How to get marinara sauce stains out of rubber mats
Tomato-based sauces contain stubborn carotenoid pigments that absorb deeply into porous rubber and silicone, resisting standard soap, baking soda, and oil treatments. This permanent discoloration ruins the appearance of bar mats and bottle gaskets without actually affecting their structural function or safety.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- Most of it landed at once — the busiest month was September 2026, with 13 people.
- This comes up 21.8× more often in r/CleaningTips than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Rubbing alcohol2 people mentionedDid this help you?
- 2Scrubbing with soapDid this help you?
- 3Applying a baking soda pasteDid this help you?
- 4Rubbing out the stain with cooking oilDid this help you?
- 5Soaking in hot water with vinegarDid this help you?
- 6Brushing with baking sodaDid this help you?
- 7Using normal cleanerDid this help you?
- 8Using vinyl and floor cleanerDid this help you?
- 9Using vinegarDid this help you?
- 10Using intensive bathroom cleaner with phosphoric acid, citric acid, and nonionic surfactantsDid this help you?
- 11scrubbing with paper towels and 70% isopropyl alcoholDid this help you?
- 12using dawn dish soap and water with paper towelsDid this help you?
- 13Steam CleanerDid this help you?
- 14AcetoneDid this help you?
- 15Isopropyl alcoholDid this help you?
- 16dish soapDid this help you?
- 17goo-goneDid this help you?
- 18bleachDid this help you?
- 19kitchen degreaserDid this help you?
- 20using a UV lamp or sunlightDid this help you?
- 21baby oilDid this help you?
- 22Using a tennis ball on a stick to buff out shoe scuffs.Did this help you?
- 23Dish soap and waterDid this help you?
- 24Acetone/nailpolish removerDid this help you?
- 25Sticker-removerDid this help you?
- 26VinegarDid this help you?
- 27OilDid this help you?
- 28Leaving bleach on the stain for 15 minutesDid this help you?
- 29Applying baking soda paste for 30 minutes and scrubbing with a toothbrushDid this help you?
- 30Using boiling hot water with washing up liquid and scrubbing with a brushDid this help you?
- 31Using bleach and letting it soakDid this help you?
- 32Applying hair sprayDid this help you?
- 33Applying hydrogen peroxideDid this help you?
- 34Using a spray cleaner with bleach and letting it dryDid this help you?
- 35Using yellow awesome spray from the dollar storeDid this help you?
- 36Using spray sunscreenDid this help you?
- 37Using a specific exfoliating soapDid this help you?
- 38Using a toothbrush or washcloth with diluted Dawn dish soapDid this help you?
- 39Using Tech stain remover brandDid this help you?
- 40Applying dish soap or Dawn power wash spray, letting it sit for at least 30 minutes, and rewashing without dryingDid this help you?
- 41Applying dish soap and baking soda generously, scrubbing, letting it dry on the spot, and rinsingDid this help you?
- 42Using Carbona Oil Stain RemoverDid this help you?
- 43Letting Comet soak all nightDid this help you?
- 44Using white vinegarDid this help you?
- 45Considering a baking soda pasteDid this help you?
- 46Using heavy-duty or industrial hand soaps (orange goop, Cherry Bomb, Kresto, Bear Paw, Boraxo)Did this help you?
- 47Scrubbing with abrasive pads, nail brushes, rags, exfoliating brushes, or magic erasersDid this help you?
- 48Using dish soap (Dawn) or soaking hands in a Dawn and water mixtureDid this help you?
- 49Applying household or industrial solvents like olive oil, sugar, non-chlorinated brake cleaner, or diesel/gasolineDid this help you?
- 50Double gloving or switching to thicker gloves (7 mil or greater)Did this help you?
- 51covering the ring with baking soda or baby powder overnight, followed by leather conditionerDid this help you?
- 52Unbinding the planner and rebinding it with a newly cut replacement cover.Did this help you?
- 53Applying mineral oil over the entire cover to even out the color and waterproof it.Did this help you?
- 54Oiling the opposite corner of the cover so the stain looks like an intentional design choice.Did this help you?
- 55soaking in plain dish soap before washing to cut the greaseDid this help you?
- 56using a specialty detergent that does not contain protease enzymesDid this help you?
- 57Dabbing the stain with a cotton swab and Soft Scrub with bleachDid this help you?
- 58Gently wiping with a damp microfiber cloth and diluted dish soapDid this help you?
- 59Using a wet Magic EraserDid this help you?
- 60using standard liquid cleaning solutionsDid this help you?
- 61buying and using a small carpet cleaning machineDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“There are squishy dumpling oil? rings. 😭”source ↗
“And of course it’s a leather couch. Because apparently regular destruction wasn’t enough.”source ↗
“Can I salvage this?! Has anyone successfully removed this mystery squishy oil crap from leather without making it worse?”source ↗
“Recently jumped on the silk pillowcase bandwagon and apparently my nightmare routine makes my face greasy af. My pillowcases look like a crime scene. Would you pretreat?”source ↗
“Got a few splatters on a white bathroom counter and it won’t come out. I have tried everything- bleach, dawn and baking soda, toothpaste and every bath product I own.”source ↗
“How am I suppose to clean this and what do I use?”source ↗
“I do not recall what exactly caused those like toothpaste type of stains there.”source ↗
“How can I get rid of this ring? I have tried comet (letting it soak all night) & white vinegar but I’m wondering if I should make a baking soda paste.. anyone have ideas?”source ↗
“Trick or treating last night and about an hour later found purple frosting on the leather of my shoe. Any tips on how to remove?”source ↗
“I had a receipt on my bathroom bechtop of which the pharmacy wrote in pen "Paid" on.. I seemed to have left it face down and some water got on it, the pen transferred on-to the plastic benchtop and will not come off.”source ↗
“I'm at a loss and it's a rental so I'm screwed if I can't fix this.. help!”source ↗
“I need help figuring out how to get glue residue from painter's tape off of the sides of rubber soles.”source ↗
“I removed the painter's tape and saw it had left a lot of glue residue.”source ↗
“While I have been able to rub some of it off, the residue stays soft and sticky, very difficult to remove and the soles stay tacky. :(”source ↗
“The stain is from compost bin juice.”source ↗
“I've tried leaving bleach on it 15mins and then using a sponge, baking soda paste for 30mins and then a tooth brush, boiling hot water with washing up liquid and then scrubbing with a brush.”source ↗
“Are there any other home solutions I can try to spare myself the cash?”source ↗
“Or is this the best I'm gonna get it?”source ↗
“I know myself well enough to know if I attempt to clean it myself, I will only make it worse”source ↗
“Plz any tips for drawing out the oil (ie baking soda somehow?) Rn all I have on me is paper towel so I've stuffed it inside the soft side of the cover but it's not doing anything.”source ↗
“If it's hopeless, any tips for covering it up?”source ↗
“Today, i remember to put it out my bag, and saw this pink stain on the gasket, straw and the mouth piece rubber stopper.”source ↗
“I tried vinegar hot water soak, then baking soda brush. The stains on the straw got removed, but the stains on the gasket and mouth piece is hard to remove.”source ↗
“Is there other way to remove this or should i throw this away?”source ↗
“It's a wet room bathroom floor and I just moved in. Have already tried: normal cleaner, vinyl/floor cleaner, vinegar and a more intensive bathroom cleaner with phosphoric acid, citric acid, and nonionic surfactants.”source ↗
“Hi, following this because I have 2 of these stains in different units I clean.”source ↗
“The thing is those marks that are there, is dawn dish soap better or isopropyl alcohol? Shouldn't I stick with just one thing... dawn dish soap or the isopropyl alcohol?”source ↗
“I work at a Chuck E Cheese and we have these vinyl covered mats in the playground area; kids are required to wear non-slip socks with red rubber on the bottom that leave streaks. My manager has tried a few ways to clean them, bit nothing works.”source ↗
“I’m so Ed I didn’t mean dial soap lol I put dish soap on it and I just did laundry today and it’s still there oh shi I dried it too damn it”source ↗
“Basically, a whole bottle of hot sauce was spilled on this rug. I tried some cleaning solutions and even bought a small carpet cleaner, but it's not really going away.”source ↗
“Recently made some marinara sauce and some got on my bar mat and stained it. Tried scrubbing it with soap, tried baking soda paste, tried rubbing it out with cooking oil but no luck.”source ↗
“Try to keep my hands clean as possible, but damn they're stained for days on end.”source ↗
“Wash my hands with orange goop, with this green plant powder, dawn dish soap, and I've scrubbed them with rags, exfoliating brushes, and magic erasers. It's still not completely clean.”source ↗
“I just took a shower a scrubbed as hard as I could and I'm still dirty.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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