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How to Treat and Remove Paint Stains from Clothes

“Colour outside the lines,” they said. Here’s what conventional wisdom forgot to add: “but not when it comes to paint.”

Whether you were giving a dull wall a lively refresh or your kid decided to graffiti their clothes with acrylics during art class, any time paint escapes its intended canvas results in a laundry headache.

The first thing you need to know about treating paint stains, is that the ingredient list matters. Paint is either water or oil based. Water-based paints – like craft, finger, latex and acrylics – are common and fairly straightforward to treat. (Greater success is assured if you stain treat immediately.) Alternatively, oil-based paints, like enamel and art store oil paints, are quite difficult to remove and often require the application of a chemical-laden thinner – which can be equally harsh on the environment and fabrics. What’s more, when oil-based paints dry, they are pretty well impossible to remove from clothing.

Here’s our best advice for removing paint stains from clothes.  
    

What you’ll need to treat water-based paint stains:

     

How to treat and remove water-based paint stains in 6 easy steps

Step 1: Identify the fabric type

Inspect the fabric care label to note the delicacy of the textile and how it should be laundered.

Note: The following stain guide is for items that can be machine or hand washed. For vintage or dry clean-only clothing, perform step two and then immediately bring to a professional dry cleaner.
    

Step 2: Remove any excess wet paint from the garment

Using a blunt tool (like a butter knife or credit card), lift any excess paint from the fabric, taking special care not to spread or transfer it to other parts of the item.

Note: Unlike our other stain guides, in the case of treating paint stains, do not use a paper towel or cloth to wipe it. (This action will only set the paint deeper into the fabric’s fibres.)

Step 3: Rinse with cold water from the backside of the stain

Rinse the stain with cold water from the back side of the fabric so that any bleeding runs off the item instead of trickling down it (which could create a larger stain.) This will dilute lingering traces of paint. However, pigment may still remain.
   

Step 4: Pre-treat with an enzyme-containing laundry detergent

Tear a strip of Tru Earth into small pieces and place in a shallow bowl. Add one tablespoon (15ml) of tap-hot water to begin dissolving it. Stir with a spoon to form a paste, adding small volumes of water as needed. Smear the concentrate atop the stain, gently pressing the mixture into it to allow the surfactant to get to work, releasing the residues from the fabric.

Allow it to sit for 15 minutes. If needed, use a soft-bristled brush to agitate the stain, working from the outside edge, toward the centre. Rinse.
   

Step 5: Time to wash

If the garment is machine-washable, toss it in the washer alongside a Tru Earth laundry detergent eco-strip on its typical wash setting.

For hand wash-only items, tear up the strip, place the pieces in a sink or basin and cover with cool or warm water, but not hot. Allow it to soak and then agitate the article and rinse.
    

Step 6: Hang dry

Only place the garment in the dryer once you are finished stain treating; the heat of the machine will “set” any remaining stains, making them permanent.
   

Step 7: Inspect the stain

Has it resolved? If not, repeat the stain treatment in step four and launder again.

What you’ll need to treat oil-based paint stains:

    

How to treat and remove oil-based paint stains in 8 easy steps

 

Step 1: Identify the fabric type

Inspect the fabric care label to note the delicacy of the textile and how it should be laundered.

Note: The following stain guide is for items that can be machine laundered or hand washed. For vintage or dry clean-only clothing, perform step two and then immediately bring to a professional dry cleaner.

Step 2: Remove excess wet paint

Using a blunt tool (like a butter knife or credit card), lift any excess paint from the fabric, taking special care not to spread or transfer it to other parts of the item.

Note: At this point, do not attempt to rinse oil-based paint with running water.
   

Step 3: Use paper towel/cloth to absorb remaining paint

Place the stain face down onto a folded wad of paper towel or an old towel. From the backside of the stain, saturate it with paint thinner.* With gentle, light pressing strokes, push a spoon atop the wet, diluted stain site. This action should transfer the paint to the absorbent paper towel. Replace soiled paper towel with fresh, new sheets, as needed, until complete.

*Always perform a test for colourfastness before applying any type of chemical to your clothes. If the item is not colourfast, bring it to a dry cleaner right away.
    

Step 4: Rinse from the backside of the stain

Once the oil paint has been removed, rinse the stain with the hottest water appropriate for the fabric type, from the back side of the garment so that any bleeding runs off the item instead of trickling down it.
   

Step 5: Pre-treat with an enzyme-containing laundry detergent

Tear a strip of Tru Earth into small pieces and place in a shallow bowl. Add one tablespoon (15ml) of tap-hot water to begin dissolving it. Stir with a spoon to form a paste, adding small volumes of water as needed. Smear the concentrate atop the stain, gently pressing the mixture into it to allow the surfactant to get to work, releasing the residues from the fabric.

Allow it to sit for 15 minutes. If needed, use a soft-bristled brush to agitate the stain, working from the outside edge, toward the centre. Rinse.

Step 6: Time to wash

If the garment is machine-washable, toss it in the washer alongside a Tru Earth laundry detergent eco-strip on its typical wash setting.

For hand wash-only items, tear up the strip, place the pieces in a sink or basin and cover with cool or warm water, but not hot. Allow it to soak and then agitate the article and rinse.
    

Step 7: Hang dry

Only place the garment in the dryer once you are finished stain treating; the heat of the machine will “set” any remaining stains, making them permanent.
   

Step 8: Inspect the stain

Has it resolved? If not, repeat the stain treatment in step five and launder again. If the stain persists, bring it to a dry-cleaning profession.

What should I do if the paint stain has dried?

Unfortunately, little can be done for oil-based paint stains once they have dried. For water-based stains:

  1. Check the fabric care label
  2. Perform a test for colourfastness: apply a dab of rubbing alcohol in an inconspicuous area of the garment.
  3. If no dye bleeds, then use a swab to apply more rubbing alcohol to the dry paint. Saturate the blemish until flakes form.
  4. Using a dull knife, gently lift flakes off the stain site, then apply a Tru Earth concentrated stain remover, per the instructions above.

Wash, hang-dry and inspect.

The paint stain stubbornly persists. What can I try as a last-ditch effort?

Commercial paint removers – like OOPS!® Multi-Purpose Remover and Cleaner – are an option but there’s no guaranteeing whether your garment can tolerate the treatment. We want to point out that commercial cleaners may likely include ingredients that Tru Earth prides itself on being free of. You may also consider whether modifying the item to cover the stain with a patch, hemming or the addition of a pocket might be a viable and clever, chemical-free solution.