How to Remove Stains from Laundry and Clothes

Get rid of those stains on your clothes, see a quick guide to stain removal on all your fabrics andcarpets and get an alternative to dry cleaning. Most stains on laundry and clothes are removed by soaking the clothes in a warm - that is only as warm as is comfortable to your hand - solution of washing soda crystals.

Make the solution quite concentrated - we use a whole packet to a bath tub of water, but use your common sense when soaking clothes. Greases, most stains and general grime come out well with this method but white marks under sleeves do not. These are caused by overenthusiastic use of anti perspirants.

Wring out the clothes and put them in the washing machine for a full wash. Length of soaking time depends how fixed the stains are. The washing soda loosens stains and the action of the washing machine and the washing powder in the higher water tempreture, removes the staining.

Washing Silk and Wool

Silk garments and other delicates can go on to be rinsed in warm water and dried flat. Use fabric conditioner in the final rinse.

Stain Removal From All Fabrics Including Carpets and Upholstery

When a stain occurs remove it instantly or suffer the later consequences. What happens if you leave a stain to dry? You have to wet the stain to remove it and that means water marks – which are extremely difficult to remove off carpets and fabrics. So get any stains before they set.

If the stain is old and dried out then treat it as grease.

• Take a 50/50 solution of dish wash liquid in very hot water almost as a paste and work it well into the stain.
• Take a towel or cloth and mop up the wet patch until it is dry.
• Use denatured alcohol to dry out the carpet (as a dewetter)

If the stain is tar, bitumen, paint, nail varnish or anything which is dyed or dye, spray it with WD40 and keep mopping at it with a towel of clean cloth. Alternatively use alcohol or nail varnish remover.

If the stain is blackcurrant, tomato paste turmeric or paprika (from curry) then you may have to live with it if you have left it to dry. You can try treating as grease but these are difficult if not impossible stains.

Food stains and pet and human wastes are removed when it happens and then treated as grease.

Use a bacterial cleaner to remove smells and unknown stains (see carpet cleaning)

How to remove chewing gum or waxes

Chewing gum and waxes stick, as you will no doubt be aware. As are the shop keepers of the world. A bag of ice applied to the stuff freezes it and you can vacuum the frozen bits up. Expensive solutions exist to achieve the same effect, not always well, (and when we say expensive, we mean
expensive) Wax residues can be finally removed by a hot iron on a cloth over the residue, but don't use this method on chewing gum. Oh the mess, that'll be!. And don't burn the fabric with the hot iron.

Anything else? Spoon it up, do not use a knife Wash as soon as possible.
Washing powder that is your laundry detergent is very useful stuff to have around in case of accidents on carpets. By using the enzyme action, you can instantly lessen the effect of a stain, although the area should not be kept over wet, and should be rinsed. We also use a hot solution of this, to clean our cotton mops after use. Soak your dirty clothes before washing, in this. Then wash as usual.

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