Dirt Stain Removal Guide

A dirt stain can happen anywhere, anytime, but especially if you or anyone else in your family likes to do activities outside.

Kids, pets, and even adults can track dirt into your home, and accidentally get it on clothes, upholstery and carpeting. Below are instructions for removing stains caused by dirt from them all.

Just remember, when treating these spots that they are what we call "combination stains," in that the dirt is made up of all types of things.

There is grease, protein, and other stuff within those stains so whatever you do to remove it has to work on all the parts of the stain.

Removing Dirt Stains From Fabric And Washable Clothes

Step 1: Scrape off the dirt from the fabric.

Hint: If the dirt is wet (i.e., mud) wait until it dries before scraping it off. It is both easier to do when dry, and also less likely to spread the stain more.

Step 2: Pretreat the stain with a paste of powdered laundry detergent (that contains enzymes) mixed with a little water, or with liquid laundry detergent (also containing enzymes).

Step 3: Launder in the hottest water the fabric will allow to get out the stain, and either chlorine bleach if the fabric will allow it, or oxygen bleach if not.

Hint: Make sure the stain is gone after washing, but before you place in the dryer or you may set the stain.

If the stain does not come out after one wash you may need to repeat before placing in the dryer.

You may also want to soak the stain caused by the dirt in a solution of hot water and laundry detergent containing enzymes, for a couple of hours for especially stubborn stains.

You could also use a presoaker product, and the one I've had the best luck with (as well as many other people) when it comes to mud and dirt is Biz. (You can see reviews of Biz and other presoakers that readers have said worked for them below!)

I've also created an additional page with even more alternative tips for removing these spots from clothing here.

How To Remove Stains Caused By Dirt From Upholstery

Step 1: If the dirt is wet, let it dry and then scrape off the excess, being sure to vacuum up any chunks of dirt and mud.

Step 2: Mix a solution of two cups cool water and one tablespoon dishwashing liquid.

Step 3: Using this solution, sponge the stain from the dirt with a clean white cloth.

Step 4: Next, blot at the stain until the liquid is absorbed.

Step 5: Repeat steps 3-4 until the stain from the dirt is removed from the upholstery.

Step 6: Now that the stain is removed you should get plain cold water and a new white cloth and sponge the area to remove the cleaning solution, and then blot dry.

Hint: Be sure to get the upholstery only as wet as necessary to remove the stain from the dirt.

You can get more information on how to clean upholstery here.

Removal Of Dirt Stains From Carpet

The instructions for removal of stains caused by dirt from carpet is the same as for upholstery.

However, if you don't have luck with this stain removal method above you can also do something additional with the carpet stain, which is to mix a solution of one tablespoon of ammonia with two cups warm water, and use this as a stain removal solution.

You can also watch these videos of carpet cleaning techniques for removing dirt and mud stains.

Recommended Dirt Stain Removers

Perhaps you don't want to make your own stain remover, but instead want to use something designed to remove stains caused by dirt.

Here are some articles and reviews on this site which discuss various products that are designed to remove these stains, or where people have said they had success using specific products on mud and dirt:

Woolite Pet Plus Oxygen Remover For Carpet

Borax Powder For Laundry

Carbona Stain Devil #6

Oxiclean For Kids' Sports Uniforms

Spray & Wash Stain Stick

Wisk Detergent Used As Pretreater

Sun & Earth Detergent For Kids Clothes

Era Detergent

Magic Eraser To Remove From Walls

Blue Magic Upholstery Cleaner

Bissell Upholstery Cleaner

Gain Ocean Escape Detergent

Get Red Clay From Baseball Uniform With Super Iron Out

BIZ Is A Great Product

Formula 409 For Clothing {When Ground In}

Era With Oxi Booster Detergent

BIZ or Ammonia For Upholstery

Combination Of Murphy's Oil Soap & De-Solv-It

Fels Naptha Soap

Zote Soap For Baseball Pants

Ivory Soap For Baseball Pants

Baby Wipes To Wipe Shoes

You can also share your own stain remover review here to tell me what commercial removers work well for you for removing dirt or other stains.

Do You Have Any Tips To Share For Removing These Stains?

I'm always looking for more tips and ideas for how to remove stains. You can share your stain removal tip here, for how to remove dirt stains or anything else.

Get Even More Stain And Spot Removal Help Here

Are you a stain magnet like me? If so, check out the A to Z Stain Removal Guide which gives directions for how to remove over 100 types of stains from all kinds of surfaces.

Third photo by izik

Related Pages You May Enjoy

A-Z Guide: Instructions For Removing Over 100 Types Of Stains

Go From Dirt Stain Removal Guide To Home Page

CAUTION: This website is provided for informational purposes only. It is provided as is, without warranties or guarantees. Some stains and messes just won't come out, and are permanent. Further, some cleaning methods can harm your item, so if what you want to clean or launder is sentimental or expensive call a professional. See disclaimer of liability for more information.