# Should I Dip All of My Clothing in Mayonnaise? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 4, 2005, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-dip-all-of-my-clothing-in-mayonnaise/306862 "2005-06-04T11:51:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-dip-all-of-my-clothing-in-mayonnaise/306862/1 "2005-06-04T11:51:18Z")
I have a T-shirt that I am particularly fond of that has held up well through the years. Despite being worn quite often and having been put through many a wash there are no holes and the seams are all in tact. So even though it is several years old I can still wear it. The only sign of age is that the color has faded. It’s just a plain solid colored T-shirt, no text no images. Just a green T-shirt. Now, one day many years ago I dropped a little blob of mayonnaise on this shirt. Wiped it up, cleaned it, no problem. But now, years later the spot where the mayonnaise had landed has retained almost all of the pigment that was present at the time of the incident while the color has faded significantly and evenly throughout the mayonnaise-free region of the shirt. What did the mayonnaise do to my shirt? How has the color remained for years? Would it be a good idea to dipp all of my clothing in mayonnaise??? May manufacturers one day start dipping clothing in mayonnaise and market it as a selling point? “ **Pre-dipped in Mayonnaise** ”??? ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-dip-all-of-my-clothing-in-mayonnaise/306862/2 "2005-06-04T13:21:42Z")
What brand of mayonnaise was this? Colorfast by Bestfoods? ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-dip-all-of-my-clothing-in-mayonnaise/306862/3 "2005-06-04T14:08:04Z")
There’s only one way to find out. Look for coupons in Saturdays paper. ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-dip-all-of-my-clothing-in-mayonnaise/306862/4 "2005-06-04T14:09:24Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > May manufacturers one day start dipping clothing in mayonnaise and market it as a selling point? “ **Pre-dipped in Mayonnaise** ”??? Since Mayo consists of egg protein, vegetable oil, and vinegar it may be that the vinegar set the colors a bit more than in the original dyeing process. I treat all my clothes with Mayo! Don’t you? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-dip-all-of-my-clothing-in-mayonnaise/306862/5 "2005-06-04T14:18:42Z")
Oil makes a very nice wood finish. I suspect that that’s what happened here – you got some oil on the pigment and it polymerized a bit, preserving the pigment. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-dip-all-of-my-clothing-in-mayonnaise/306862/6 "2005-06-04T21:15:28Z")
Is it the original pigment that’s been preserved, or the original dark mayo stain? I’ve considering dying all my pants with coffee, so when I inevitably spill coffee on them, it won’t show. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-dip-all-of-my-clothing-in-mayonnaise/306862/7 "2005-06-04T21:47:34Z")
I think you should dip all your clothes in mayonnaise, I’m certain it works. All my clothes are treated this way, and all of my friends do this, its very common over here, but you do have to use the real stuff, as the cheapo brands have too much vinegary type stuff in them and can damage your clothes. Once the colours have faded though, not much can be done. I have heard it said that the reason it is so effective is that lots of washing powders contain very mild bleaches, and whatever it is in mayonnaise, it seems to interfere with the bleaching action, so you colours last longer. Think about it, one main ingredient in mayo is egg, and egg stain is one heck of a pain to get out of clothing, so this must be the reason it works. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-dip-all-of-my-clothing-in-mayonnaise/306862/8 "2005-06-04T22:08:12Z")
[Channelling Louis Gosset, Jr. as **Sgt. Emil Foley** from \*\* An Officer and a Gentleman\*\*] Yes, I’m talkin’ to you, May- Oh- Naise !!! [/Channelling Louis Gosset, Jr. as **Sgt. Emil Foley** from \*\* An Officer and a Gentleman\*\*] 😃 Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-dip-all-of-my-clothing-in-mayonnaise/306862/9 "2005-06-04T22:17:26Z")
Have you checked the Mayo Clinic website? ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-dip-all-of-my-clothing-in-mayonnaise/306862/10 "2005-06-04T23:30:37Z")
My vote is for the egg yolk in the mayo. Milk and egg protiens are some of the most difficult to get out of fabric and not suprisingly both have been used in extremely tough paints for perhaps thousands of years. ---
**Author:** ![fifty-six](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@fifty-six](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fifty-six)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-dip-all-of-my-clothing-in-mayonnaise/306862/11 "2005-06-05T01:18:19Z")
yes ---
**Author:** ![1010011010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ea666f/32.png) [@1010011010](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1010011010)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-dip-all-of-my-clothing-in-mayonnaise/306862/12 "2005-06-05T06:00:28Z")
No. In the interests of science, you should only dip _half_ of your clothing in mayonaise, so we have something to compare against. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-dip-all-of-my-clothing-in-mayonnaise/306862/13 "2005-06-05T12:33:45Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Is it the original pigment that’s been preserved, or the original dark mayo stain? I supposed technically it may be the stain. The initial incident did immediately leave the affected area darker than the rest of the shirt (even before the color started fading over the years). Still, it’s a green stain on a green shirt and if applied uniformly would be entirely unoffensive. > [@casdave](#): > > I think you should dip all your clothes in mayonnaise, I’m certain it works. > > All my clothes are treated this way, and all of my friends do this, its very common over here, but you do have to use the real stuff, as the cheapo brands have too much vinegary type stuff in them and can damage your clothes. **casdave** , you wouldn’t whoosh poor **bienville** in GQ, would you? Not in GQ? ---
**Author:** ![psiekier](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psiekier/32/116_2.png) [@psiekier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psiekier)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-dip-all-of-my-clothing-in-mayonnaise/306862/14 "2005-06-07T19:54:22Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > Have you checked the Mayo Clinic website? **Operator:** Captain Oveur, you have a call on line five from a “Mr. Hamm.” **Oveur:** All right… give me Hamm on five, and hold the Mayo. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-dip-all-of-my-clothing-in-mayonnaise/306862/15 "2005-06-07T20:19:18Z")
> [@1010011010](#): > > No. > > In the interests of science, you should only dip _half_ of your clothing in mayonaise, so we have something to compare against. The right side of your clothes. Mayo is not safe if it has been left out. ---
**Author:** ![sagitta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@sagitta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sagitta)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-dip-all-of-my-clothing-in-mayonnaise/306862/16 "2005-06-08T12:14:13Z")
Hmph. ☹ From the title, I thought this thread was going to be full of distressing puns on places and titles in Ireland. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-dip-all-of-my-clothing-in-mayonnaise/306862/17 "2005-06-08T13:36:15Z")
So as not to disappoint poor **sagitta** , I suggest you dip your clothing in County Mayo, Ireland. 😃 Robin ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-dip-all-of-my-clothing-in-mayonnaise/306862/18 "2005-06-08T14:01:41Z")
I have a problem in that my clothes fade, but I’m trying to cut down on saturated fats. Should I dip my clothes in mustard? ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-dip-all-of-my-clothing-in-mayonnaise/306862/19 "2005-06-08T14:21:10Z")
Yes, mustard is fine. But whatever you do, don’t dip them in ketchup!! …Dopers get really upset when you put ketchup on things. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2005, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-dip-all-of-my-clothing-in-mayonnaise/306862/20 "2005-06-08T14:23:20Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > Yes, mustard is fine. But whatever you do, don’t dip them in ketchup!! > > …Dopers get really upset when you put ketchup on things. Yeah, well, some Dopers are real wieners. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-dip-all-of-my-clothing-in-mayonnaise/306862.md?page=2)