# How do you clean your chef jacket?



## nolachef

Any secret combinations like tide, bleach and dish soap? I was actually advised to try that resulting in a big bubbly mess.


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## rouxtheday

I'm not a pro chef, so I technically do not belong here. I am, however, somewhat of a "domestic goddess" and might be able to help...

It largely depends on what is ON your chef's jacket. For instance, if it's got blood on it (hopefully from meat, and not your fingers), it needs to be washed in COLD water, since hot water will SET THE STAIN. 

Many other stains can only be removed with HOT water (check the care label, first... you may experience shrinkage).

When in doubt, I always go with a cold water wash first. Most protein stains will be made permanent by hot water (basically, cooks the stuff into the fabric).

Do not put the jacket into the dryer until you're satisfied that you've done all you can to remove or minimize the stains. The dry heat of the dryer will simply bake the proteins into the fabric fibers and you'll be stuck with them for life.

As far as laundry products go, you need a very good quality detergent with enzymes, especially since I'm guessing the majority of your stains are going to be food-based (Tide is one of the best-rated, but any major brand will probably do fine). 

You may or may not need chlorine bleach (e.g., Clorox). 

A product like Oxi-Clean will actually work better than chlorine bleach on certain stains.

White distilled vinegar can work wonders on many food-based stains. 

Some stains are virtually impossible to remove. Good luck with turmeric (especially from prepared yellow mustard) or red chiles in oil... even chocolate can be a real b**ch...

What kinds of things are you usually finding on the jacket?


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## benrias

DUDE! You gotta try Shout Ultra Gel !!!! no joke....I had Beet juice spattered on different parts of my coat this past week. Shout got each and every spot out!

It comes in a small bottle with a brush on the top. you squeeze some of the gel onto the brush and just scrub it in for a few moments. let it sit for like 5 minutes and throw it in with your laundry. That's all. 

It has worked everytime for me! I mean...c'mon...BEETS FOR HEAVENS' SAKE! IT ACTUALLY GOT BEETS OUT OF A FRESH WHITE COAT! AND i DON'T MEAN THAT THERE WERE A FEW SPOT LEFT, OR THAT THE SPOTS WERE LIGHTER IN COLOR....i LITERALLY MEAN THAT i COULD NOT TELL WHERE THE SPOTS USED TO BE! g'luck!

:bounce:


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## nolachef

Roux-

Thanks for the tips! Especially the cold water tip as I have been using hot with crappy results. As for what kind of stains. By the end of the day its usually a mishmash of every color in a rainbow only not as pretty.

Stewey-

I am buying shout on the way home tonight, thanks


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## ras1187

I throw it in the washer with whatever detergent I have and add some BIZ to it. May need to be run again, but usually gets my jackets white enough for me to work with. Then finish up in the dryer to get rid of the wrinkles.

If I really need a super clean jacket for a special occasion, I will bleach for about 24 hours and thencontinue as normal.


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## chef.esg.73

I find if I have a moment to breath the last thing I want to do is wash Chef coats.. Dry cleaning is the best for me, coats come back clean and pressed. I can drop them off in the morning and pick them up the same day or next week. To me its worth the money.:smoking:


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## lentil

First off, let me state that no one is ever going to confuse me with a domestic goddess, but this works for me- Lestoil. You know that smelly stuff that your grandmother used? Either put it directly on the stain straight from the bottle or dilute some in a spray bottle and spray the stain directly.

It's the only thing that works in the hard water I have at my house. Works every time and is especially good on grease stains.

I agree that dry cleaning and pressing is best, but I'm at least 15 miles from any cleaner. If I got them there, they'd be there for months. With the tablecloths I keep forgetting to pick up....:crazy:


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## the_seraphim

is a professional able to get coats that have gone slightly grey with long term use back to white?

my coat specifies not using chlorine bleach on it...


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## coosie

I'm not a pro. Yet. I do get pro dirty in school though. And we have regular inspections. We are not allowed the slightest stain on the jacket, the apron, or the side towels. I keep a bucket in my utility tub at home full of water and oxy clean. When I get home everything with a stain on it goes into the bucket. It then stays there until laundry day, which is Friday. I have the whitest gear in my class.


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## adamm

I spray my jackets with tilex mold and mildew and then use oxy clean to wash them. works good except you have to keep away from embloms or it will fade them out.


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## coosie

That's an awesome scary idea. What made you brave enough to spray with the tilex the first time? And is there any kind of reaction between the tilex and the oxy is there is any tilex residue left?


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## plongeur

Best recommendation I had from here, I think, was to soak dirty jackets in a solution of dishwasher cleaner, not fabric cleaner - the powder/liquid you put in your dishwashing machine. Gets food stains out much more efficiently than washing powder I find.
Bleaching won't make your cottons/polyesters white, they go yellowish. I use a 're-whiten your whites' powder sold in the washing powder aisles which makes them shiny white.
And ironing them while still slightly damp gets creases out too.


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## web monkey

I'm not a pro chef either, however I did refrigeration service in restaurant kitchens for long time, so I've had my share of nasty grease and dirt.

Nothing works like hot water and dish-washer detergent in the washing machine. 

It's not great for fabric life, but since it's already stained, it's not like shorter life would be a great loss.

Terry


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## frysauce

I wear a Black 50/50 chefs jacket....solves a lot problems


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## frizbee

I have used dawn in HOT water with bleach...i have NEVER cared what the label said...And i have never had yellow stains (You gotta dilute the bleach with water tho)
When you use dawn...(to the one with the big soapy mess..LOL) you can't use alot ( i have had BIG ***** soapy messes in my day) it really does take the grease out, for me anyway.
One thing i found with oxi-clean is that if its not in SMOKING hot water, my results weren't great.
When i get home at night i dab stain stick on the bad spots and wash as stated above...never had issues, always had white chef coats!
GL


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## bughut

I have 1/2 my jackets with orange logos cos i thought putting bleach in the wash would solve the stain problem. IT DOESNT WORK I'll be trying all the above till i find a solution


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## montelago

I tried the oxy clean soak and it does help. It doesn't quite fix the grease based stuff, but the blood, tomato product and general schmutz comes out pretty well.


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## thedoctorisin

time is a big factor with stains. . . . try to get your whites into soak as soon as possible.

My system is : cold water, tide for cold water, biz

works for almost everything

If if doesn't I go to step two hot water and oxyclean


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## jer

I use a combo of bleach, tide and oxyclean, it's been working well for me so far


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## ryaninayr

If you ever get carbon stains from dropping stock, NEVER put it in the dryer. It'll just bake the carbon stains on. Good luck on getting them out. I usually soak my coats in oxyclean overnight, then wash. That usually does it for me.


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## m brown

borax, tide, blueing and bleach.
hot hot hot water


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## saltydog

I send mine with the linen company. They've never lost one. 

Although I wouldn't recommend this with every linen company.


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## chico

when chef jacket is new, start with a liquid starch for pressing. the liquid starch will act like scotch gaurd. before laundry day spray with any stain remover, wash as normal. but always with the liquid starch and iron after.
p.s. tilex is always good in a pinch.


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## spikebones

hello everyone 

i have the worst stain EVER! on my jacket  carbon. pitch black, super fine carbon. you know the stuff you find on the side of the pot when your flames are burning yellow. anyway, this is one's persistant. it wont budge. i've bleached, washed & soaked, you name it... it's still there. if there is anyone here who knows how to remove it successfully, please share the love. if it works, i will personally bake you the MEANEST chocolate sponge cake ever, fill it with any filling of your choice, cover it in chocolate and fedex it to your door step.


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## bwhit

I just tried filling my washing machine with 2 Sunlight dishwasher pouches that contain Oxy clean, let them disolve, threw my whites in, let stand for 10 minutes then started a 30 minute cycle. Worked great.


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## chefin philly

I have been doing the Flower Show since 2003 and I enjoy working with some of the best Chef's in the City of "Brotherly Love" lol . Since AI has a new logo this year I am required to wear their jacket as they do Sponsor it every year . And If you have the time or in the the area. It is _*Definitely*_ worth taking the time to stop by. The theme this year is " Italian " I haven't seen to much of the show but I've heard good things, especially with the purchases of Fresh Italian herbs and such . Well any way back to the poit 
I'm using the shout as we speak but what do I wash w/cold water, warm or hot ?
I know not to dry until I'm satisfied w/ results .By the way it is the First wash of my Arts Institute Chef's Jacket. and need it for 9am 3/3/09 as I have no viable back-up b/c my Jackets do not have the AI Logo 
I'll let you know how it turns out w/ warm water, shout, and Dymno, yes I said " dynmo" It's all I can afford at the moment and it is what is but I have Fabric Softner Lavender which I am going to add also. and see how it turns out. 
Dominic


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## ed buchanan

Over bleaching will cut the life of jacket by years. The only good way is a commercial laundry they use what you cant to clean. Its live steam, and solvents that you cant put your hands in.


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## spikebones

Found the perfect remedy to my problem everyone... I went and bought a new jacket. It was stained beyond it's days. Thank you for all your input and replies.


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## peltexpdx

Linen service.


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## chefseanvincent

Honestly, I've given up laundry service all the way..for personal jackets I use a soak method high content bleach and oxy clean in cold water for as long as i can and then a hot wash with bleach and then a hang dry..... 
But really a jacket is 12 bucks for a piece of junk plastic button. 
I keep two or three fancy "meet the customer deals in the office" and buy a couple cheap ones every now and again. 
There is probably a corner in the dump labeled Chef seans discarded jackets but really do any professionals have time to deal with a stain?


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## thetincook

spikebones said:


> hello everyone
> 
> i have the worst stain EVER! on my jacket  carbon. pitch black, super fine carbon. you know the stuff you find on the side of the pot when your flames are burning yellow. anyway, this is one's persistant. it wont budge. i've bleached, washed & soaked, you name it... it's still there. if there is anyone here who knows how to remove it successfully, please share the love. if it works, i will personally bake you the MEANEST chocolate sponge cake ever, fill it with any filling of your choice, cover it in chocolate and fedex it to your door step.


You could try Carbon Off


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## Iceman

LOL. I love this thread.

_Hey* Tincook*_ ..... You're replying to a request ? from *3-26-08*. Just so you know. _*Ed Buchanan*_ made a comment that commercial laundries can use live steam. If you work in a cool enough place, one with really good espresso machines, you can use live steam too. I've scrubbed liquid dish soap into stains at breakdown time, then let them sit until we were finished with cleanup. Before walking out, I used the milk foaming arm on the coffee machine to steam blast out the stain. It worked pretty well. Wearing a black coat is a really good problem solver too, T-Y _*FrySauce*_. So is just buying a new coat (+/-$16 by me). _*ChefSeanVincent*'s_ idea of having a fancy coat put away for special deals is really smart. Anyway ... there have been a lot of great suggestions made in this thread. My addition is hand cleaner from the auto parts store. _"Goop", "Gunk"_ and _"Green Stuff"_ have been my favorite brands over the years. I've scrubbed it in when I got home and thrown the coat on the pile for laundry. They've always come out clean. I hope I've helped this old thread. LOL.


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## thetincook

_Hey *Tincook*_ ..... You're replying to a request ? from *3-26-08*. Just so you know.

I was #hacked!!!!


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## Iceman

LOL my friend. You're in good company. I've replied just like that to a half dozen or so threads. Still, this is a good topic. They haven't, to my knowledge, yet made any _"no need for cleaning"_ chef coats. I'll order a dozen or so when they do.


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## amann nagi

Tide stain stick attacks stains as soon as they happen. This is followed by a cold water wash using 1:1:2 bleach:fairy dish soap:tide for cold water.

That was my savior back in cooking school.

I now have my jackets (whole uniform, generally) laundered professionally. I couldn't be happier!


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## cookitup

Oxy clean soak as other people stated but a great tip I picked up when working in Aus is to use eucalyptus oil when soaking, or whatever smelling oil you like. Cuts through that grease smell thats always hard to get rid of especially on aprons.


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## bobbex

I am a chef in a very busy, very large commercial kitchen. I go through a lot of jackets in a week - one or more each day!

The best and easiest solution I have found is to set up a big tub of soaking solution at the start of the week and throw the jackets in it at the end of each day.

You can take out the ones put in the previous day and put them in washing machine. A 24-soak should get rid of the stains. You can leave them in for longer if you wish.

The soaking solution is nothing special - a store-bought oxy soaking powder - that means its active ingredient is sodium percarbonate.

In Australia (where I am now) I use one called Sard. There are plenty of similar ones available in the US, the UK and elsewhere.

The soaking water needs to be cold (hot will "fix" stains). But you can wash later in hot water. I also put a scoop of the oxy soaker in the wash cycle with the washing powder. This seems to help get a better result.


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## messychefswife

This is a reply in regards to getting the chefs whites bright again. Put 1/2 cup of bicarbonate soda in with the washing powder then 1/2 cup of white vinegar in with the rinse cycle. DON'T PUT THEM IN TOGETHER OR YOU'LL GET FIZZ! My sister put me on to this tip when she was using cloth nappies as the vinegar helps to brighten, deoderise and sterilise whilst not being harsh on fabric or skin. You might find a faint vinegar odour when you hang clothes out to dry but i've found that the sun takes care of this 

Hope that helps! Now if I can just figure out how to get the actual stains out of my husbands nice bright jackets I'll be very happy indeed! Anyone know what the Australian equivalent of Tide or Shout Ultra Gel would be? We don't have those products here


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## chefedb

I send to commercail linen company. They use STEAM  which is best and only way to get them stain free. I and everyone else has tried other ways over the years.


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## chefamerica

iv washed my own jackets for years, iv always stuck with dawn for grease and white vineger for tomatoe based stains allways let set before washing, and yes that new shout gel works great also! i usually stick with things i have around the house but for those who are washing five to seven coats a week buying a nice industrial cleaner makes it alot easier.


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## chopstix

I don't use bleach because it yellows the jacket. I do however use oxy clean, baking soda, and blue dawn to make a paste and apply it to the stain. Then I wash the jacket with tide in cold water. Works wonders!


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## paul alfred

I believe several people here have hit the nail on the head pretty well.  I've always used a cold water soak with Oxi-Clean for a few hours (or overnight if it's really bad) and then into the washer (usually set to cold, but occasionally hot as needed).  The method I usually used is an overnight soak in Oxy-Clean by filling the bathtub with enough water to submerge a week's worth of chef coats and pants (yes, I actually have that many now, lol) and mixing in a (roughly) appropriate amount of Oxi-Clean powder.  I've had aprons I borrowed come out cleaner than they'd been in a year or two after washing them this way.  I prefer not to use Corox (or other brand bleaches) as they can mess with the other colors you may have (ie logos, embroidery, etc), and in too-large of a quantity (or too long of a soak) can shorten the life-span of the material (causes the material to begin to break down faster).  Thankfully, I no-longer need to worry about cleaning my own uniforms since my new job supplies them for me every day...but now I've a closet full of coats and pants that I don't use, lol.


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## sandiegochef

I am originally from the Midwest, and we had a product called GOOP.  I recently relocated and found this product here in San Diego!!  What a god-send!  Apply GOOP paste to the stain(s), let sit until dry (yes, until dry) and wash in cold.  I use tide and then add oxyclean liquid.  WHITER THAN WHITE, every time.  You might need to apply twice to certain stains, if that is the case, always check the chef coat right out of the washer, BEFORE it goes in the dryer and reapply as needed. Oh, and ALWAYS wear a halter apron. (your chef coats will thank you). If your restaurant doesn't provide them, they have great prices at Costco, buy three or so of your own.  Take pride in your uniform Chefs!!

Chef Mark


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## chefty

The way I keep my coats clean is 1/2 cup resolve whitening powder, 1 cup peroxide, and normal amount of laundry soap. I've told my staff tomdo this as well. The ones who listen have white coats like me,  and mine are 18 months old


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## bleepo

I have an issue with being able to soak them. I work in a remote camp. 44 rooms 3 laundry machines and 1 sink. As it is this hitch I have 13 coats with me so I only have to do my whites once. on top of that we process our own water so bleach is forbidden! 

Mr. Clean floor cleaner has been my best bet but it isn't great.


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## petalsandcoco

ChOpStIx said:


> I don't use bleach because it yellows the jacket. I do however use oxy clean, baking soda, and blue dawn to make a paste and apply it to the stain. Then I wash the jacket with tide in cold water. Works wonders!


Exactly what I use for taking the stains out.


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## agruesometime

I soak my work clothes in a mixture of heavy duty degreaser(found in every kitchen I've ever worked in!), hot ass water, and oxy clean. Leave it soaking for 10-15 minutes and wash as per usual. Gets out tough grease spots and everything else I've thrown at it.


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## passthegravy

Bleach, heavy duty degreaser, and then in the sink overnight with cold water.

Wash them it in a machine twice so you don't get burnt.

They come out sparkling.

Not advisable for the dainty skinned folk I'd imagine.


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## passthegravy

Not loads, I should add, try two very generous slugs of each liquid.


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## markherm13

I ask the owner of my local laundry mat what he uses and he turned me on to a product called Laundry Targo, which is a residential version of a commercial product used in dry cleaners.
A bit expensive up front, $20-$25, but a bottle will last you a very long time in comparison to normal laundry detergent.
Very good investment if you job requires whites as uniform and does not offer cleaning services.
You can find it on Amazon. The big bottle (1 gallon) is $90-$100 and the small version is, give or take $20.
Hope this helps!


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## chefdwilliams

I have always used tide and add clorox for colors (so I don't ruin my embroidery). If I have something really bad, Ill hit it will a bleach stick first and rub that in. 

This seems to work for me. I have heard OXY CLEAN works well. As a private chef now (no more owning my place THANK GOD) don't wear a jacket as often as before but will try the oxy clean


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## chefinterest

Depends on the colour I think, for whites then certainly some of these tricks will help to keep the intensity of the white colour, but as Ed Buchanan points out, think bleach might not be a good idea in the long run. If you've got jackets in different colours then washing at higher temperature will probably cause the colour to fade. Some modern jackets have more durable 'colourfast' dye which is said to hold the colour better. i.e https://www.catering-uniforms.co.uk/product/chefs-jacket-stud-button-technicolour-long-sleeve/. This says its a mix of cotton and polyester so ought to be okay. Maybe having some 'public facing' jackets and some working ones is a cheaper compromise than professional laundry on a regular basis.


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