No one wants to toss a perfectly good shirt because of a stain that won’t come out! Next time, try these tried & true techniques to remove almost any stain. From blueberries to wine, these simple steps will keep your laundry looking good as new. There’s even a cute printable cheat sheet to hang in your laundry room!
Ugh, STAINS. They’re the worst, right?
And it’s happened to all of us at one point or another. You dribble coffee on your favorite shirt. Your 2-year-old decides to color herself—and her Sunday dress—with a rainbow assortment of felt-tip markers. Your husband gets a little overly enthusiastic with his barbecue sauce. Your romantic candlelit dinner leaves you with candle wax all over the tablecloth. Your little aspiring soccer player ends up with grass stains all over his brand new jeans.
In any of these cases, and certainly a whole lot more, it is easy to just want to throw up your hands and declare a total loss. Yes, it’s unfortunate, you think, but what can you do? After all, these things happen.
But while stains may just be an inevitable part of life, giving up on them doesn’t have to be. With a few simple tricks and some good-old-fashioned elbow grease, you may just be able to salvage that favorite item and save yourself both money and heartache along the way.
Scrape off any dried food with a kitchen knife. Soak item for 15 minutes in a mixture of 1-quart lukewarm water, 1 tablespoon ammonia, and a squirt of liquid dish soap. Gently rub stain from the back, then soak for an additional 15 minutes. Rinse the item, then soak in Oxy-Clean solution for at least 30 minutes, or until the stain is gone. Launder normally.
Soak the item in ice-cold water for 15 minutes. Rub stain from behind. Soak an additional 15 minutes in cold water. Check stain. If still visible, soak the item in Oxy-clean solution for 30 minutes. Launder normally, using bleach for whites.
Place stain face down on a clean paper towel. Pre-treat underside of stain with liquid laundry detergent or stain remover, rubbing the stain gently. Rinse. Soak for 30 minutes in a solution of lukewarm water mixed with all-fabric bleach. Rinse. If an item is white or colorfast, soak in the bleach solution for 15 minutes. Rinse and launder normally.
Scrape off any excess wax with a table knife. Place the stain face down on a clean paper towel. Press an iron over the backside of the stain to release the wax onto a paper towel. Repeat with clean paper towels until no more wax transfers to the paper towel. Treat the remaining color stain with stain remover. Soak in Oxy-Clean solution for 30 minutes. Launder normally, using bleach for whites.
For whites or colorfast fabrics, fill sink or bucket with lukewarm water and 1-2 cups bleach. Soak items for 30 minutes; launder normally with bleach. For non-colorfast fabrics, fill sink or bucket with warm water, 2 squirts dish soap, and 2 tablespoons of ammonia. Soak for 30 minutes. Drain water & rinse items. Refill sink and add ¼ cup vinegar. Soak items for 30 minutes. Rinse and launder normally with the hottest water possible and add Oxy-Clean to detergent.
Place the item face down on a clean towel. Gently rub from the back with a sponge soaked in rubbing alcohol. Soak item for 15 minutes in a mixture of 1-quart lukewarm water, 1 tablespoon vinegar, and a squirt of liquid dish soap. Rinse the item. Soak in Oxy-Clean solution for 30 minutes. Launder normally, using bleach for whites.
Soak the item in cool water & Oxy-Clean solution for several hours or overnight. Launder normally, using bleach for whites. If stain remains, soak in Oxy-Clean solution again, then re-wash.
Mix 1 tablespoon vinegar with 2/3 cup rubbing alcohol. Use a clean cloth or rag to blot the stain with rubbing alcohol solution. Continue blotting until liquid is absorbed and stain disappears. Launder normally.
Place stain face down on a clean paper towel. Blot with sponge or cloth soaked in rubbing alcohol. If stain remains, spray with Aqua-Net hairspray and gently rub stain from the back. Rinse fabric. Launder normally.
Place stain face down on a clean paper towel. Pre-treat underside of stain with liquid laundry detergent or stain remover, rubbing stain gently. Rinse. Soak for 30 minutes in a solution of lukewarm water mixed with all-fabric bleach. Rinse. If an item is white or colorfast, soak in bleach solution for 15 minutes. Rinse and launder normally.
Place stain face down on a clean paper towel. Pre-treat underside of stain with liquid laundry detergent or stain remover, rubbing stain gently. Rinse. Soak for 30 minutes in a solution of lukewarm water mixed with all-fabric bleach. Rinse. If an item is white or colorfast, soak in bleach solution for 15 minutes. Rinse and launder normally.
Place item facedown on a clean towel. Gently rub from the back with a sponge soaked in rubbing alcohol. Soak item for 15 minutes in a mixture of 1-quart lukewarm water, 1 tablespoon vinegar, and a squirt of liquid dish soap. Rinse item. Soak in Oxy-Clean solution for 30 minutes. Launder normally, using bleach for whites.
Place stain face down on a clean paper towel. Pre-treat underside of stain with liquid laundry detergent or stain remover, rubbing stain gently. Rinse. Soak for 30 minutes in a solution of lukewarm water mixed with all-fabric bleach. Rinse. If an item is white or colorfast, soak in bleach solution for 15 minutes. Rinse and launder normally.
Place stain face-down on a clean paper towel. Gently rub from the underside with cloth or sponge soaked in nail polish remover. Repeat with clean paper towels until the stain is gone. Launder normally.
Place stain face-down on a clean paper towel. Pre-treat underside of stain with a generous amount of liquid laundry detergent or stain remover, rubbing stain gently. Rinse with hot water. Launder normally in the hottest water possible.
Place stain face down on a clean paper towel. Pre-treat underside of the stain with liquid laundry detergent or stain remover, rubbing stain gently. Rinse. Soak for 30 minutes in a solution of lukewarm water mixed with all-fabric powdered bleach. Rinse. If the item is white or colorfast, soak in bleach solution for 15 minutes. Rinse and launder normally.
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I have an old counted cross-stitch form my son's birth 37 years ago. It has some old stains and now he wants to re- frame it and put it in his son's room. - it looks like coffee or tea spots . I don't want to actually wash it after treating because I am afraid it will be ruined . any suggestions ??
Good morning Norma,
You could try to spot treat it with some Oxi-clean laundry stain remover. It is like a spray gel. Spray the stains, let it sit and then try to wipe or dab clean with a cloth. Hope that helps. :)
Colored T-Shirts never seem to want to let go of stains. You spill one drop of food on them and it's never coming out. Oxyclean, dawn dish soap, commercial stain removers, nothing seems to work. Help!
Keep treating the stain and just be sure not to dry the T-shirt in the dryer that for sure will cause the stain to set.
Hi Ruth! I have a upholstered fabric sleigh bed in Belgian linen from restoration hardware. I had a spot on the end of the bed and dabbed with vinegar warm water and dawn. I also tried peroxide and baking soda. What once was a small spot is now have a huge yellow stain across the end of the sleigh bed. Not sure what else I should try at this point! Hope you can help me out.
Hi Elle, do you know what the stain was from? That is usually the key to how to treat it. They do have a 24hr chat line. I think you should reach out to them for their suggestions-https://www.restorationhardware.com/customer-service/contact-us.jsp
oh my God. I have bought a white blouse recently. I saw there is a yellow stain as a line on it. Seller told me it had got dirty. I do not want to return my blouse because it is really beautiful and I love that. I tried baker soda, vinegar, soup, white alcohol, to clean it, but no mentioned methods have not been suitable. does some body have any suggetion? Thank you.
Have you tried soaking the shirt in Oxi-clean? And continue that process until the stain is faded or gone? And don't dry the shirt in the dryer that will for sure set the stain.
Any idea how to get permanent dark brown hair dye out of a cream fabric sofa please?
So I accidentally washed my daughters light pink puffy winter coat with a pair of new black lounge pants. The dye from the pants had stained the coat, its splotchy. I not sure if the stain is on the outside or if it had seeped into the puffy interior. Is there any hope of getting it out? Advise needed!
HI my son works using chemicals and his work shirts get stains and look dingy looking what can I use to clean his work shirts?
My kitchen towel is stained from the bottom of a pot. Seems like the carbon build up from the flame. I soaked it over night in Oxiclean and it will not come out. Any recommendations
Wow, I can't love this post enough! I'm in the 0.0001% of people who love doing laundry haha, but I love that I just learned that a stain must be treated from the opposite side. Thanks for the tip, Ruth!
Well to remove each stain you need to act quickly means as much as you can try to remove your stain you should try it as stain is one of the most unremoved thing which not easily stays away it needs more and more effort to remove.