This Dry Shampoo Hack Gets Stains Out Of Clothes

Everyone knows that grease stains never come out of clothes, right? Wrong. The next time your cheeseburger's juicy drippings tragically land on your favorite top or oil pops your pants while cooking, don't be so quick to surrender them to the house clothes graveyard. Instead, try a stain removal hack that calls on something you probably have under your bathroom sink — dry shampoo. The product that will not only save you from a skipped shower day (You were running late, it's fine!), but can also keep you from shamefully admitting that yeah, you could probably benefit from the occasional mealtime bib.

It makes sense when you think about it. Dry shampoo's main function is to absorb oil in hair, why couldn't it do the same on clothes? According to The Pool, it totally can. Here's how: Simply spray the affected area with a generous amount of product (in The Pool's video, Batiste is used) — to the point where powder visibly piles up on the stain. Allow it to sit for "several hours" before scraping the product away and either spot scrubbing with detergent or tossing the garment in the wash. One Redditor whose son works in the restaurant industry keeps a can of dry shampoo by the hamper, and it's a total game-changer for those dried-on spots.

It turns out dry shampoo isn't the only unconventional oil combatant. Powder, in many forms, has the ability to soak up tough, unwanted residue. Esquire's resident cleaning expert Jolie Kerr recommends using cornstarch in the same fashion, and Love Home and Planet even makes a "dry wash spray" that acts like a dry shampoo for clothing. The Pool also suggests trying talcum powder or baking powder, if you happen to have those on hand.

If you don't have access to those products, there are a few other promising routes. Many swear by dish soap's grease-cutting abilities (particularly Dawn), but some have been let down by it (via Esquire). Apartment Therapy published an article all about how to remove stains using Crayola chalk. Kerr also recommends WD-40 and mechanic's soap — who knew?

So, whether or not you're a dry shampoo user, you now have plenty of ways to troubleshoot a stain before tossing a garment altogether. Happy cleaning!