Stains don't play favorites. Everyone is fair game. You are never too old to fall prey to their schemes.
Sports is a way of life around my house. All my education on stain removal was gained last Spring when our coach decided to add white pants to JT's uniform rotation. You see, these sparkling white pants were debuted at a field in League City that boasts a clay infield. Did I also mention it rained that weekend? Um, hmm. Those white pants have never been the same since. The clay turned them a delicate shade of peach, when washed. That's magical....
All was not lost. I was able to restore them to 95% status. How, you might ask? Watch and learn, ladies. Watch and learn.
My first step was to travel to my second home, Target, and visit the laundry aisle. Next step? Buy one of everything. $30 dollars later, this is what I had:
Zout
Shout
Clorox Ultimate Care Bleach
OxyClean
Clorox Bleach Pens
I must mention that I also have Resolve Carpet Cleaner, aerosol variety, in my arsenal. We'll get to that later.
As I have said before, often it is all about combinations. And I quickly learned, sometimes you can have a real-life science experiement right there in your laundry room. Kinda like using Drano crystals to reveal the sex of your baby during pregancy. Are you feeling me, Jenny? Dang that smoke smelled BAD!
The best combination I have found for removing ground in grass stains/dirt is Clorox Ultimate Care Bleach and OxyClean. The bleach is not a thin liquid, but more creamy and when mixed with the OxyClean granules, this creates a stain-fighting paste that can't be beat. Warning...it will cause a heat reaction but will not smoke. What a relief, right? This works best when left on the stain to really permeate the fabric.
For basic stains, spraying Zout or Shout work well, sometimes both. The key here is to again, let the stain-fighter penetrate the stain before throwing it in the wash. Often we toss the treated garment in too quickly and the stain-fighter is washed away.
The bleach pen comes in handy when you have a spot on clothing that is not totally white. There are two tips to choose from: one skinny and one with a small brush to scrub.
And finally, the Resolve Carpet Cleaner, aerosol variety, works amazing to get greasy stains out of light colored clothing. I thought a pair of khaki capris were ruined and the Resolve totally removed the stain.
At the end of the day, often multiple treatments are required. Just remember...don't dry the stained garment as this will set in the stain.
Any stain-fighting tips to share?
3 comments:
That waterless hand cleaner Goop takes out most stains as well. The garment has to be dry though when you apply it. Let it sit and then wash. I don't have many domestic tips but this is one of them.
That's alot of products to mix. I'm always a bit nervous about mixing products. My toughest jobs are the stains on my twins shirts. Much to my dismay I generally don't find them till after they've gone through the dryer. :(
Thanks for the great tips. This may actually save a certain white Gymboree top that has been laying on my dryer for weeks because I can't get the purple marker stain out. I have faded it greatly but now I have some new things to try.
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