Spills and stains are an inevitable part of daily life. Whether they’re from a coffee or wine spill, mud or grass, a spot of paint, markers or more, these annoying stains can be difficult to get out. When you notice a stain, don’t panic. The solution may not be as complicated as you think.
The most important thing, no matter what kind of stain you’re dealing with, is to prevent it from setting.
“Setting” is an informal term that refers to the staining material forming a chemical bond with the fabric. At that point it is effectively permanent. Removing the discoloration will require removing the discolored fabric itself. Sometimes you can remove a set stain by scrubbing until the stained fibers are worn off, leaving unstained ones visible; other times the stain will remain in the fabric unless you physically cut the stained fabric out and put a patch in its place. To prevent having to throw away a garment with a permanent stain, follow these general guidelines:
- Treat any stain immediately with water, or with the proper solvent if it is available (different types of solvents are discussed below, but water is always better than nothing).
- Avoid direct heat.Heat will speed most types of stains’ bonding. Do not place stained clothing near radiant heat sources, and try to only use room temperature or lukewarm solvents.
- Avoid pressure.Apply solvents gently, dabbing them onto the stain and letting them soak in rather than scrubbing forcefully.
Vinegar and Baking Soda Power Punch
When it comes to versatile cleaners, you can't get more versatile than vinegar. The slight acid in vinegar is a stain treating master on even the toughest of stains. This method is very effective on most non-greasy stains, working about 75-90% of the time. It will work best on stains that haven't dyed the material like ink or mustard. For this method, you'll:
- Fill an empty water bottle with straight vinegar.
- Completely saturate the stained area.
- Sprinkle baking soda over the area.
- Gently rub the mixture in to the fabric, respraying vinegar as necessary.
- Allow to sit for up to 30 minutes.
- Rinse the back of the stain with cool water for a few minutes.
- Respray the area with vinegar.
- Fill a bucket or sink with about a gallon or so of water.
- Add a ½ cup of vinegar to the water and a couple tablespoons of laundry detergent.
- Allow the fabric to soak overnight.
Peroxide and Dish Soap to the Rescue
Stains like pasta sauce and mustard can be notoriously hard to remove once they have set in. For these, you might need something with a bit more stain fighting action. Since tomato and coffee can actually dye the fabric itself, this method might be a little less effective for getting those stains out. You are still shooting over 70% though. To get started, grab the Dawn and peroxide.
- In a spray bottle, you'll want to combine 1 parts dish soap to 2 parts peroxide. While Dawn is many people's go-to degreaser, you can try any dish soap.
- Saturate the entire area of the stain.
- With gloved fingers or a rag, rub the stained area.
- Let it sit overnight.
- Rinse and repeat if necessary.
Baking Soda for Grease
Grease stains can be hard before they set into fabric, but once they've been cooked in, it is even harder. This method is designed specifically for grease stains and has a pretty success rate. To banish that grease, you'll need to:
- In a spray bottle combine, 1 tablespoon of both glycerin and dish soap to 1.5 cups of warm water.
- Shake up the mixture.
- Spray the stain, making sure to soak the entire area.
- Let sit on the stain for about 15-20 minutes.
- Wash in cold water and add a tablespoon of baking soda to the load. This works to soak up any remaining grease.
- Hang to dry.
Acetone for Gum or Goo
Gum is never fun. Gum that has gone through the drying process is even worse. This method is effective for removing set in gum or goo on materials; however, it can bleach the color out of the area. So, you will want to proceed with caution.
- Add acetone (aka fingernail polish remover) to a cloth, preferably white.
- Rub the acetone over the goo until gone.
- Once all the goo is gone, launder as usual.
Pro tip: This can work great on dried glue stick too.
There is a magic pen that can replace all the steps above, quickly and easily solve stains on clothes
Magic Stain removal pen
Anytime, anywhere, emergency stain remova.
Help you easily remove a variety of fresh stains such as coffee, red wine, milk tea, yogurt, soy sauce, foundation, lipstick, etc. anytime, anywhere
Home stain removal、Emergency
The pen-like design is convenient to carry, can remove coffee stains, juice, etc., where is dirty.Delivering amazing stain-fighting power, our emergency stain removing pen breaks down and lifts heavy dirt, food and set-in stains in seconds!
Exquisite life, mastered by one hand，it is exquisite secrets in life.
Decontaminates from the source, quickly absorbs and disintegrates stains, is gentle and does not hurt hands or clothes, and is easy to degrade without leaving residue
Steps for usage
1.Wipe first
First wipe off excess stains with paper towels
2.Pad tissue
Put a gift piece of paper on the bottom of the fabric to prevent infiltration
3.Press again
Use the pen tip to gently press to squeeze out the liquid and brush back and forth on the stained area (please use caution when discoloring clothes)
4.Brush on the oil
Rotate and unscrew the brush in the pen tip for difficult to clean stains
5.Clean up again
After cleaning, use damp paper towels
Just wipe it clean
