How to Get Mud Stains Out of Clothes

By Matt Oden | Comments | Dirt and Grease Stains | Fabric Stains → Clothing

Now that spring has come many are now wondering how to get mud stains out of clothing. Mud can sometimes be a stubborn stain to remove, but like most stains the quicker you treat the stain the easier it will be to get the mud stains out of your clothing. A little bit of elbow grease and a few good tips should get your mud stains right out.

How to Get Mud Out of Your Clothing

What you will need:

Liquid laundry detergent
Fabric stain treatment spray
Hand-held vacuum cleaner
laundry brush (optional)

During the spring and summer season's mud stains on your clothing seem to be a normal part of life. Getting the mud stains out is a different story. At times mud stains can be difficult to remove, but these helpful steps should aid you in removing mud stains from your clothing.

To begin the mud stain removal process you will need to allow the mud to dry. This will allow you to remove the excess mud easily.
Once the stain has dried shake the article of clothing to remove the dried mud.
Next, use your hand-held vacuum to go over the mud stain. Try and remove as much of the dried mud flakes as possible.
Now that all of the excess mud has been removed you should apply a laundry stain removal product. These can be found at any grocery store in the laundry aisle. If you are in a pinch you can use liquid laundry soap. Ensure that you have completely covered the stain with either product.
Allow the detergent to soak on the garment for about 15 to 20 minutes. Do not let the laundry soap dry.
Fill a bucket, sink, or laundry tub with water. Place the mud stained garment into he water and let it sit for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Using your fingers or laundry brush, begin to scrub the mud stain. You should be able to see the mud being lifted from the fabric. If you cannot remove all the stains don't panic! Just remove as much as you can without wearing a hole in your clothing.
Once you stop seeing mud come out of your clothing soak the garment for about 5 minutes. Then scrub again. Continue to alternate soaking and scrubbing until the stain has been removed.
If you have a stubborn mud stain you can stop scrubbing and soaking after you can no longer remove the stain.
Once you can no longer remove the stain by scrubbing reapply the stain treatment or liquid laundry soap.
Allow the stain to sit for about 15 minutes.
Launder the garment as normal. Inspect the clothing to ensure the stain has been removed.
If the stain remains repeat the process of soaking and scrubbing.

How to Get Mud Out of Denim

What you will need:

Heavy laundry detergent or liquid dishwashing soap
Toothbrush (an old cleaning toothbrush)
Sink
Hot water

Mud can be a messy and hard to remove when it gets all over your favorite pair of jeans. Never fear there are a few great tricks to removing that nasty mud stain from your jeans.

Fight the urge to scrub the mud from any garment made of denim. Rubbing the mud on this type of fabric could make the stain a whole lot worse. Instead of trying to remove the mud right away, leave it to dry.
Once the mud has dried, use an old toothbrush to gently brush away the dried mud. Continue to brush the mud off of the blue jeans until you feel confident you have removed all the mud you can.
Next, shake out the denim to remove any mud residue.
Completely cover the mud stain in heavy laundry detergent or liquid dish soap. Then add a few drops of water to make the soap foam.
Use your old toothbrush to scrub the stain. This time you don't need to worry about scrubbing the stain hard. Denim is a heavy fabric and can handle a good scrubbing.
Next, rinse out the soap under hot water. As you are running the soap out of the denim scrub the denim with the toothbrush to remove all of the soap.
Inspect your denim garment. If there is still a mud stain you can soak your garment. To soak fill a sink, laundry tub, or bucket with hot water. Soak your denim for about 10 minutes.
Cover the stained area with soap and scrub the mud stain with your fingers. After you have scrubbed the stain for awhile allow the denim to soak for another 5 minutes. Repeat the soaking and scrubbing until you can no longer remove the stain.
Wash your denim as you normally would. Do not dry unless the stain has been entirely removed. If the stain remains, repeat steps 8-9.

More Tips for Getting Mud Stains Out of Your Clothing

Be patient! Do not clean the mud off of your cloths right away. Allow the mud to dry before you begin the stain removal process.
Know your material. If you can use hot water to soak and scrub than do so. The hot water will allow the stain to break up a little easier than cold water.
If you are washing a sport uniform do not put the stain free garment in the dryer. The type of material used to make uniforms will shrink when heat is applied.
If your clothing is heavily soiled wash it alone as to not transfer the stain to the other cleaner cloths.