How to remove gouache stains without harming clothes

While drawing, it is impossible not to leave a memory of such a pleasant pastime on your clothes. Fortunately, traces of gouache can be washed off at home without resorting to dry cleaning. The result depends on the intensity and age of the stains, as well as on the chosen products.

General principles for removing stains

If the clothes are completely covered with traces of gouache, then it is unlikely to be possible to wash them. And removing a stain from a shirt - white or colored - is quite possible. This does not mean that the paint will come off easily with normal washing. But with the help of detergents, solvents and the correct sequence of actions, you can defeat the stain.

Tip: fresh paint stains are easier to wash out, so don’t put off stained clothes “for later.”

To effectively remove gouache stains, do the following:

Assess the appearance of the stain. If it is dry and thick, you can brush it off. But this should be done carefully, without rubbing gouache particles into the fabric. The main goal: to remove a thick layer of dried paint from the fabric.
Rinse the stained area of fabric under cold running water to remove all the dye, which will come off on its own. We will leave the part of the stain that has become ingrained to the stain removers.
Wash away the gouache mark or soak it (for about half an hour), depending on the intensity of the stain. You can wash the paint at this stage with ordinary laundry soap, Antipyatin soap or stain remover. The product is selected based on the type of fabric.

Advice: carry out all manipulations with contaminated clothing, be it soaking, rinsing, washing or rinsing, in cold water. Consisting partly of natural ingredients, gouache eats into the fabric in hot water.

Rinse the pre-soaked item.
Wash your clothes as you usually wash them. When using a washing machine, select a temperature setting no higher than 30 °C. To make your laundry more likely to wash, add a powder enhancer or stain remover according to the instructions.

This is a template guide to action that describes how to remove gouache from clothes. The details will help you deposit the selected funds.

Choosing a remedy

If we talk about products that help remove traces of gouache paints, it is worth noting that not all of them are equally effective on any clothing. Some are suitable for synthetics, some for things made from natural materials. There are also differences in washing white and colored clothes. In addition, the thickness and delicacy of the fabric matters. Therefore, the first thing you should pay attention to is the label on the clothing. It indicates the composition of the fabric.

Gouache paints ideally consist of pigment, glue and white. But nowadays color enhancers, brightness enhancers, durability enhancers and even fluorescent substances are added to them. Therefore, the task is: “wash everything!” becomes much more complicated. Practice shows that stains from gouache paints are easier to remove from synthetics than from cotton, linen and other natural materials. Knowing this, take double safety measures if you work with gouache in clothes made from natural fibers, and use synthetic items as workers.

Tip: To protect your clothes when painting with gouache, wear sleeves and an apron.Sew or buy the same ones for your child.

The arsenal of “tools” for combating gouache stains should include the following:

laundry soap - suitable for all types of fabrics, used for pre-washing or soaking;
stain remover - suitable for all types of fabrics, used for soaking and adding during washing. However, before using a specific stain remover, you should carefully read the instructions;
acetone, nail polish remover, white spirit, purified gasoline - suitable for natural fabrics, used as a solvent. Saturate the stain with one of the listed products and leave for up to 15 minutes to half an hour. Then rinse thoroughly and wash with double rinsing;
bleach - suitable for final cleaning of white items;
eucalyptus oil - used when contaminated with fluorescent gouache. It is applied to the stain, rubbed vigorously and washed off. This product is not suitable for clothes made of delicate fabrics;
dishwashing detergent - used for all fabrics except delicate ones; it removes paint stains and traces from “improvised stain removers”, for example, eucalyptus oil;
ammonia, alcohol and glycerin (1:1:1) - the solution is used for delicate fabrics. They should soak the stain and leave for 20-30 minutes, then rinse and wash. You can also clean off stains that gasoline may leave behind with pure alcohol.

The methods described above allow you to wash away traces of gouache paints. However, this type of stain is considered difficult to remove and troublesome to wash. Therefore, take preventive measures, and if they do not help, choose the method suggested in the article.