Dye family: alcohol or a long oxygen soak
How to get curry and turmeric out
Curcumin is a strong yellow dye that dissolves in oil and alcohol, and fades in sunlight.
Do this first
Scrape
Fresh stain
- Scrape
- Dish soap to lift the oil
- Rinse cold
- Gently work in detergent
- Lay in direct sun damp for hours
- Wash
Dried or old
- Rubbing alcohol dab
- Oxygen soak
- Sun again
- Fabric care
- Avoid ammonia and baking soda paste: alkali turns turmeric red.
- Time
- Hours of sun
- How to tell
- Look: bright yellow-orange; Feel: oily; Smell: spice
Where this fix comes from
- Household folk practice, checked against the guides above
- University of Illinois Extension, Stain Solutions
We check every fix against these published guides. We do not run a test lab of our own.
Before you start
- Test on a hidden seam first.
- Never mix cleaners.
- Keep it out of the dryer until the stain is gone.