How to Remove Turmeric Stains

By Matt Oden | Comments | Food and Drink Stains → Turmeric

If you cook with Indian dishes, you are likely to come into counter with the ingredient turmeric. It is a common ingredient used in curry dishes. However, if you spill it, the deep-orange spice will leave a reddish stain on your clothes or linens.

Laundering them as you normally would will leave a permanent pink stain and thereby ruin the fabric.

Remove Turmeric Stains Quickly

The faster you work to remove turmeric stain residue, the easier it will be to rid your clothing and fabric of the turmeric stain.

Generally, the items needed to remove turmeric stain residue can be found in your home. The first thing you need to remove turmeric stain residue is dish washing detergent, vinegar, lemon, and a clean cloth.

You should rub liquid dish detergent onto the stained area. Once this is done, let it sit for thirty minutes. After this time, rinse the stain with cold water.
Take the vinegar and apply it directly to the stain. The stain will likely have faded to a pale pink color or a color which looks yellowish-orange. This is normal.
Blot the stain using a clean cloth to remove turmeric stain residue.
You should then take the lemon and cut it into slices. Use one side of the lemon and place it onto the visible stain. Let the cloth sit in the direct sunlight for ten minutes to one hour.
Keep the cloth in the sun until the stain has faded completely or is faint.
Once this is done you should wash the stained area using the detergent on hand. Hand wash the affected area as per the instructions on the clothing or fabric tag.
Prior to putting the item in the dryer you should wash it as usual and ensure that the stain has been completely removed.

Other Ways to Remove Turmeric Stain Residue

If you find that as you try to remove turmeric stain residue, it does not go away after one wash, be sure to wash it again before you place it in the dryer.

If you place it in the dryer before the stain is completely removed then you will set the stain permanently with the heat from the dryer. The heat causes the staining material to cling to the fabric.

Be aware though, that you can use oxygenated bleach if you want to remove turmeric stain residue from your upholstery or your carpets. You can rub lemon carbonated soda like Sprite to the stains on your carpet or your furniture if you want to remove them.

If you do use lemon juice, however, it along with the exposure to the sun can bleach out the colors from your fabrics. It is important that you continually check the fabric to make sure that it is not fading.

The easiest method to remove turmeric stains is to wash the garment with normal detergent. After this you should leave the garment out to dry in the sun.

If your clothing is white, then you can leave it to soak in a mixture of water and bleach to remove turmeric stains. You can also create a paste with water and baking soda and leave the stained items in the mixture overnight.

You can soak stained materials in soda water to remove turmeric stains as well. However, if you choose this option you should avoid using real soda or tonic water because the sugar contained in those items will worsen the turmeric stain.

Should this still not remove the turmeric stains, then you can soak the item in bleach. Of course, soaking an item in bleach means the color will be compromised.
Overall if you are cooking anything with the ingredient turmeric and you end up with a stain, it is important that you address the stain removal as quickly as possible. You can use certain materials to remove the turmeric stains from your carpet and other materials to remove it from your upholstery.

If the stain is on your clothes then you can try a combination of different methods to remove it from colored clothing as well as white clothing.

Whatever method you use, it is important that you avoid drying the materials in a dryer until the stain is completely removed. Otherwise, the stain will be set into the fabric permanently.