If you’re making a chilli or chicken curry over rice, turmeric is the zesty spice you need to give your food the right kick. If you happen to spill any on your clothes though, the resulting yellow stain can be quite stubborn. If you need to clean a turmeric stain, here’s how to do it.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re dealing with the powder form of turmeric or it’s already been mixed into chilli or curry, removing turmeric stains requires a bit of effort. The main ingredient in turmeric, curcumin, is what give it that vibrant colour. Unfortunately, curcumin isn’t water soluble.
If the turmeric on your clothes is still in powder form, first take the clothing outside and aggressively shake it to remove as much of the powder as possible. Then, follow these steps for getting rid of turmeric stains.
- Choose from the range of Cold Power Liquids and Powders and an additional stain remover
- Scrape off as much of the excess solids as you can
- Apply your Cold Power detergent directly onto the stain
- Let it soak for at least twenty minutes
- Rinse the detergent off, then wash in the hottest water possible for the fabric
- Check that the stain is gone
Simply washing an item of clothing with turmeric on it isn’t going to get rid of the stain. Because turmeric isn’t water soluble, choose high-quality detergents to clean turmeric stains, such as the Cold Power Complete Action Liquid.
Scrape off as much solid material as you can if you’re cleaning curry or chilli and shake off any powder turmeric. Pre-treat the area with your Cold Power detergent, massaging it gently into the fibers of the clothes with your fingers. Let this sit on the stain for 20 minutes, then rinse it completely out.
Using the ‘heavily soiled’ dosage on your Cold Power product label, wash the clothing in the hottest water safe for the fabric. You can find this information on the garment label.
Check to see if the stain is gone. If it isn’t, don’t dry it or it will set. Instead, combine your detergent with cool water and soak the garment for up to two hours. Wash again.
If you spilled turmeric, chilli or curry on a laundry item that cannot be machine washed, you may need to spot treat it. To do this, apply your Cold Power detergent to the area, wait patiently for 20 minutes, then rinse off. Blot the area dry. You may need to repeat this several times until the stain has disappeared.
For fine fabrics, always check the garment label. Most will require hand washing. If this is the case, use a sensitive detergent and stain remover.
You may be tempted to use natural stain removers or home remedies on a turmeric stain, especially if you’re away from home. Unfortunately, these remedies can create a bigger headache than what you started with and may damage your fabric and your washing machine. Instead, shake out any powder and keep the turmeric stain wet until you get home and can use a trusted detergent like Cold Power.
To remove a curry stain from a shirt that is white or yellow typically involves follow the above steps. However, some stubborn stains on these colours of clothing may require multiple pre-treatments, especially if they are dark stains.
Don’t want to erase curry from your diet, but are always making a mess of the turmeric? Don’t worry, with these tips you can get rid of the stain fast!