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Why you shouldn't wash the clay immediately
Clay is soil + water + organic matter, and the clay particles that make it up have a very specific property: when they are wet, they are much smaller and fluid, allowing them to penetrate between the fibers of the fabric easily. If you wash the fresh clay to try to remove it, you are adding more water to the system and creating a suspension of clay particles even more fluid that penetrates even deeper into the fabric.
When the clay dries, those clay particles solidify and remain on the fibers, not between them. In that state, you can physically brush them off without them penetrating further. It is much easier to remove a dry residue than a wet one that keeps moving.
Step 1: let the clay dry completely
This requires patience. If the garment has fresh clay, lay it flat and let it dry in the air. Under normal conditions, fine clay dries in 2-4 hours; dense clay may take longer. Do not put it in the washing machine with wet clay, even if the detergent instructions say it cleans everything. The centrifuging process with wet clay distributes it throughout the garment and pushes it into fibers that were previously clean.
If you are in a hurry, you can dry it with cold air from a hair dryer (never hot, heat can fix other organic components of the clay). The goal is to get the clay completely dry and crumbly before taking action.
Step 2: brush the dry clay
Once the clay is completely dry, use a medium-bristled brush (type of clothing brush) or even an old toothbrush to rub the dry clay over the garment. The dry clay comes off in particles that you can shake out. Do this outdoors or on paper to avoid staining the inside of the house.
Rub in the direction of the fabric weave if visible, or in smooth but somewhat pressured movements. Dry clay is fragile and will crumble. Remove as much as possible before applying any liquid. The more dry clay you remove in this step, the easier the subsequent washing will be.
Always let the clay dry before acting. This counterintuitive rule is what makes the difference between a garment that comes out clean from the washing machine and one with the stain permanently fixed in the fiber.
Step 3: pre-treatment before washing
After brushing the dry solid, there will be a residual staining of brown or orange color (the pigments of the clay and the iron oxides of the mud). To remove that staining:
- White clothes: Apply 3% hydrogen peroxide directly on the stain, let it sit for 10 minutes, and wash at 4,0 °C if the fabric allows.
- Colored clothes: Use bar or spray stain removers (Vanish, Dr. Beckmann) on the residual area. Gently rub and let it act for the indicated time.
- Delicate fabrics: Apply a drop of concentrated liquid detergent directly on the residual stain, gently rub with your fingers, and wash at a low temperature.
For field mud with high iron oxide content (the one that leaves a persistent orange stain), diluted citric acid (a teaspoon in 100 ml of water) may help dissolve the oxides. Apply, let it sit for 5 minutes, and wash immediately. Always test on an invisible area before applying on the entire stain.
Special fabrics and mud
The general method (dry, brush, pre-treat, wash) works for cotton and common synthetic fabrics. For special fabrics:
- Wool: Dry the mud more slowly and brush with a very soft brush. Do not rub wet wool. Wash by hand with wool soap at a maximum of 20-30 °C.
- Silk: Take it to the dry cleaner if the mud stain has iron oxide pigment. In clean mud without pigment, dry, gently brush, and clean with a cloth and neutral soap.
- Denim (jeans): It withstands dry brushing and washing at 40 °C well. The blue denim may dye other fabrics if it gets wet with mud in a combined washer.
- Do not put the garment in the washing machine with wet mud: the spin cycle distributes the clay throughout the garment.
- Do not rub wet mud: you push it into the fibers.
- Do not use hot water before removing the solid mud: it may fix the mud's pigments.
- Do not use bleach on mud stains with iron oxide: chlorine may react with iron and leave a stain even harder to remove.
- Do not apply hot hair dryer on wet mud to dry it faster on colored clothes: heat may fix the pigments.
Dry mud does not damage the fabric over time. You can leave the garment with dry mud perfectly until the next day or until you have time to treat it. It does not have the urgency of wet mud.
It depends on the concentration of iron oxide and how long it has been on the fabric. In white cotton garments, hydrogen peroxide and citric acid can remove them completely. In light-colored fabrics, some residual staining may remain.
Field mud from football usually has more iron and clay than domestic garden mud, so the orange staining is more intense. The method is the same, but it may require a more aggressive pre-treatment or more washing cycles.