Stain Remover DIY: The Best Homemade Stain Remover (2024)

The stain remover DIY featured in this post is one of many, many formulas I’ve experimented with throughout my blogging career. Though it contains just two ingredients, this stain remover recipe has proven its ability remove tough stains time and time again.

So what gives this DIY stain remover the power toget stains out of just about anything? Just two simple ingredients: Dawn dish soap and hydrogen peroxide. Together, these miracle cleaners form a stain remover that’s not just easy and cheap to make, but that can handle everything from yellow armpit stains to grease and oil spots on dark fabric.

In my opinion, not only is this the best DIY homemade stain remover out there, but it’s one of the most effective laundry products of any origin!

What’s In This Homemade Stain Remover?

As I mentioned earlier, combination of dish soap and peroxide so effective? A concentrated dish soap like Dawn Ultra is a surfactant that can emulsify oil and water. This unique ability makes it excellent for treating oily stains, as it makes it easier for the wash water to combine with the grease stain and dissolve it.

The other ingredient, hydrogen peroxide, is an oxidizer. Oxidation changes the chemical structure of the molecules that make up stains, including those responsible for its color, helping to break down colorful stains (such as rust stains or red wine stains) in the wash. (It’s also what makes hydrogen peroxide so effective at removing blood stains!)

I’ve been using these two ingredients in my laundry room for years now, but I used to apply them separately. Luckily, it eventually occurred to me that I could save myself a step by combining them into a ready-made DIY laundry stain remover spray! Here’s how you can make it at home.

How To Make My Ultimate Stain Remover Spray

Ingredients:

• 1 part Dawn dishwashing liquid
• 2 parts hydrogen peroxide (3%)

Note: You don’t really need to use a recipe here — just aim to use twice as much peroxide as soap when you mix it up!

Directions:

Add the Dawn and peroxide to a dark-colored spray bottle, replace the top, and tip gently side to side to mix. (It’s important to store this spray in a dark spray bottle in a dark, cool location, as hydrogen peroxide will break down if exposed to light, so this is important!)

How To Use This DIY Laundry Stain Remover

Spray enough of the soap and peroxide mixture on the item to saturate the stain. (You may want to do a spot test on dark fabrics to make sure they’re colorfast, but I will say that I’ve used this spray on all kinds of dark and colorful clothing without any discoloration issues!)

If you’re treating stubborn stains, likeunderarm stains or ring around the collar, scrub a bit ofbaking soda into the stain after spraying it using a small scrub brush or old toothbrush. Leave the baking soda on the stain and let it sit for a few minutes before laundering the garment. (If you want to treat a stain now and wash it more than a few hours later, myhomemade laundry stain sticks are great for that!)

Note: I recommend using this spray for laundry stain removal only, as it generates too many suds to easily rinse out of carpet. If you’re interested in a DIY recipe for carpet stains, see myDIY carpet stain spray with white vinegar and borax. Forpet stains, there’s a great baking soda and vinegar trick I can recommend!

See The Results For Yourself!

To demonstrate just how effective this easy homemade stain remover is, I purposely soiled a t-shirt with several common stains, then sprayed them thoroughly and gave them a quick scrub with a small brush.

After washing the t-shirt as usual, I couldn’t find a single trace of the original stains. Check out the before and after pictures — I think those are the kind of results that speak for themselves! :-)

Keep The Recipe Handy

With a set of my stick-on spray bottle labels (designed for use on dark colored bottles), you’ll never have to go searching for the recipe for my Ultimate Stain Remover Spray! The Laundry Recipes features four labels printed with the name and recipe for my favorite DIY laundry sprays, including stain remover, my favoritespray starch recipe, a DIY wrinkle release spray, and my homemade lavender linen spray.

More DIY Laundry Products To Try

This homemade laundry stain remover is just one of many laundry DIYs you can find on my website! I’ve been making and usinghomemade laundry detergents (including powder, tabs, and liquid) for years, both because they’re effective and much less expensive than store-bought laundry soap.

The same goes for otherDIY laundry supplies too, including homemade fabric softeners (and fabric softener crystals),laundry whitener, homemade oxygen bleach, and more.Another benefit to making your own laundry products is that once you have the basic ingredients, you can make a number of usefulcleaning solutions for other household tasks!

Do you have a go-to stain remover?

Jill Nystul (aka Jillee)

Jill Nystul is an accomplished writer and author who founded the blog One Good Thing by Jillee in 2011. With over 30 years of experience in homemaking, she has become a trusted resource for contemporary homemakers by offering practical solutions to everyday household challenges.I share creative homemaking and lifestyle solutions that make your life easier and more enjoyable!

About Jillee

Jill Nystul

Jill’s 30 years of homemaking experience, make her the trusted source for practical household solutions.

About Jillee