• Follow some salad dressing stain removal tips to keep your clothing looking new.Salat anmachen image by Yvonne Bogdanski from Fotolia.com
  
  A salad can be a healthy meal for your body and salad dressing can make it taste even better. As wonderful as salad dressing is for you, it is not so good for your shirts, upholstery or carpet. Salad dressing can leave a stain, but if you are quick about it, you can remove the nasty stain with items around your home.
  
  

Oil-Based Dressing

• Oil-based dressings, like vinaigrette, will easily leave stains if left on a fabric too long. As soon as you see the spot, sprinkle baby powder, cornstarch or another absorbent material onto the stain. Let the absorbent material sit on the stain for 15 minutes. This should remove most or all of the stain.
  
  While the absorbent material may lift all or most of the stain at once, you may still have a small part of the stain behind. If it's on clothing, use a regular laundry pretreatment and wash like normal. For stains on upholstery or carpet, use dish washing liquid, such as Dawn or Palmolive. Add a little onto the stain and use a toothbrush to tap the dish washing liquid into the stain. Allow it to sit for five minutes and rinse with fresh water. Repeat as necessary until the stain is gone. Do not brush the dish washing liquid in, as this may cause a discoloration.
  
  

Cream-Based Salad Dressing

• Cream-based dressing stains are treated slightly differently than oil-based stains. Wipe up stains immediately and put cold water on the stain. Allow the stained material to soak in cold water for 30 minutes and blot dry. This should remove most or all of the stain.
  
  You may still have a small amount of stain left. For clothes, use a laundry pretreatment and wash clothes in the highest temperature the clothes can handle. Check the apparel tag for washing instructions.
  
  For carpet and upholstery, blot the salad dressing stain with a mixture of vinegar and dish washing liquid in a 1-to-1 ratio. Pour warm water and blot dry. Repeat until the stain is gone.
  
  

Professional Cleaning

• If your home remedies do not work, you may have to hire a professional. Dry cleaners will handle all clothing issues. For upholstery, check with a local upholsterer, as you may have to have the item recovered. Use a steam cleaner for the carpet or hire a professional carpet cleaner to remove the stain.