Removing a Stain from a Garment
Halachically speaking, there are two types of stains:
1. a wet stain that is absorbed in the fabric of the garment, e.g., a ketchup stain, and
2. a stain that is made when a piece of dirt or food falls on a garment and hardens there.18
There are different rules for each of these stains.
A wet stain that is absorbed in the garment
It is strictly prohibited on Shabbos to remove a stain that is absorbed in the fabric and can be removed only with water or a cleaning agent. This is subject to the classic Biblical prohibition of Laundering. Even if the stain is so insignificant that the owner will not be deterred from wearing the garment because of it, it is still strictly forbidden to remove it with water or any other cleaning agent.
If no water or cleaning agent is used, then it is permitted to remove the stain if it is insignificant and would not deter the owner from wearing the stained garment. If the stain is significant, however, it is prohibited to remove it if the stain will be removed completely, i.e., it will leave no mark whatsoever on the garment. If, however, the stain is only partially removed—i.e., some mark will remain—one is permitted to remove it. Two conditions apply:
1. No brush may be used.
2. The stain may not be scrubbed away; it may only be gently wiped off with a dry cloth or removed by hand, with a knife, etc.19
Dirt that adheres to the garment’s surface
A stain that results from dirt or food that has attached itself to a garment can also be removed if it will be only partially removed or when it is “insignificant,” as explained earlier.20
It can be removed either by scratching it off or by rubbing the reverse side of the material until the dirt is dislodged.
There is, however, one notable difference between this type of stain and a wet stain that became absorbed into the fabric of a garment. The removal of a dry stain is subject to the laws of tochein-grinding, a forbidden melachah. If the dirt or food has dried or hardened, then scratching or peeling it off will cause it to crumble, which is a rabbinic violation of the prohibition against grinding. Therefore:
- If the garment was stained by mud and the mud has dried, it may not be rubbed off—even if the stain is insignificant or will leave a mark—because of the prohibition of grinding.21
- If the garment was stained by unprocessed food that grows from the ground, such as fruits and vegetables, it may not be removed because of the prohibition against grinding. But a stain from food that has already been ground, such as baby cereal, may be removed, because grinding does not apply to previously ground food.22
- Beans or potatoes from a completely cooked cholent may not be subject to the prohibition of grinding, since they are cooked so thoroughly that they are considered “previously ground,” and the prohibition of grinding does not apply to them.23
- Even when the prohibition of grinding applies, it is permitted, when necessary, to ask a non-Jew to remove this type of stain on Shabbos.24
18. A third type of stain is one in which the food was neither absorbed in the fabric nor dried and hardened; it merely remained on the surface and could be easily flicked off, e.g., a noodle. This type of stain is permitted to be removed according to most poskim quoted earlier, since it is similar to a feather or a loose thread, which may be removed.
19. This section is based on the view of the Mishnah Berurah 302:11 and 36, and Beiur Halachah, s.v. d’havi. This is also the view of Da’as Torah 302:7. There are poskim, however, who are more lenient and allow a stain to be removed (without water or a cleaning agent) even when it will be completely removed, as long as it is not scrubbed vigorously; see Aruch ha-Shulchan 302:9; Ketzos ha-Shulchan 116:3, see also Megillas Sefer 8:11.
20. See earlier note (19) that other poskim are more lenient and permit removing stains as long as they are not scrubbed vigorously.
21. O.C. 302:7.
22. See Rema, O.C 321:12.
23. See Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 6:9 and 15:31.
24. Mishnah Berurah 302:36 and Sha’ar Hatziyun 44.