Best Bib & Tucker

Archive for the ‘On the Spot: Stain Removal’ Category

Time moves in slow motion as the glass of red wine tips but rapidly speeds up as everyone rushes to blot it out.  The good news is, if caught quickly, red wine is not a difficult stain to remove.

The first step for washable fabrics is to dilute the stain.  (Dry clean only fabrics are in a totally separate category and need taken to the cleaners.) Water is a great option and really works just as well as club soda.  To keep the stain from spreading use small amounts of water at a time.  (For carpet stains put salt around the edges to block the stain.)  Then start blotting (not rubbing) with a rag.  Fabric works best but paper towels will do in a pinch.

The dyes in red wine won’t stick to cotton and polyester fabrics, so a mixture of equal parts dish soap (like Dawn) and cold/lukewarm water will work.  Blot until the stain is removed then wash as usual.

For fabrics like silk, wool, and nylon a different method is needed.  (Again, read your labels these are often the fabrics that need to be dry cleaned.)  The dyes in red wine will stick to these fabrics so, in addition to diluting the stain you need to bleach it so you can’t see it or use an acid to release it.  While bleaching (using equal parts dish soap and hydrogen peroxide) works really well, I always worry that my fabric will discolor.  So, my first choice is to use a mixture of:

• 2 C warm water
• 1 T white vinegar or lemon juice
• 1 T dish soap (something neutral like Dawn- do not use the soap for your dishwasher or ammonia- they will form a salt that is really difficult to remove)

Reapply this treatment until the stain is removed then wash as usual.  Do not put the item in the dryer unless the spot has been completely removed.

This is the time of year I start finding tubes of chapstick everywhere…on my night table, in my car, in my purse, and in my pockets.  Inevitably, a tube will end up in my washing machine.

mmmm...almond swirl smells like macaroons

The good news is it isn’t so hard to remove the resulting stains.  Lip balm is mainly composed of oils and will leave grease stains on clothing.  The best home remedy we’ve found for grease is Dawn dish detergent.

Using your fingers rub a bit of Dawn into both sides of the stain.  If you have an old tooth brush handy gently work the detergent into the fabric.  Let this sit 30  minutes or so then rinse and wash as normal.  Repeat if necessary.

As a side note… Dawn is gentle enough to use with all of your handwashables.  They recommend using about a teaspoon of Ultra per gallon of water (you’d need a little more of the regular strength).  Let your clothing soak for about 5 minutes, rinse with cold water, then let dry.

Q: I’m a new football mom. After this weekend’s game, my son’s pants are caked in mud.  How do I get them clean?

A: The first thing to do is let the mud dry.  Then, scrape it off and rinse the pants thoroughly with cold water.  Next, spray the area with foam shaving cream and let it stand 20 minutes.  Blot the area with a paper towel or rag and repeat if needed.  Wash as usual.

Need help with grass stains?  Check out our playground stains post.

Those yellow underarm stains that appear on your white shirts are caused by a reaction between the aluminum in your deodorant and your sweat.   They can be really difficult to remove.

Here’s a simple pantry combination to try for white washable fabrics.

Soak the area in a mixture of equal parts water, baking soda, and peroxide (about 1/4 cup of each).  Gently scrub with a toothbrush to remove any particles then wash as usual.

It’s bound to happen to someone this weekend…

Ketchup and Mustard: the foes of holiday fun

Try these simple pantry solutions:

KETCHUP

Pour Mr. Clean on stain, soak for 30 minutes, then rinse.  Wash as usual.  You can also try blotting with white vinegar from the inside of the fabric.

For white fabrics you can try hydrogen peroxide or lemon juice.  These will slightly bleach the fabric so BE CAREFUL.

MUSTARD

Mix 3 parts dishwashing liquid to 1 part rubbing alcohol.  Soak 10-20 min.  If stain turns dark, it will wash out.  Rinse with hot water.

On white clothing:  Soak spot in mixture of 1 denture cleaning tablet  in  ½ c. cool water

Never use ammonia on mustard stains.

As always, after washing double check the stain.  Heat will set the stain so DO NOT put items in the dryer if the spot remains. Retreat the stain and wash again.

Q: Help! My daughter has chocolate stains on her Easter dress.  How do I get them out?

A: First blot the stain with cold water using a clean rag or dishcloth.  Next, add a few drops of light-colored dish washing liquid.  Mild laundry detergent or even light-colored hand soap will work too.  Blot the stain then rinse completely.  If you have a tough stain you can add a couple drops of ammonia for milk chocolate or a couple drops of white vinegar for dark chocolate.  Reapply the soap, blot and rinse again.

For more stain removal tips check out Removing Playground Stains

Shoes and boots and the bottom of coats and pants take a beating during the winter months.  Salt stains need treated as soon as possible.  If you don’t, those little white marks and lines can change the dye color and later look like bleach spots.  Vinegar to the rescue!

Salt on Clothes

Materials Needed:

• Distilled white vinegar, water, toothbrush, rag or cotton ball

Directions:

• Mix equal parts of distilled white vinegar and water.

• Dab water/vinegar mixture, using a rag or cotton ball, on the affected area.  Use an old toothbrush in a circular motion to softly scrub the stain.   For stubborn stains, you may need to treat again.

• Then, for washable items, wash as normal.

Salt on Suede

Materials Needed:

• Distilled white vinegar, pencil eraser, water, spray bottle, suede brush (short bristled wire brush), newspaper, soft brush

Directions:

• If removing salt from shoes and boots, stuff them with newspaper so they hold their shape.  Let any mud dry.  Brush with a suede brush to remove any dry dirt.  Do not brush in a circular motion, instead brush one way in the direction of the nap of the suede (make it lay down).

• Using a pencil eraser, lightly rub the stained area.

• For tougher stains, use the vinegar/water mixture.  Mix 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar to 1 cup water in a spray bottle.  Mist the affected area with the vinegar/water mixture using as small amount of water as possible.  Lightly brush the area to lift the nap up.  Once dry, use a soft brush to restore the original texture.

Salt on Shoes & Boots (Leather, Canvas, etc)

Materials Needed:

• Distilled white vinegar, water, toothbrush, spray bottle, clean rag or paper towel, newspaper, shoe polish or banana

Directions:

• Mix 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar to 1 cup water in a spray bottle…amounts do not have to be exact.

• Stuff shoes and boots with newspapers so they hold their shape.  Mist the affected area with the vinegar/water mixture.  Gently scrub with an old toothbrush or soft bristled brush in a circular motion.  You may need to treat again.

• Once dry, polish with shoe/boot polish or the inside of a banana peel.  Buff with clean rag or paper towel.

When I was a little kid our neighborhood road would get tarred in the summer.  During the heat, there would be a zillion tar bubbles just waiting to be popped.  I could hardly wait to get out in the morning to play, but the rule was to wait until 10am to go outside.   It was extremely stressful for a kid to have to wait until 10am, especially when your best friend/neighbor was allowed out at 9am and just as excited to get started popping the bubbles.  Needless to say, this was some of my first encounters with learning how to remove stains.  As far as the tar…cold cream and lots and lots of toilet paper seemed to do the trick back then.

BLOOD

I have a few different options of getting blood out of clothing.  First, rinse with COLD water to get off the majority of the stain.  Just hold the stained area under the water so blood doesn’t get onto the rest of the clothing.

Option #1: Sprinkle salt generously on stain, rub in or tap in with a little brush, rinse with cold water and then wash as usual.  This can be used on dried blood, just dampen with cold water and then use the salt.

Option #2: Saturate in hydrogen peroxide, leave on over night and rinse. (Hydrogen peroxide works wonders.  It isn’t bleach, but can possibly take out the color on some fabrics, so check first.)

Option #3: Drench the stain with ammonia and let sit. (This will not discolor clothing.)

Option #4: Soak the area in milk over night then wash as usual.

GRASS

Option #1: Rub Murphy’s Oil Soap onto the grass stain with a small brush. Wash.

Option #2: Combine a few drops of household ammonia with 1 tsp. of hydrogen peroxide. Rub on the stain and rinse with water as soon as stain disappears.

Option #3: Use Karo syrup (white corn syrup).  Pour on stain, rub in, wash as usual.  This works really well on baseball pants.

Option #4: Drench area with white vinegar & use toothbrush to loosen stain.

MUD / DIRT

Option #1: First let the mud dry.  Then scrape off as much as possible.  Cut a potato…yes a potato.  Rub the cut side of the potato on the muddy section.  Rinse with white vinegar.

Option #2: Spray shaving cream on the mud, get it nice and foamy.  Let stand at least 20 minutes, then blot off with paper towels or rag.

TIRE MARKS / TAR

Rub peanut butter onto the tire marks.  Rinse and repeat if necessary.  Once the tire marks are gone you may need to use Dawn Dish Soap to get out the greasy peanut butter.

TREE SAP

Rub Purell or any antibacterial hand gel onto the area.  Scrape off.  Wash.  Make sure the sap is completely gone before drying.  If some is left on the clothing, the heat from the dryer can soften the sap and transfer it to other articles of clothing.  Hence, making more work for you.