How to Remove Grease from Polyester

The Logic Verdict

My Take: Kelsey from Ruff and Tumble Farmhouse finally stopped tossing her husband’s ruined work pants by stirring baking soda and Dawn into a gritty paste, pressing it into each dry grease crater with the back of a spoon, and washing after a short dwell. The combo lifts even stains that survived previous wash-and-dry cycles because you never dilute the soap before it attacks the oil.

The Science

Polyester is a hydrophobic plastic fiber, so grease happily fuses to it and resists plain water. Dawn loads the stain with surfactants that surround and lift oil droplets, while baking soda acts as a mild alkali + absorbent + gentle abrasive to disrupt the bond. Working the paste from multiple directions forces the slurry under the weave. A covered 15-minute dwell keeps the paste moist so the surfactants keep breaking down the grease before the washer carries everything away.

Step-by-Step Removal

1. Stage the garment dry. Lay the stained polyester flat over a towel; do not pre-wet the spot or you’ll dilute the soap before it can bite into the grease.
2. Mix the paste. Combine roughly 1/4 cup baking soda with ~3 tablespoons of Dawn (add more soap as needed) until it looks like gritty frosting. Keep any extra in a jar; a couple drops of water will rehydrate it later just like Kelsey demonstrates.
3. Spread and work it in. Use the back of a spoon, your fingers, or a dedicated toothbrush to press the paste into every grease dot. Move north-south, east-west, and diagonally to drive the mixture under the fibers.
4. Let it dwell 15 minutes. Leave the fabric flat so the paste stays put. If your room is dry, tent a damp cloth on top so it doesn’t crust.
5. Wash per the care tag. Toss the garment into the washer with like colors and run a normal cycle using the warmest water the polyester label allows. No extra stain remover is needed; the paste becomes the detergent booster.
6. Inspect before drying. Make sure every dark halo is gone before exposing the fabric to dryer heat. Reapply paste and repeat if any shadow remains.

Parts & Tools

• Arm & Hammer Pure Baking Soda (Amazon) – Provides the absorbent powder and mild grit that build Kelsey’s stain-lifting paste.
• Dawn Platinum Dish Soap (Amazon) – High-surfactant dish soap that slices through cooked-on oils better than generic detergents.
• Ball Half-Pint Mason Jars (Amazon) – Airtight jars keep leftover paste ready; add a couple drops of water to revive it like in the video.

What NOT To Do

• Don’t wet the stain before applying the paste—water blocks the dish soap from making full-strength contact with the grease.
• Don’t skip the dwell time; washing immediately robs the surfactants of the 15-minute window they need to loosen set-in spots.
• Don’t toss the pants in the dryer until you visually confirm the grease halo is gone, or you risk heat-setting whatever residue remains.

Resources

• Arm & Hammer Pure Baking Soda (Amazon)
• Dawn Platinum Dish Soap (Amazon)
• Ball Half-Pint Mason Jars (Amazon)