Laundry Tips for Stain Removal

Part of washing clothing and other items is getting rid of stains, which happen every day! In this section, we wanted to provide you with some great methods for getting out some of the most common stains:

• Ink Stains: Two methods work very well for removing ink stains. First, take normal hairspray and soak the stain. Let it stand for about 10 minutes and then wash in hot water if possible. If not, warm water will usually work. Second, take a clean, white cloth soaked in milk and rub the ink stain from the outer sides inward. This method may take a few tries but it does work.

• Coffee Stains: For coffee stains, mix one egg yolk with warm water. Moisten a clean, white cloth with the mixture, blotting until the stain is removed, and then laundry as usual. If the coffee stain has gone unnoticed for a few days, add a couple drops of rubbing alcohol to the egg and water mixture.

• Egg Stains: For egg, you want to use cold water for removing the stain since warm or hot water will actually cause the egg to cook, making it more difficult to remove.

• Blood Stains: The laundry cleaning tip for blood is to wash in warm water. If necessary, you can add a few drops of ammonia to the water if the stain is resistant.

• Chocolate Stains: In most cases, chocolate stains can simply be laundered out as usual, but if not, mix borax with cold water to form a paste, and soak the stain for 1 hour before laundering again.

• Perspiration stains: To remove perspiration stains in clothing, soak in warm vinegar and water.

• Urine Stains: For washable fabrics that can be bleached… pre-soak them in cold water for at least thirty minutes. Launder these fabrics in hot water using detergent and chlorine bleach according to the directions on the bleach container. For washable, non-bleachable items, sponge the stained area with a solution of equal parts of household ammonia and water then launder the item in warm water and detergent. Rinse it well. For non-washable items, sponge just the stained area with clear water to which a few drops of ammonia have been added. Then, sponge with clear water only.

• Disinfecting clothes: Microwaves can be used to emergency disinfect clothes, such as a child's cap that another kid has put on, as long as they have absolutely NO metal in the zippers, buttons, rivets etc. ALWAYS place a cup of cold water next to the article to absorb the heat and microwave on high until the water is steaming.

• Laundry Cleaning Tips for Delicate Items: Here is a great tip. Although most people wash out delicate items by hand, you can wash them in the washing machine with the right product and method. Most important, make sure you sort your delicates out by color, dark colors, bright colors, and white colors. Next, use laundry detergent designed specifically for delicate items such as Ivory Snow. Another laundry cleaning tip for delicates is for hand washing, use Ivory dishwashing soap. When mixed with cold to slightly warm water, it works incredible well.

Laundry does not have to become a guessing game. By reading labels and following some easy guidelines, you can enjoy sweet-smelling clothes that look and feel great! With so many different foods and substances that cause stain, it is easy to see why this has become such a problem. However, you can have clean clothing once you know how.

Keep in mind that the number one tip for clean clothes is to pre-treat stains as soon as possible. If the stain is deeply set or had gone unnoticed for quite some time, you can use a commercial product such as Shout and soak the garment overnight. In fact, if the stain is bad, you may need to pre-treat and wash a couple of times. Finally, unless the stain problem has been resolved, do not put anything in the dryer. What happens is that the heat of the dryer will actual set a stain. Therefore, once it has been dried, chances of getting the stain out completely will be tough.

Taken from http://www.mrscleannw.com/tips/laundry-cleaning-tips.html