Stain Guide: Hot Sauce
This is a 4th generation dry cleaner's guide for removing a hot sauce stain.
What you need
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Cleaning vinegar (at least 20%), but cooking vinegar (5%) will work too
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Powdered oxygen bleach or 3% hydrogen peroxide
Steps
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Rinse the stain with cold water as soon as possible.
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Treat the stained area with enough cleaning vinegar to cover the stain for 1 hour. If you do not have cleaning vinegar, you can use distilled white vinegar 5%, but it will be less effective. The solution should turn the color of the wine.
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Wash as recommended on the care label.
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Inspect before drying. If the stain was removed, dry as recommended on the care label; if not, follow the instructions below.
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Soak the stained garment in hot water and powdered oxygen bleach overnight OR spray the garment with 3% hydrogen peroxide and allow it to air-dry.
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Rewash and inspect before drying. If the stain is still not out, repeat steps 2 through 5.
Most hot sauce stains can be very challenging to remove because the red pigment is concentrated and the sauce is highly acidic. To remove these stains, you will need to use an acid to help remove it from your garment. The most common and easy to use acid is vinegar.