How to Remove Halloween Candy Stains

The month of ghosts and goblins is upon us and with that comes every child’s favorite holiday – Halloween! Whether or not your children sneak a piece of candy as they walk door to door, there are bound to be sticky fingers wiped across clothes or costumes sometime this month. Purex® shares how to remove Halloween candy stains from your children’s costume or clothes with Purex® detergent.

As usual, the quicker you treat the stain, the easier it will be to remove. If you are in luck and watch the hard candy fall out of your child’s mouth onto their clothes, simply remove the candy and scrap off any particles that may be stuck to the clothing. With stubborn candy remnants, a little bit of lukewarm water run through the wrong side of the clothing should loosen them up and remove them. If the candy has been stuck to the article of clothing and left a colorful stain, carefully peel off the candy and brush off any candy particles.

To loosen up the rest of the stain, start by running water through the wrong side of the stain as before. This may not remove the colored stains left on the clothes. If this is the case, make a dilute vinegar in water solution and pour this through the stain, which can help wash out some of the sticky, colored stain. The stain may be completely removed, or it may remain although faint. At this point, try a stain remover . Spray the stain and gently rub.

Wait five minutes and the launder as you typically do, with either Purex® liquid detergent or Purex® Pacs. With some colored stains, such as red candies, you may find them to be extra persistent! Try presoaking the article of clothing with a dose of color safe bleach in warm water for 30 minutes. The active ingredients in this product will help to remove the dye that is left on the clothing. For an added boost of freshness, try using Purex® Crystals, in scents like Cherry Blossom & Ginger or Tahitian Breeze. These fragrance boosters provide up to 12 weeks of freshness & odor elimination.

Chocolate stains are another popular candy stain that show up around this time of year. Carefully scrap off any of the candy bar that is left on your child’s clothing. You may want to carefully dab at the stain with a wet cloth to loosen the stain; try not to smear the chocolate and thus make it larger.

An enzyme-based detergent is your best option for removing a chocolate stain, such as Purex® Advanced Oxi + Coldwater Power laundry detergent. To further aid in the stain removal process, pour a little detergent directly onto the stain and let it sit for five minutes. Then launder the clothing item with a dose of Purex® Advanced Oxi + Coldwater Power detergent. This is Purex® toughest detergent, keeping your clothes clean and bright, wash after wash.

As always, inspect the article of clothing before transferring it to the dryer. If the stain has not been removed completely, repeat the process of pretreating the stain and laundering it.

For a more in-depth version on how to remove chocolate stains, Purex® has another stain lab article on how to remove chocolate stains.

Happy Halloween and happy stain fighting!

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We understand that life gets messy and want to make laundry as easy as possible for you. With quality & value continuing to be at the core of our product development, we continue to create highly effective laundry detergent & supplies. We tested some of the toughest stains to keep your clothing looking brand new. View our Stain Lab for our best recommendations to get life's toughest stains out of your clothing.