A leaking tank, a bottle cap that was not screwed down, or a drip from the dropper tip can all put e-liquid on a sweater, a pair of jeans or a white dress shirt. We have done it ourselves. These are the methods we have found for getting the mark out, in the order to try them. They are for clothing; leather, suede, carpet and other materials need different handling.
Speed matters with any stain, and vape juice is no exception. The sooner you start, the better your chances.
First: blot with warm water
The instinct is to rub hard at a fresh spill. Resist it, because rubbing pushes the liquid further into the weave.
- Soak a clean washcloth in warm or hot water.
- Dab it on the mark, switching to an unused part of the cloth for every dab. The heat loosens the liquid and the cloth takes it up.
- Keep going until the mark looks gone, then rinse the garment in warm water.
- Let it air dry and look again once dry.
Blotting is usually enough. Deeper stains need the next steps.
Next: oxygenated cleaner
This also works if you have already scrubbed at the spot. Use one of the powdered oxygen-based cleaners you see advertised on TV.
- Shake a small amount of powder over the stain.
- Add just enough warm water to work it into a paste without soaking the fabric.
- Leave the paste on for a few minutes.
- Put the garment through the washing machine with detergent, alone or with a normal load.
We recommend air drying afterward. Heat from a tumble dryer can fix a remaining stain in place for good.
Last resort: dish soap
Dish soap is the last home remedy on our list. Vape juice is built on VG (vegetable glycerin) and PG (propylene glycol), which we cover in our PG and VG explainer; PG is the part that carries flavor and throat hit. Dish soap is made for residue that plain water will not shift, which is why it is worth a try here.
- Start with the garment fully dry.
- Put a few drops of dish soap on the stain and work it in firmly. This is the one step where scrubbing is right.
- Leave it for at least 5 minutes.
- Rinse with warm water. Avoid cold, which can also set the stain permanently.
- Machine wash with your usual detergent at the hottest temperature the care label allows.
- Air dry completely.
You can run through this as many times as you think it needs.
If nothing works
- Take it to a local dry cleaner, who deals with stained garments every day.
- Donate it, or pass it to a friend or relative who does not mind the mark.
- Cut it up for DIY projects. Instagram is full of ideas for old clothes: embroidery, jeans turned into shorts, shirts remade as baby or pet clothes, shorts made into handbags or wallets, even plant holders.
Wrapping up
Spills happen to every vaper sooner or later. Move quickly, stay calm, and most stains come out. When one does not, you at least know to be more careful next time. If you have another method, or a story about how juice ended up on your clothes and what you did about it, leave it in the comments.
Our next article covers other materials, including the day a full bottle emptied itself into the bottom of a Michael Kors purse. The stains came out, and the purse now smells of the juice.