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HOME-HINTS |
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Removing Stains |
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Stains can be very frustrating to remove, especially when you are new to the role of housekeeper / homeowner. There is always the potential for those stubborn marks left behind after a party, child or pet have been in the house. Some stains can even be made worse by not getting the right answer first time! |
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CHEWING GUM Personally I try to freeze the gum and then chip it off the fabric or shoe with a blunt knife; either I put the item in the freezer for a while or rub an ice cube over the gum on a carpet for instance. Another way I have heard of is to use Dry Cleaning Fluid around the edges leaving it for a half a minute before lifting the gum off with a blunt knife. Dry Cleaning Fluid can usually be be purchased at the smaller ironmonger / hardware shop on the high street or in supermarkets if you search the stain remover shelf reading bottle contents carefully. I have always found the local hardware shop keeper very helpful. RED WINE There is a saying that you throw white wine on red wine when it is first spilled on a carpet and this makes it easier to mop up without leaving a stain. You may need to use a little carpet shampoo or spray cleaner on the area and sponge off with a damp cloth. Red wine stains on clothing and tablecloths can be tricky to remove. It always best to dilute the stain with cold water as soon as possible after the spillage. Before washing the cloth can be sprayed with a suitable pre-wash spray or it can be soaked in a biological enzyme pre-wash product. If the dye is colour fast you can also use a stain remover in with the normal washing cycle. Always read the specific product label instructions so you do not make a bigger problem by taking out a patch of the fabric colour! WAX Try scraping off as much of the wax as possible with a blunt knife. Then using a piece of blotting paper over the stain use a warm / hot iron on top of the paper to melt the wax and let the blotting paper soak up the melted wax. Be careful to only set the temperature of the iron to the temperature setting which is suitable for the fabric underneath. If you have not got any blotting paper use can try using thick kitchen paper or brown wrapping paper with the dull surface against the wax. GRASS STAINS It may sound crazy but I found great success even on my son's cricket whites by rubbing the grass stain with the hand cleaner for oil and grease called "Swarfega" and then washing in the normal way. GREASE Grease can be treated in many ways, if the fabric can tolerate the commercially produced treatments such as a pre-wash spray or an additive to the wash all well and good. However some fabrics such as silk, can be too delicate or the colour not fast enough to cope with such products. In which case I have found that rubbing a little washing up liquid (or even the "Swarfega" mentioned in the Grass Stains section)into the mark and then rinsing with cold water after a few minutes will lift the grease nicely prior to the normal washing of that garment. This can work really well for clothes that should not have biological washing liquid / powder used on them. BLOOD Even dried blood will wash out if the clothing is soaked in cold water for a few hours prior to washing. If the stain still does not look like it is lifting after soaking you can try a pre-wash spray for stains or a "in wash" additive, but do take care and check that the purchased stain removers are compatible with the fabric. This is why soaking in simple cold water is always best tried first. |
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