Butter, cooking oil and grease marks on linen with an oil bottle and cotton pads

Oil and grease

Extension guidance groups butter, margarine, cheese, mayonnaise, salad dressing and similar oil-based foods under one oil-stain approach. [1]

Sunscreen behaves as an oily lotion stain — and sunscreens containing avobenzone can also react with iron in hard water, leaving orange rust-like marks that appear in the wash. [2][3][4]

Stains in this family

Cooking oil & greaseAbsorb what you can, then get an oil-cutting pretreatment into the fibers and launder i…SunscreenSunscreen leaves an oily lotion stain, and sunscreens containing avobenzone can also re…

All stains A–Z →

Sources

  1. Institutional University of Georgia Extension — Remove Stains from Oil-Based Foods (accessed 2026-08-18)
  2. Manufacturer Tide (Procter & Gamble) — How to Remove Sunscreen Stains (accessed 2026-08-18)
  3. Institutional Iowa State University Extension and Outreach — Sunscreen Stains (AnswerLine) (accessed 2026-08-18)
  4. Institutional University of Illinois Extension — Suntan Lotion (oil based) — Stain Solutions (accessed 2026-08-18)

Updated 2026-08-19. Compiled from the cited sources; not independently verified by this site.

Safety

Never mix cleaning products, especially chlorine bleach with ammonia, acids, or other cleaners. [1][2] If a cleaning or laundry product is swallowed or gets in the eyes or on skin, contact your local poison control service for case-specific advice. In the US, call 1-800-222-1222 or use webPOISONCONTROL. [1]