemplating ways on how to get pizza grease out of clothes, it’s best to determine which type of fabric material the garment is.

Also, check for what’s easily accessible before choosing which method works best. They are all effective, but their degree of effectiveness differs depending on how much you’re willing to incur.

While a bar of simple dish soap or a pinch of table salt and a napkin can work wonders, they can’t beat products like stain removers, color removers, and grease-busting foams.