Dye family: alcohol or a long oxygen soak
How to get fruit punch and sports drinks out
Red 40 and Blue 1 food dyes. Among the hardest kid stains.
Do this first
Flush cold from the back right away
Fresh stain
- Flush cold from the back right away
- Gently work in detergent
- Soak in oxygen bleach at least an hour, ideally overnight
- Wash
Dried or old
- Overnight oxygen soak, repeat
- Whites: peroxide and dish soap, or diluted chlorine after a test
- Fabric care
- Chlorine on white cotton only.
- Time
- Overnight
- How to tell
- Look: bright red, blue or purple; Feel: sticky; Smell: sweet
Where this fix comes from
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.