Skip to main content
DEAL WATCH: 5-star sofa to tie the room together $898.00

Sink into this comfy, top-rated sofa we've found at Walmart. Pick it up yourself, or next-day shipping is available in some areas. | Read Review

BUY NOW
Laundry

How ice cubes can remove food stains

Chill, it'll come out

Ice is a great way to keep stains from setting in. Credit: Reviewed.com / Jonathan Chan

Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed's editors. Purchases made through the links below may earn us and our publishing partners a commission.

Here's an #adulting tip: If you ever have a food stain that won't seem to go away, try applying an ice cube to it. This miracle on ice works with both fresh and set-in stains.

Although, we're often taught that hot water, detergents, and scrubbing are the ways to get clothes clean, there are a few exceptions. Protein stains are one of them. There is a certain temperature range in which soils, like tomato stains, can get "baked" onto laundry. Though it varies from stain to stain, generally cold is good.

Related content

  • Tide Buzz

    feature

    Tide Buzz: the ultrasonic stain remover you've been waiting for?
  • Grove Co., Tru Earth, Ever Spring, Arm & Hammer, Ecoas, Laundry Club, and Earth Breeze laundry sheets on a washing machine

    best-right-now

    The best laundry detergent sheets of 2024
An ice cube working its magic on a blood stain patch we use for washer testing.
Credit: Reviewed.com / Jonathan Chan

An ice cube working its magic on a blood stain patch we use for washer testing.

{{ amazon name="Tide To Go Pen, 3 Count", asin="B01C3NAT16", align="right" }}

Ice lets you reconstitute stains without the risk of denaturing the proteins. Denaturing is a fancy word for "taking apart." It's basically how cooking works–breaking down food to make it easier to eat. But easier to eat doesn't mean easier to clean. Think of it this way: It's easier to pick up a single sheet of paper off the floor than a handful of confetti.

So, the next time you get some ketchup on your shirt, put it on ice. When you do, you'll be able to tell everyone around you why it works.

{{ brightcove '4356108314001' }}

Up next