💄 Oil + pigmentHow to remove tomato sauce & ketchup stains
Lycopene + oil · cold water from the back, then detergent
The red in ketchup, pasta sauce and pizza sauce is lycopene from tomatoes. Like kimchi juice, it's a carotenoid pigment that dissolves readily in oil, so it soaks into the fibers along with the oil in the sauce. Remove the solids, break up the oil, then remove the color, in that order.
🔬 Why this order works
Lycopene barely dissolves in water, so rinsing with water alone leaves a red tinge. Dish soap wraps up the oil and lifts it out, and oxygen bleach and light break down the remaining pigment.
🧺 Step by step
Tap a step when it's done to tick it off.
👕 By fabric
Oxygen bleach and sunlight remove most of it. On white cotton you can also dab on a little lemon juice or vinegar and leave it in the sun.
After pre-treating with dish soap, test a color-safe oxygen bleach before using it. Sun on the stained area only, and briefly.
Remove the solids, blot and rinse with cold water, then take it to a dry cleaner.
🚫 Don't
- Rubbing with the solids still on.
- Rinsing with hot water.
- Using the dryer while a red tinge remains.
⏳ If it has already dried
For dried sauce stains, brush off the surface residue with a soft brush, apply dish soap and let it sit for 30 minutes, then soak in oxygen bleach solution for a few hours.
💡 Tip
When sauce splashes onto your shirt while eating pizza or pasta, scraping it off with the edge of a spoon spreads it far less than wiping with a napkin.
❓ Common questions
Why shouldn't I use hot water on ketchup stains?
Ketchup contains sugar and starch, and tomato pigment goes deeper into the fibers when heated. The right order is to remove as much of the solids and color as possible with cold water, then use warm water at the washing stage.
Does the same method work on red stains in plastic containers?
It's the same lycopene pigment, so wash off the oil with dish soap and leave them in the sun for a day; most of it will fade.
How is it different from tteokbokki sauce?
Both are oil-soluble red pigments, so the order is almost the same. Tteokbokki has more chili pigment and oil, so just give the dish soap stage longer.
🔗 Related stains
🧭 All stains
- Coffee stains
- Red wine stains
- Kimchi & tteokbokki sauce stains
- Curry stains
- Tomato sauce & ketchup stains
- Jjajang (black bean sauce) & soy sauce stains
- Chocolate stains
- Grease & oil stains
- Milk, formula & spit-up stains
- Blood stains
- Mud & red clay stains
- Yellow sweat stains
- Shirt collar & cuff grime
- Lipstick & lip tint stains
- Foundation & cushion compact stains
- Sunscreen stains
- Nail polish stains
- Hair dye stains
- Ballpoint pen ink stains
- Permanent marker & name pen stains
- Grass stains
- Chewing gum
- Candle wax & crayon stains
- Rust stains
- Mildew stains
- Egg stains
- Green & black tea stains
- Fruit, juice & cola stains
- Baby poop & diaper blowout stains
- Urine stains & odor
- White deodorant marks
- Mascara & eyeliner stains
- Water-based & acrylic paint stains
- Sticker, tape & adhesive residue
- Highlighter stains
- Fountain pen & printer ink stains
- Hat sweat stains & forehead marks
General home methods. For valuable garments or unknown fabrics, take them to a dry cleaner and say what the stain is. Follow product labels for bleaches and solvents, ventilate, and never mix them.