At Home Spot & Stain Remedies
Most of us did not give in to the late Billy Mays when he told us to buy Oxi Clean and Kaboom to fight the toughest stains.
Whether you still live with mom and dad, are on your own for the first time, are married or have roommates, most of us are not professional stain removers! I’ve compiled a list of common stains and the easiest ways to rid them.
Note: I have not tried all remedies and am open to your suggestions; this is a list I have compiled from moms, grandparents, the Internet, the Girls Guide to Absolutely Everything and friends.
Antiperspirant: Mix ½ teaspoon dish detergent, a few drops of white vinegar and ½ cup water. Press into the stain with a paper towel. Flush with water and blot.
Blood: Spit on it. Girls Guide to Absolutely Everything says that your own saliva is the best thing for getting your own blood out, fast. Next step, soak in cold water mixed with a handful of salt, or apply equal parts of ammonia and water with a sponge. If the stain persists, try using diluted ammonia. Most sources say bleach does not work well on blood stains.
Candle Wax: Scrape off what you can. Put a paper towel over the wax and iron until all the wax is absorbed.
Chocolate: Dampen a sponge with lukewarm water and blot the stain. Dampen from the back, if possible.
Coffee: With a sponge, apply a mixture of one teaspoon of white vinegar to one quart of cold water.
Gum: Freeze it using an ice cube and it should break off.
Hair Dye: Use a bit of shampoo, it gets it off your skin, and should work on your clothes according to The Girls Guide to Absolutely Everything.
In my experience, I have tried everything to get hair dye off of my skin, even nail polish remover. The only thing I have found that some-what works is hair dye remover from a beauty supplier. I have found it impossible to get dark-brown hair dye out of any of my clothes. I hope no one else has been as unfortunate as I!
Ink: Massage aerosol hairspray into the stain, then run it under cold water.
Makeup: Regular laundry detergent should do the trick. Pretreat the stain with alcohol or a stain remover.
Rust: Use rust remover from a hardware store.
Sweat: Apply a mixture of water and baking soda or a few tablespoons of white vinegar or diluted ammonia If this doesn’t work, soak in salt water.
A trick my friend saw in a magazine is to use white vinegar when you get out of the shower, to prevent underarm odor. She applies a little of the vinegar with a cotton ball before applying deodorant. Let the vinegar dry completely or else you will smell like vinegar. As crazy as it sounds, it works and you will not smell like vinegar or BO!
Vegetable Oil: Use a liquid dish detergent that cuts grease.
Vomit: Treat the stain with cold water. Follow with an unseasoned meat tenderizer (fabrics.net swears by this). Let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes and then rinse, air dry and vacuum.
Wine: Douse the stain with club soda, or try a mixture of water with a dash of salt and lemon. Fabrics.net suggests spot cleaning with only water-based shampoo or foam upholstery cleaner if stain is on furniture.
Always dab don’t rub, no matter how frustrated you are and how much you think it will help, trust me, I’ve learned the hard way. To be ready to tackle these unanticipated accidents, keep paper towel, white vinegar, aerosol hairspray, laundry detergent, baking soda, ammonia, dish detergent, meat tenderizer, salt and lemon around the house. You never know when you will need it.
Please share your stain and spot removal remedies with us, we would love to add to the list. Bookmark this article for easy access so when an accident happens and you are freaking out, you have these solutions at your fingertips!
Chelsea Hickey
Reader Comments (1)
we learned in phlebotomy class that hydrogen peroxide removes blood from clothes