Question:
If my clothes become stained on Shabbos, am i allowed to remove the stain?
Answer:
Halachically speaking, there are two types of stains:
a wet stain which is absorbed into the fabric of the garment, e.g., a ketchup stain, and
a stain which is made when a piece of dirt or food falls on a garment and hardens there. There are different rules for each of these stains.
A third type of stain is one where the food was neither absorbed into 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.
It is forbidden to pour talcum powder or salt in order to absorb an oily stain.
One may not clean any garment with water, colored water, spit, or any 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—some mark will remain—one is permitted to remove it. Two conditions apply:
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.
This is all based on the view of the Mishna Brurah 302:11 and 36, and Beiur Halachah. There are, however, poskim 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. If moist mud, cholent, or a similar thick moist substance sticks to one’s clothes, using one’s fingernail or the back of a knife, one may scrape off the substance as long as a stain remains.
The Gemorah Shabbos 141a says that if mud sticks to one’s garment one may rub it off from the inside but not from the outside. Then the Gemorah quotes the Braissa which says that one may scratch it with one’s nail. The Shulchan Aruch 302:7 brings this as halacha. The Mishna Brurah 302:32 explains that rubbing it from the inside means holding the inside of the garment opposite where it’s soiled and rubbing two sides of the garment together. Mishna Brurah 307:24 explains that one may scratch it with one’s nail or the back of a knife even from the outside because that’s not considered laundering.
If the mud dried on one’s garment one may not rub it off. However, if food whose ingredients were previously ground (such as dough ) dried on one’s garment one may remove it with one’s fingernail or back of a knife as long as a stain remains.
The Tur 302:7 quotes Rabbenu Peretz who says that if the mud dried it’s forbidden to rub or scratch it because by making the mud crumble, one violates Tochen. The Shulchan Aruch 302:7 quotes this as an individual opinion. The Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchas 15:31 writes that if food whose ingredients were previously ground (such as dough or oatmeal) dried on one’s garment one may remove it according to the conditions in 15:30. 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. |