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Tips on
getting
out the most common garment stains.
Antiperspirant/deodorant
What you need: white
vinegar, enzyme detergent, liquid detergent
How to remove it: Soak
the stain in white vinegar for 30 minutes. Then, launder the shirt
in the warmest possible water for the type of fabric using an enzyme
detergent like Wisk or Tide.
Another alternative is to rub a little bit of liquid detergent on
the stain, leave it for about 10 minutes, and wash the garment
normally afterward. Next time, wait for the antiperspirant to dry
before dressing.
Blood
What you need: ammonia,
unseasoned meat tenderizer, paper towel
How to remove it: If
the stain is fresh, soak the garment in cold water with a sprinkle
of ammonia for 20 minutes. If the stain has already set, dampen it
with warm water, then apply some unseasoned (this is important) meat
tenderizer, making a paste over the stain. Cover this with a paper
towel and make sure it stays moist. The next day, rinse off the
paste with water mixed with a little bit of ammonia and wash
normally.
Coffee
What you need: liquid
bleach, peroxide
How to remove it: If
you can wash the item right away, regular laundry will work just
fine. Also, you can pre-treat the stain with liquid bleach (use
color-safe bleach for colored
clothes) as an extra measure. If that doesn't work and the fabric is
white, mix one part of peroxide with six parts of water and rub it
on the stain.
Cooking oil/motor oil
What you need: liquid
detergent, two paper towels, a warm iron, baby powder, solvent
How to remove it: Once
you've removed the excess oil, dampen the stain and apply liquid
detergent directly onto it. Alternatively, place the stained portion
of the garment between two paper towels and apply a warm iron to the
area. If you're not in a hurry, apply baby powder and let it absorb
the oil overnight. Finally, if the fabric cannot withstand very hot
water, use a grease solvent before washing.
Grass
What you need: stain
remover, bleach, detergent, ethanol or methanol, glycerin
How to remove it: If
you have stain remover, rub some delicately onto the stain and leave
it for five minutes. Using bleach (color-safe bleach if the garment
isn't white) and detergent, launder normally in hot water. Another
solution is to sponge some ethanol or methanol on the stain, then to
remove it with warm soapy water, and finally to mix one part
glycerin with two parts water and cover the stain with it until it
softens.
Fruit juice
What you need: bar
of soap, detergent, bleach
How to remove it: After
soaking the fabric in cool water, rub a bar of soap on the stain.
Then, before it can dry, launder the item with detergent and bleach
(once again, use color-safe bleach if it isn't white) in the hottest
possible water.
Ink
What you need: rubbing alcohol,
detergent, hairspray, a dry cloth
How to remove it: Apply
rubbing alcohol to the stain and then rub in some detergent. If the
stain is still there after a normal wash, do it all over again.
Alternatively, you can put hairspray on the stain and rub it in with
a dry cloth before washing normally.
Lipstick
What you need: stain
remover, rubbing alcohol, ammonia, hairspray
How to remove it: Lipstick
is just like the women who wear it: It can be stubborn. However,
there are solutions if it doesn't go away with normal washing. You
can dab the stain with either a stain remover, rubbing alcohol,
ammonia, or hairspray. Then, just rinse it off with warm water.
Sauce, mustard, ketchup
What you need: bleach,
detergent, stain remover
How to remove it: Pre-treat
the stain with color-safe bleach and wash with detergent in warm or
hot water. If the stain is still there, treat it with stain remover
and wash again.
Salt
What you need: white
vinegar, a clean rag
How to remove it: In
most cases, regular laundering will remove salt stains from clothes.
However, formen's shoes, you must mix one tablespoon of white
vinegar with one cup of water. Using a clean rag, dip into the
solution and scrub the stains from the shoes. Once dry, they'll look
like new.
Toothpaste
What you need: ammonia,
paper towel, clear dish liquid
How to remove it: If
scrubbing it out with warm water doesn't work, mix three tablespoons
of ammonia with one cup of water and dab the stain with this mixture
and a paper towel. You can also combine one tablespoon of clear dish
liquid and one cup of water, rub the stain with the mixture and use
clear water to rinse. If the toothpaste is the whitening kind, you
must work extremely fast if you don't want the peroxide it contains
to leave a permanent white stain.
Wine
What you need: salt,
white wine (oddly enough), carbonated soda water, glycerin
How to remove it: For red
wine, pour salt onto the stain if it's still fresh, but don't rub it
in. Rinse it off with warm water after two minutes. Also, you can
pour white wine on the stain to keep it from setting. For a white
wine stain, use carbonated soda water after blotting up as much as
the wine as possible. If the stain has dried, mix up one part
glycerin with two parts water and rub it onto the stain before
washing normally. |
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