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Most laundry stains come out more easily if you treat them before the wash, use a method that matches the stain, and check the fabric before it goes in the dryer. Heat can set many marks, including blood and ink, so a stained item that looks faded when wet may still show once it is dry.
Start with what you can see: blot a wet stain rather than rubbing it in, check the care label, and pretreat. Protein stains such as blood are usually treated with cold water first. Other stains — grease, ink, slime, or odor — need a different approach, which is why the guides below are grouped by problem rather than listed as one long checklist.
This hub collects our stain, odor, shrinking, and wrinkle questions in one place. For everyday fabric care, baskets, and special items, see the fabric care guide.
More laundry guides: Washers · Dryers · Detergents · Stains · Fabric care · Laundromats
Stain treatment
- How to Get Blood Out of Sheets With Cold Water — Cold-water methods for fresh and dried blood on sheets, and why the dryer should wait.
- Will Dried Ink in Dryer Get on Clothes? — Whether leftover ink in a dryer can transfer, and what to do if a pen went through a cycle.
- Why Do My Clothes Get Stained in the Washer? — Common reasons clothes pick up marks in the wash, including residue and items left in pockets.
- What Laundry Detergent Is Best for Slime? — How to approach slime on washable clothes, and which kind of detergent is typically used.
- Can You Make Slime With Laundry Detergent? — Whether laundry detergent can be used to make slime, separate from getting slime out of clothes.
Stain removers, odor, and boosters
- Can You Use OxiClean With Laundry Detergent? — How oxygen bleach boosters are used with detergent, and what not to mix them with.
- Is OxiClean Laundry Detergent? — What OxiClean is — a booster, not a stand-alone detergent — and how it is usually used.
- What Laundry Detergent is Best for Urine Odor? — Approaches to urine odor on washable fabric, including enzyme and detergent choices.
- What Laundry Detergent Kills Fungus? — What detergent can and cannot do for fungus on fabric, and when washing alone is not enough.
- Does Laundry Detergent Kill Mold? — Whether detergent removes mold from washable items, and when you still need a different treatment.
Shrinking and wrinkles
- 10 Tips to Keep Your Clothes From Shrinking — Practical habits that reduce shrinkage, starting with the care label and dryer heat.
- Do Dryers Shrink Clothes? — How dryer heat and tumbling can shrink some fabrics, and when air-drying is safer.
- How to Shrink Clothing — When someone wants a garment to shrink, and the limits of doing that at home.
- Does the Washer or Dryer Shrink Clothes? — Whether shrinkage is more likely in the wash or the dryer, and what usually causes it.
- Will 100% Cotton Shrink in the Dryer? — What typically happens to 100 percent cotton in a hot dryer, and how to reduce the risk.
- Does Rayon Shrink in the Dryer? — Why rayon is often risky in a dryer, and what the care label usually calls for.
- Do Dryer Sheets Help With Wrinkles? — Whether dryer sheets reduce wrinkles, and what actually helps a load come out less creased.
Product picks
Stain removers, pretreatment sprays, and oxygen bleach can help on washable fabrics when the care label allows them. These are examples currently listed from Amazon. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
Frequently asked questions
Should I put a stained item in the dryer?
Not until the stain is gone, or at least until you have checked the fabric after washing. Heat can set many stains, including blood and some inks, and a mark that looked lighter when wet can show again after drying.
Is hot water best for every stain?
No. Blood and other protein stains are usually treated with cold water first, because hot water can set them. Other stains may call for a different temperature. Use the method that matches the stain and the care label, and check the item before you dry it.
Can I use OxiClean with laundry detergent?
Oxygen bleach boosters such as OxiClean are often used with detergent on washable fabrics that can take them. Do not mix them with chlorine bleach. See our OxiClean guides below for the details, and follow the product label.
What should I do first with a fresh stain?
Blot a wet stain rather than rubbing it deeper, check the care label, and pretreat. Wash the item, then look at it before it goes in the dryer. If the mark is still there, treat it again rather than drying it.
More laundry guides: Washers · Dryers · Detergents · Stains · Fabric care · Laundromats