🩸 ProteinHow to remove egg stains

Whites are protein, yolks are fat · cold water first

An egg stain leaves behind both the protein from the white and the fat and pigment from the yolk. Once dry it goes stiff and tends to leave a yellowish mark and a fishy smell, so it's much easier if you deal with it quickly.

🔬 Why this order works

Egg white is a protein that cooks and sets as soon as it meets heat, so if you use hot water first it cooks right into the fibers. Flush out the protein with cold water first, break it down with enzyme detergent, and wash out the yolk's fat last with warm water and detergent.

🧺 Step by step

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Lift off any lumps with a spoon or the edge of a card. Don't rub and spread it.
Turn the stain face down and rinse thoroughly with cold water from the back of the garment.
Apply enzyme detergent (or liquid detergent), tap it in with your fingertips, and soak in cold water for about 30 minutes.
Apply a little extra dish soap where the yolk was and tap it in to loosen the fat.
Wash in warm water at a temperature the garment can handle, check that the stain is completely gone, then dry.

👕 By fabric

⚪ White cotton & linen

If a yellowish tinge remains after pre-treating with enzyme detergent, soak for about 1 hour in oxygen bleach solution and wash again.

🎨 Colors & synthetics

Treat with a cold-water rinse and enzyme detergent, and remove any remaining yellow with a color-safe oxygen bleach. Test on an inside seam first.

🧶 Wool, silk & cashmere

Wool and silk are protein fibers, so don't use enzyme detergent. Blot and rinse with cold water and use only a neutral wool detergent; if it remains, take it to a dry cleaner and tell them it's egg.

🚫 Don't

Rinsing straight away with hot water — the white cooks and sets into the fibers.
Wiping over a wide area with a wet cloth — the sticky white spreads.
Putting it in the dryer while it still smells — the fishy smell and yellow tinge set in.

⏳ If it has already dried

For a stain that has dried stiff, first brush off the flakes, then soak for a few hours in cold water with enzyme detergent to soften the protein. Then wash in warm water and treat any remaining yellow with oxygen bleach.

💡 Tip

If it splashes on you at the table, just pick off the lumps with a tissue and dab on some cold water. That makes it far easier to get out at home than wiping with a hot towel.

❓ Common questions

I got crumbs of hard-boiled egg yolk on me.

The yolk is already cooked, so there's little risk of it setting further, but the fat and pigment remain. Brush off the crumbs, tap in dish soap and wash; most of it will come out.

It still smells fishy after washing.

Not all of the protein came out. Soak it again in cold water with enzyme detergent, wash, and let it dry completely somewhere with good airflow.

Is a mayonnaise stain treated the same way?

Mayonnaise is mainly egg yolk and cooking oil, so it's closer to a grease stain. Rinse with cold water, loosen the oil first with dish soap, then wash with enzyme detergent.

🔗 Related stains

Check the care label firstBleach, wash and dryer symbols explained

🧭 All stains

🧼 Basic rules & cleaning-agent guide

General home methods. For valuable garments or unknown fabrics, take them to a dry cleaner and say what the stain is. Follow product labels for bleaches and solvents, ventilate, and never mix them.