Dirt Ground into Bottom of Socks

Updated on January 19, 2011
A.M. asks from Dallas, TX
12 answers

how do i get it out? i have washed her socks over and over in hot water with tide and the dirt wont come out.

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L.L.

answers from Rochester on

For all my stains I use the blue spray bottle of Shout Advanced...works for everything I've had to deal with. Spray it on, let it set for a few days, spray some more, and wash.

But honestly, are socks worth it? Try to keep them clean (no socks outside without shoes!) and just pitch them and buy new ones when necessary.

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B.D.

answers from Pittsburgh on

I learned a trick from my wise cousin...buy black socks :-)

4 moms found this helpful
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P.M.

answers from Portland on

That's what the bottoms of sock are for! Just launder and live with a certain amount of grunginess. They'll be clean enough to wear, and the same thing will just happen again anyway.

It's a shame to waste resources, and cotton requires great amounts of water and energy to grow and process. So I wouldn't toss them. And it's a shame to poison the wastewater stream with chlorine or other strong cleaners. Those chemicals can't all be removed before that water returns to the environment that our children and grandchildren will grow up in.

If you feel too obsessive about spotlessness to live with it, I hope you'll at least donate the stained socks to a shelter.

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T.P.

answers from Dallas on

My mom used to use a bar of Ivory soap on our stained whites. She'd wet the area, then rub it really well with the bar of soap and wash it. It worked on grass/dirt stains on our white baseball pants (really, who decided on white baseball pants!) . . . Good luck!

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E.M.

answers from Johnstown on

Shout Advance is AWESOME! BUT--you might be better off buying new socks :(

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J.H.

answers from Tyler on

Need to know how to do this also

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D.P.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Have you tried bleach?

I hate that and more often than not, I end up pitching the gross socks and replacing them.

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C.S.

answers from Victoria on

I mix lemon juice & baking soda and apply. kind of scrub it in and then wash. hope it helps.

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C.B.

answers from Dallas on

Pre-treat with Resolve, then wash in hot water on the longest cycle with soap, Tide booster and bleach. Otherwise, the dirt is just in there. Time for new socks. And floor cleaner.

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S.K.

answers from Dallas on

I can't stand grungy socks even if you can't see them. This sounds like a lot but I use Tide, Clorox 2, and a scoop of oxy powder in every white load. (I throw in light colored socks that won't bleed with the whites.) It works wonders. Once they go through the drier the stains are pretty much set. I have soaked socks that I dried in a bucket with hot water and oxy powder. They soaked for a day or two and then I washed them. Most of the stains came out.

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M.C.

answers from Dallas on

how about if you buy white socks that are gray on the bottom? then you won't notice. not sure if the gray-bottomed ones are in the girl section. i usually think of them as boy socks.

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S.H.

answers from Honolulu on

I throw it away.

Or, use a stain remover and let it sit, even over night, pre-treating it.

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