Common Thanksgiving Day Stains and How to Remove Them 

The pie has been consumed. The plates have been cleared. It’s time to assess the extent of the damage to your tablecloths! 

Stains are unavoidable on Thanksgiving, whether you’re in the kitchen preparing a feast or lounging on the couch watching football while eating a plate of appetizers. A holiday full of fun with friends and family and delicious food shouldn’t be ruined by a small stain on clothes or a favorite tablecloth. 

Holiday culprits include red wine, chocolate, candle wax, and gravy. But don’t get too worked up if one of them falls. With effort and on-hand ingredients, the following Thanksgiving stains can be removed. So, chow down on all your Thanksgiving favorites, including sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, and more. This simple stain removal guide will free you and your home from stains. 

Enjoy your Thanksgiving meal without having to worry about stain removal later. This handy guide will show you how to eliminate the most common Thanksgiving Day stains!

Butter

From buttering the rolls to adding them to many dishes, butter is essential for any Thanksgiving meal. When working with melted butter, there’s always the risk of getting drips all over the place.

Butter stains must be treated quickly, and the grease must be removed, which cannot be done with water alone. Instead, apply a dab of dish soap to the stain, rub it in, and then rinse away both the soap and the grease.

Cream

In the same way that no Thanksgiving dinner is complete without butter, no Thanksgiving dinner is complete without cream. However, the cream is usually not served on its own but rather as part of various dishes and dessert toppings. To avoid setting the stain, all protein-based stains, such as cream, should be treated with cold water rather than warm or hot water at first. Once you have a stain like this, you must act quickly before it turns yellow and becomes more difficult to remove.

Furthermore, because it is a protein stain, do not treat spots caused by cream with warm or hot water when first treating them. Heat causes a protein stain to curdle and embed more profoundly into the fabric, making it nearly impossible to remove. When treating these spots and marks, always use cold water.

Food Grease 

Apply dish soap to the stain and wait 10 minutes before rinsing with cold water. If there are still marks of the stain, repeat the process. Always double-check that a stain is completely gone before using the dryer. 

Sweet Potato & Pumpkin 

Rub off any excess with a dull knife and wash the fabric inside in cold water to remove as much stain as possible. After treating the stain with a laundry stain remover, clean the fabric on high.

Cranberry Sauce 

Using cool water, rinse the stain. 1 quart cool water + 1 tablespoon white vinegar + 1/2 teaspoon liquid laundry detergent Using a clean cloth, blot the mixture on the stain until it disappears. 

Wine (red) 

Red wine stains are notoriously difficult to remove. Using white vinegar, saturate the area, then rub in liquid detergent. After that, run the stain under hot water to remove it. To get the best stain-removing power, ensure your water is boiling, not just warm. 

Candle Wax 

Rub off what you can with a dull knife, then melt the remaining wax with a hairdryer. An oily residue will remain, which can be dabbed away with a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol. As usual, wash the item. 

Chocolate 

Using a dry, clean toothbrush, remove any crumbs or hardened chocolate. Add one tablespoon of dish soap to 2 cups of warm water and gently dab the stain with a microfiber cloth. Do not rub, as this will produce a stain thrust more profound into the fabric. Repeat several times before absorbing the solution with a clean towel. 

Gravy 

To 1/2 cup warm water, add 1/4 teaspoon of dishwashing liquid and three drops of ammonia. Press the solution into the stain with a clean cloth; do not rub. If the spill is on wool or silk, instead of ammonia, use club soda. 

Lipstick 

Apply liquid laundry detergent and scrub it in with a toothbrush. Leave at least 15 minutes for the detergent to soak in before washing the fabric hot. Repeat, if necessary, before drying.

Beer

Beer is frequently served at family gatherings, including Thanksgiving. However, when beer is present, some people are prone to spilling it on their clothes, the couch, or the carpet.

Allowing a spilled beer to ruin your good time with family and friends is not a good idea. The essential stain removal rule is to treat the stain as soon as possible to make the stain removal process as simple as possible.