21 Apr How to Remove Shoe Polish? (Part 1)

A pair of shoes or boots that have shoe polish has a very good effect on the first encounter with people and is even considered a requirement in many jobs. However, when the shoe polish is transferred from the shoe to the clothes or carpet, it will no longer have such a special effect! Shoe polish is a mixed stain containing oil, wax and paint, which is counted as a stubborn stain. Read today’s article to learn how to remove this stain from clothes.

Cleaning shoe polish stains from clothes ‌

• If some shoe polish falls on the clothes, use a keen knife to remove it from the fabric. Never wipe or rub these materials by hand, as it will only penetrate the stain particles deeper into the fibres of the garment.
• To clean shoe polish from fabric, first, go to the oily/waxy part of the stain and use an enzyme-based stain remover. If such a product isn’t available, apply a very strong detergent or a paste containing washing powder and water for pre-staining operations. Apply the detergent to the cloth and gently rub it on the cloth with a soft brush.
• Allow the material to remain on the fabric and the stained area for at least 15 minutes. Next, wash the clothes with the hottest water recommended for your fabric and with a suitable bleach for different types of fabrics to remove paint stains from clothes.
• If you still see traces of shoe polish left on your clothes, make a combination of oxygen bleach and cold water. Refer to the instructions on the product packaging for the exact ratio of water to bleach. Now it’s time to completely immerse the shoe polish stain in the composition you have prepared and allow all parts of it to be completely submerged.
• Then wait at least eight hours for the clothes to get wet. Examine the stained area of ​​the garment. If the stain is removed, wash the clothes as usual. But if the shoe polish stain is still visible on the clothes, prepare a fresh combination of water and bleach and soak the clothes again. You may have to repeat the process of soaking clothes in water and bleach several times to see the desired result.

Removing these stains from dry-cleaning clothes

• If you are a little unlucky and your dry-cleaning clothes are stained with shoe polish, remove as much of the solid parts as you can with a keen knife in the first step. Once you have done it as carefully as possible, you should leave the work to the skilled people. Reputable dry cleaners can remove this stain from your clothes in the best way, so using laundry and stain removal services is a safe suggestion and choice.
• You also have a very effective role in the laundry process. The most important thing to do is to wash the stained clothes in time. Then fully explain to the staff what happens to your clothes. You shouldn’t expect laundry staff to be able to clean clothes well without having complete information about them. 
• If the stain isn’t very large and you want to use a home dryer, be sure to remove the stain using the stain remover before putting the clothes in the dryer.

Wipe shoe polish off carpet and slipcovers

The first method: Heat the shoe polish

• Place a piece of paper on the carpet. Paper bags used in stores can be a great option. Try to prevent the heat of the iron from damaging the carpet by inserting thick paper. You can also place a towel under the paper where there’re no stains. These towels prevent the rest of the carpet from getting dirty if you move the paper soaked in shoe polish.
• Set the ironing temperature to warm, not hot temperature. We don’t want to burn the carpet, we just want to melt the stain slowly and effortlessly to absorb the paper. Start from low temperature and continue to the point where the shoe polish stain melts.
• Place the iron on the paper. Shoe polish will be absorbed by the paper and detached from the carpet. Once a piece of paper has absorbed enough shoe polish, you can use another piece of paper. Or if the paper is large enough, you can put blank spots on the stain and iron. When the stain is absorbed by the paper, it can be transferred to other places. So don’t touch the stained part of the paper on other parts of the carpet.
• If there’s still a trace of stain on the carpet, you can wipe off the remaining amount with white alcohol.
• Clean the area with some carpet shampoo and finally use a vacuum cleaner.