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Topic: Removing popcorn oil from clothing

Tony L. Hernandez
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 158
From: Windsor, CO, USA
Registered: Dec 2005

posted 05-05-2012 04:43 AM

It is opening night here at the drive-in and I just rediscovered (the hard way) why I NEVER wear nice clothing out here. Unfortunately, I am wearing my favorite and most expensive shirt and it now has 5 yellow popcorn oil stains in it. I have been doing all of my own laundry for as long as I can remember and can get almost any stain out of anything however I have never figured out how to get this crap out of anything. I have some shirts that have been washed dozens of times and the stains are as vivid as the day they apeared. Projector oil=no problem, popcorn oil=death. Usually, I am downstairs before the show and when you are feeding over 1,000 people almost every night of the week, this is bound to happen almost nightly. On a few occasions, I have even had it splatter on my pants and bleed trough them destroying a couple pairs of very expensive underwear however It rarely splatters below my midriff so this is not a huge concern. My usual solution is to wear my most outdated and worn out shirts here however I am becoming more and more uncomfortable about wearing the same 7-8 abysmal shirts constantly throughout the summer. I am tired of having to dress like a homeless slob at my place of business but alas, I also cannot afford to be replacing my wardrobe every month.

Surely there must be some other theater-operating fashionistas out there (er, theater owners who wear clothes, period) who have some sage and foolproof advise on how to deal with this. Please help; I'm fed up with this in general and am now desperate to save this shirt. This has been a life-long issue of mine and I'm ready to put it to rest.

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Justin Hamaker
Film God

Posts: 2253
From: Lakeport, CA USA
Registered: Jan 2004

posted 05-05-2012 05:08 AM

I've found Zout works pretty good.
Zout Triple Enzyme Stain Remover

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Frank Cox
Film God

Posts: 2234
From: Melville Saskatchewan Canada
Registered: Apr 2011

posted 05-05-2012 01:58 PM

If you can get it there, Shout stain remover works pretty well on popcorn oil, butter and soda pop stains.

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004

posted 05-05-2012 09:15 PM

Wash your clothes with a cup of fabric softener instead of laundry detergent. The softener removes the old soap that has remained in the clothes and does wonders for such.

But, if you have actual direct oil contact on the clothes, use "Simple Green" - the concentrated stuff and not watered down - on the spot, scrub through the fabric then throw in the wash.

Or, even a bar of soap scrubbed into the spot works great also.

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