11 Awesome Clothing Stain Removal Tips You Need To Know

 
On a recent RV trip to Pennsylvania, we found ourselves in a Laundromat doing our laundry.  Up on the wall was a sign with directions for removing eleven kinds of stains.  I took a picture of the sign for future reference, never realizing how soon we would need those tips.

A few days later, my wife got some black grease on a pair of white pants.  I immediately dug out the picture on my phone, found the tip for removing grease and oil stains (Tip #6 below), did what it said, and ta-da, the stain was completely gone.  Not a trace of grease remained.  AMAZING!

Ditto for a tomato sauce stain on a Tee shirt.  I went immediately to Tip #10 and presto, the stain was gone.

These tips work and are now our go-to guide whenever we encounter any kind of clothing stain.

11 Great Stain Removal Tips For Clothes:

Here are the 11 must-know clothing stain removal tips:

Tip #1.  Ink or Paint Stains:

● Method A: Soak in rubbing alcohol for 30 minutes and rinse
● Method B (Ink Only): Spray with hair spray and wash

 
Tip #2.  Dingy Whites or Underarm Deodorant Stains:
● Soak in a mixture of 50/50 hydrogen peroxide (3%) and water for 30 minutes
● Wash, adding 1 cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide to the wash water

 
Tip #3.  Grass Stains:

● Method A: Scrub with liquid dish soap and rinse
● Method B: Treat with a 50/50 mixture of hydrogen peroxide (3%) and water

 
Tip #4.  Tea or Coffee Stains:

● Method A (Fresh Stain): Immediately pour boiling water over the stain until it is gone

● Method B (Set Stain): Scrub with a paste of borax and water and wash immediately

 
Tip #5.  Wine or Red Dye Stains:

● Soak in a 50/50 mixture of hydrogen peroxide (3%) and water

 
Tip #6.  Grease and Oil Stains:

● Sprinkle the stain with dry baking soda to remove any loose oil or grease and brush off
● Soak in undiluted white vinegar for 15 minutes
● Rinse and scrub with liquid dish soap
● Wash

 
Tip #7.  Food Stains:

● Soak in a mixture of 50/50 hydrogen peroxide (3%) and water

 
Tip #8.  Cat or Dog Urine Stains:

● Scrub with a solution of 1 tablespoon ammonia in half a cup of warm water
● Rinse well

 
Tip #9.  Mud stains:

● Let the mud dry and brush off any loose mud
● Scrub with a borax/ water paste
● Wash immediately

 
Tip #10.  Tomato Based Stains:

● Treat with undiluted white vinegar
● Wash immediately

 
Tip #11.  Protein Based Stains (Vomit, urine, feces, blood, egg, gelatin, glue, etc.):
● Soak in cool water
● Wash in cold water with one half cup of hydrogen peroxide (3%) and one half cup of baking soda added to the wash water

o Do not wash in warm water as this will set in the smell of the staining material

General Note:  Always treat stains from the back of the item, rather than from the front, to avoid rubbing the stain into the fabric

Action Plan:

Here is your Cerebral Advantage Action Plan on how to put these stain removal tips into practice.

Step 1:  Bookmark this page on your computer and phone so that you can find it easily.  When you encounter a stain, the longer it sits, the harder it is to remove.  Thus, you want to be able to find this information fast.

Step 2:  Put a copy of these procedures in your laundry room for easy access.  Again, time is of the essence when stains occur.

Step 3:  Whenever a stain occurs, find the applicable removal tip and treat the stain accordingly.

Summing Up:

No matter how careful we are, stuff happens in life.  The key is to be prepared ahead of time so that you know exactly how to respond to any given situation.

Stains are a prime example.  And, more often than not, when a stain occurs, it will be on one of our most favorite pieces of clothing.  Sadly, in the past, this meant that we were often forced to throw the item away.

But no longer!  Now we have a toolbox of awesome stain removal tips for cloths that can tackle almost any kind of stain.  With this information, we are now prepared for life’s little drips and splats.

How great is that!

Note:

The attribution on the sign at the Laundromat was “The Laundry Room.”  I don’t know if that was just a reference to the management of the Laundromat or is an actual entity.  A Google search failed to return any information to identify the origin of these tips.  In any event, we are indebted to “The Laundry Room,” whoever they might be, for sharing their awesome clothing stain removal tips.

Think Right.  Live Well. 

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