Oil and grease family: degrease, then hot wash
How to get kids' sunscreen out
Oil plus UV filters. Avobenzone can react with iron in water and turn orange-brown, especially with chlorine bleach.
Do this first
Blot
Fresh stain
- Blot
- Cover with cornstarch, brush off
- Work in dish soap
- Wash warm with no chlorine bleach
Dried or old
- If it turned orange, use a fabric rust remover
- Then dish soap and wash
- Fabric care
- Never chlorine bleach.
- Time
- 15 min
- How to tell
- Look: greasy yellowish patch, may turn orange; Feel: slick; Smell: sunscreen
Where this fix comes from
- University of Illinois Extension, Stain Solutions
- Household folk practice, checked against the guides above
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.