Oil and grease family: degrease, then hot wash
How to get diaper cream out
Zinc oxide in petroleum jelly or lanolin. White, greasy and water-repellent, so water just beads off it.
Do this first
Scrape off with a spoon
Fresh stain
- Scrape off with a spoon
- Work in dish soap and leave 15 minutes
- Dab with a solvent spot remover if still greasy
- Wash in the hottest water the label allows
Dried or old
- Dish soap overnight
- Wash hot
- Repeat if a grey shadow remains
- Fabric care
- Cloth diapers: cream can make them repel; use liners or a cloth-safe cream.
- Time
- 15 min, repeat
- How to tell
- Look: white or greasy grey patch; Feel: slick; Smell: faint
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.