The Easiest Way To Clean Mustard Stains Is Hiding In Your Kitchen

Mustard is great on a hot dog, but it's not so great when it's on your favorite white shirt or your brand new carpet. This tasty condiment is extra challenging as a stain since one of mustard's ingredients is turmeric, which contains compounds called curcuminoids that give it its distinct bright yellow hue. Curcumin sinks into fabric and binds with its fibers quickly, and to make matters worse, it's also fairly water repellent. Factor in the oils in mustard, and you've got a real beast of a stain to clean. So, when that drop of mustard lands on an unwanted surface, what can you do to treat it?

Before you turn to your harsher stain removal products, consider using this natural cleaning ingredient that you probably already have in your kitchen: baking soda. Its pH of 9 makes it a base, which allows it to neutralize the acidic pH of the mustard and begin dissolving the oil stain. Baking soda alone won't get the job done, but its combined powers with other common kitchen finds, vinegar and water, are where it shines as a substitute stain remover.

If the stain is on a washable fabric like a cotton T-shirt, use a dull knife to scrape off excess mustard, then create a paste with one tablespoon each of baking soda and water. Apply the paste directly to the stain, then rub it in with a clean microfiber cloth and let it sit for 30 minutes before rinsing it out. Then, run the shirt through a cold wash cycle, with one more round of baking soda paste treatment between washing and drying to get the last of the stain. You can also create a more intense cleaner with equal parts baking soda and hydrogen peroxide; for this combo, let the paste sit for at least 10 minutes before scrubbing with a soft-bristled toothbrush and rinsing out, but be warned that it's too harsh for delicate fabrics like rayon or acetate.

If you've stained something you can't throw in the washing machine, such as carpet, baking soda can still make a good DIY carpet stain remover if you combine it with other ingredients. First, sprinkle baking soda directly onto the stain, then follow with a small pour of white vinegar in the same spot. Let this cleaning combo bubble for about 10 minutes before blotting with a damp cloth. Rinse the area, blot it dry, and vacuum once the carpet is fully dry to re-fluff its texture.

Baking soda's mustard-removal powers don't end at fabric — if you drop a splash of mustard on your kitchen tile and it gets in the grout, you can dip a wet toothbrush in baking soda and gently scrub it out. As with all the other baking soda methods, rinse thoroughly when you're done, and wipe it dry with a clean cloth.

Though baking soda is safe to use on most home surfaces, there are some that it's less effective at cleaning mustard stains from. For example, once a mustard stain has set on plastic, there's not much any cleaning product can do to fully remove it. Also, while baking soda's gentle abrasiveness makes it good for scrubbing grime away, it can be damaging to more delicate fabrics. Its alkaline pH can discolor pH-sensitive dye, especially in protein-sensitive fibers like cashmere, wool, and silk, so use caution when cleaning mustard out of these fabrics with baking soda.