I left a pink chapstick in my pant's pocket.  Now I have pink
chapstick melt grease marks all over a load of my expensive cotton
Brooks Brothers wrinkle free dress shirts.  Any hope of getting the
stains out?  Will taking them to the dry cleaner do anything?

Hello chris_mess,

Thank you for your question.

Here are what the stain experts have to say on Chapstick stains:

http://www.fabriclink.com/fabricstains/Chapstick.html

"...Chap Stick - Always read and follow the care instructions and any
warnings on the garment label. And, follow these General Rules for
stain removal.


Saturate the areas with a pretreatment aerosol stain remover.

Wait several minutes for product to penetrate. Rub with heavy duty
liquid detergent. Launder immediately.

If color stain remains, launder in chlorine bleach, if safe for the
fabric, or in all fabric bleach. When using bleach always check an
inside seam for colorfastness.

For extra heavy stains apply dry cleaning fluid to the back of the
stain over white absorbent towels. Let dry, rinse and launder as
above. (Carefully read and follow directions and cautions on dry
cleaning fluid.)..."

http://www.qznaz.com/chapstick.htm

Not quite a resolved thread, but....

"...Question: Chapstick stain? I washed a load of cotton scrubs with a
chapstick in my pocket. They then went into the dryer. Everything came
out with a greasy looking stain on them. Is there a way to remove
this? Help! ...


...Answer: Chapstick can probably be loosened and removed like wax, it
can be frozen with a piece of ice and picked out, or it can be
loosened with white spirits or Drycleaning fluid. Has anyone tried Goo
Gone if the stain is contained?..."

http://www.howtocleananything.com/tipdetails.asp?tid=1160

Almost identical to the first answer above...

"...I accidentally left a tube of Chap Stick in my pants pocket. Then
I washed and dried them. In the dryer the Chap Stick melted and made
oily marks on my pants. The pants are 100% cotton. How can I get the
marks out? "

Since the stain sounds bad you maybe best to try dry-cleaning fluid
first - you can buy it at larger grocery stores. If the Chap Stick has
no color you could treat it like an oil stain. Always test a small
area before you proceed to clean with a chemical or technique you have
not used before on the fabric you are working on.


Try these techniques :

Chap Stick - Always read and follow the care instructions and any
warnings on the garment label.

Saturate the areas with a pretreatment stain remover. 

Wait several minutes for product to penetrate. Rub with heavy-duty
liquid detergent. Launder immediately.

If color stain remains, launder in chlorine bleach, if safe for the
fabric, or in all fabric bleach. When using bleach always check an
inside seam for colorfastness.

For extra heavy stains apply dry cleaning fluid to the back of the
stain over white absorbent towels. Let dry, rinse and launder as
above. (Carefully read and follow directions and cautions on dry
cleaning fluid.) ..."

And echoed here:

http://www.suite101.com/discussion.cfm/house_tips/25408

And last, this thread seems to treat Chapstick stains like candle wax
and recommends Un-Du Candle Wax Remover:

http://www.mrscleannw.com/tips/remove-candle-wax.html



I hope this information is helpful.

Regards,

-=clouseau=-

Thanks for your quick help.  I don't think my stains are like candle
wax though.  It is more like crubs of pink butter melted into the
shirts. Stain remonder and color safe bleach is a good idea.  I'll try
that.   I took two of the shirts to the dry cleaner to see what they
could do.

i too have ruined clothing in the dryer due to me leaving chapstick in
my pockets. anyhoot, i was cleaning my shower heads with white vinager
and had a brain storm. if white vinager takes lime off shower heads it
surley can take chap stick off clothes. it worked for me. i soaked a
shirt (red) in a glass bowl of cold h2o and a splash of vinager and
laundered as usual. i use tide with bleach. no more chap stick spots.

How long did you soak in vinegar and di it make the color fade? I
ruined my work shirts and want to try the vinegar before shelling out
$$$ for new ones.
Thanks