How to get mud out of clothes

Let the mud dry before you touch it

Wet mud behaves like paint. Rubbing or rinsing it while it is wet pushes the fine particles deeper between the yarns and spreads them over a wider area. The American Cleaning Institute's stain guide starts the mud entry with the dry step for this reason: once mud is dry, it cracks and flakes, and most of it lifts off without leaving much behind.

Hang the muddy piece somewhere it can dry fully, which may take a few hours for a thick splash on denim. Do not put it in the dryer to speed things up. Heat turns a removable soil stain into a stubborn one, and the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension guide is blunt about it: never dry a stained garment in the dryer, or the stain may become impossible to remove. If you are away from home and the garment is soaked, just keep it separate in a bag and deal with it when you can let it dry.

How to get mud out of clothes, step by step

This routine works for most washable fabrics, including cotton, denim, polyester and blends. Check the care label first, and for anything marked dry clean only, brush off the dry mud and take it to a cleaner rather than wetting it.

1. 01

   Brush off the dried mud outdoors

   Use a stiff clothes brush, an old toothbrush or the back of a butter knife to crack and flick away the crust. Work outside or over a trash can, and brush from the back of the fabric too if you can.

   CheckYou should end up with a faded, dusty shadow rather than a thick patch.

2. 02

   Test your pretreatment

   Dab a little liquid detergent or stain remover on a hidden spot such as an inside hem, rinse it, and let it dry. Extension guides point out that fabrics look darker wet, so a color change may only show once the spot dries.

3. 03

   Pretreat the stain

   Work liquid laundry detergent, a paste of powder detergent and water, or an enzyme based stain remover into the stain with your fingers or a soft brush, from the back of the fabric if possible. Leave it for 10 to 15 minutes. The detergent surrounds the soil particles so the wash water can carry them away.

4. 04

   Soak heavy stains

   For caked knees or a whole muddy uniform, soak the pieces for an hour or more in the warmest water the label allows with detergent or an enzyme presoak dissolved in it. Extension guides note that stains on the lower edges of pants and cuffs are usually soil, so these areas are worth an extra look.

5. 05

   Wash warm and check before drying

   Wash in the warmest water the care label permits, with a full dose of detergent. When the cycle ends, inspect the stain in good light while the fabric is still damp. If you can still see it, repeat the pretreatment and wash again. Air dry until you are sure it is gone.

Red clay and iron rich mud

Red clay gets its color from iron oxides, which is chemically close to rust. So a red or orange tint can survive a wash that removes every other trace of the mud. Clorox's red clay guide adds a long presoak in hot detergent water, up to several hours for sturdy fabrics, before pretreating and washing.

If an orange shadow remains, treat it as a rust stain. The American Cleaning Institute warns against chlorine bleach on rust and brown or yellow discoloration, because bleach can intensify it. A rust remover labeled safe for fabric is the right tool, used exactly as its directions say and tested on a hidden spot first. Our guide on getting rust out of clothes explains the options, including gentler household acids, and which fabrics they are safe on.

Are mud stains permanent?

Rarely, if the garment has not been through a hot dryer. Even older mud stains usually yield to a longer soak and a second wash, because soil sits between the fibers rather than bonding with them. The exceptions are red clay that has been heat set, mud mixed with oil or grease from a road or parking lot, and mud on delicate fabrics that cannot take warm water or scrubbing.

For a stain that has already been dried, start again from the beginning: brush, pretreat with an enzyme product, and soak overnight. On whites and colorfast fabrics an oxygen bleach soak is the next step, following the instructions in our guide to using oxygen bleach. If road mud has left a dark, greasy edge, treat that part as an oily stain first, as described in our guide on getting grease out of clothes. A Texas extension guide also notes that a strong pretreatment can leave a clean patch on dingy fabric; washing the whole garment with a presoak and extra detergent evens it out.

Uniforms, whites and delicate fabrics

Sports uniforms are often polyester with printed numbers, which tolerate detergent and enzyme soaks well but may not like hot water or a hot dryer. Wash them inside out, warm rather than hot unless the label says otherwise, and air dry. Muddy grass stains on the same knees need their own enzyme treatment; our guide on getting grass stains out covers that combination.

White cotton can take the hottest wash and, if needed, oxygen bleach, so you have the most tools. Wool, silk and anything structured, such as a coat or a lined jacket, is different. Let the mud dry, brush it off gently with a soft brush, and blot any remaining mark with a cloth dampened with cool water and a little wool wash. If a trace remains on a good coat, a professional cleaner will do better than more scrubbing. For muddy sneakers, see our guide to cleaning canvas shoes.