How to Remove Barbecue Sauce Stains

Oh, for heaven’s sakes! Your 48 year old husband (five year old son, 75 year old parent) has a giant glop of barbeque sauce right on the front of that new baby blue shirt you got at the expensive store.

No, it’s never from the cheap store and the shirt is never “barbecue sauce color.” What to do?

Don’t throw the shirt out or pull out your hair in exasperation. Don’t take it out on the owner of the shirt.

Remember that you are smarter than the stain. There’s a fix for this one.

Clothing Stain:

First of all, rip that shirt right off the wearer as soon as possible.

• Gently scrape the remainder of barbecue sauce stain off the fabric with a kitchen knife if there’s a saucy residue. Try not to spread it around. No need to make it worse.
• Run a good, strong stream of cold water through the BACK of the fabric. The mess is on the front so see how much you can get out simply by using the easiest, mechanical method (who doesn’t love easy?) to push it out from the back.
• Now put a little detergent right on the spot and kind of blot at it with your fingertips. Rubbing it will just rub the barbecue sauce further into the fibers of the fabric and you’re really just trying to get the detergent into the fabric.
• Now sprinkle that stain with some baking soda. Pour on some white vinegar, and reminisce about making “volcanoes” in elementary school while the baking soda and vinegar bubble up and, hopefully, remove the remnants of the stain. Try this from the back of the shirt. The trick is to push out the stain.
• If it’s still not gone, go back to the part about the detergent and do it all over again. DON’T EVER PUT CLOTHING WITH STAINS ON THEM IN THE DRYER UNLESS YOU HAVE A VESTED INTEREST IN KEEPING THOSE STAINS FOREVER.
• Mix some dishwasher detergent in water and soak the shirt in the mixture. Dishwasher detergent is amazing on greasy spots.
• If there’s still some stain, try some stain remover from the store.
• The last resort: If this really is an expensive shirt, take it to the dry cleaner.

Stains on Carpet or Rug

But what about the barbeque sauce on the carpets or rug? Yes, your husband was eating that big rack of ribs over your white rug or carpeting. Here’s how to remove it, but please remember to:

1. Test these solutions in an inconspicuous spot first
2. Blot never rub at the stain to avoid both spreading the stain and fraying carpet fibers.
3. If you use detergent, soap, ammonia or other cleaning solution to remove the stain, be sure to rinse it thoroughly after the stain is gone to remove any cleaning product residue. The residue will end up attracting dirt and then you’ll have a dirt spot to contend with.
4. DON’T USE BLEACH!

To Remove The Stain:

• Scrape up the excess sauce with a kitchen knife.
• Usingwarm water, carefully dab at the stain to lift off as much of the barbecue sauce as possible
• If you have a small steam cleaner with an upholstery attachment, now it the time to use it. Put a squirt of dishwashing liquid in about 1 gallon of water. Apply to the stain being careful not to over saturate the area. Suck out as much liquid as possible.
• If you don’t have a steam cleaner, mix up a tablespoon or so of the dishwashing detergent that you use in the sink with 4 cups of warm water. Dab the solution on the stain using a clean dry cloth to to absorb the liquid.
• Take some household hydrogen peroxide (3% strength), and pour over the stain, cover with plastic wrap, cover with a towel or over heavy object like a book in order to keep the hydrogen peroxide in the dark. (it converts to water when exposed to sunlight). Check it after 30 minutes, it the stain has lightened, repeat this process until the stain has been removed.
• If worse comes to worse, and your attempt has been in vain, mix up a little ammonia and water – 1 tablespoon to one cup water. Blot at the stain again and repeat if necessary.

Don’t forget to thoroughly rinse the area with plain water to remove any remaining cleaning product residue

Barbecue Stain on Furniture:

You notice that the barbecue sauce bandit wiped their hands on the sofa prior to dropping the ribs on the rug. Breathe. Breathe some more.

• Scrape up and remaining barbecue sauce with a kitchen knife.
• Using warm water, dab a dampened paper towel or cotton cloth on the barbecue stain teo remove as much as possible.
• If you have a small steam cleaner with an upholstery attachment, now it the time to use it. Put a squirt of dishwashing liquid in about 1 gallon of water. Apply to the stain being careful not to over saturate the area. Suck out as much liquid as possible.
• If you don’t have a steam cleaner, mix a tablespoon or so of the dishwashing detergent that you use in the sink with a couple of cups of warm water.
• After you have removed as much of the sauce that is going to come out, take some household hydrogen peroxide (3 percent strength), and pour over the stain, cover with plastic wrap, cover with a towel or over heavy object like a book in order to keep the hydrogen peroxide in the dark. (it converts to water when exposed to sunlight). Check it after 30 minutes, it the stain has lightened, repeat this process until the stain has been removed.
• If it looks like you are having success with any of these steps, don’t over clean the upholstery. Give it a break and let the area dry completely. Sometimes you find that a bit of the stain comes to light when the area is dry. If you need to keep working on the stain, then go back to the beginning without over-stressing the area.

You removed the barbeque stain and nobody was hurt!

Pat yourself on the back again. Get yourself a nice glass of red wine. Put your feet up and enjoy the barbecue. And don’t spill the wine!