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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Peroxide is the absolute best thing for getting blood out. Rinse a little, put peroxide on the stain, let it sit a couple minutes, then throw it in the wash...works every time.
I must have missed one for underpants soiled from a bowel movement. What will take the stain out?
For difficult stains, such as blood, I use a bar of castile soap. I also like to keep a bottle of the liquid castile soap for soaking stained items overnight. It's really amazing and all natural and I've used the liquid for washing everything from my dishes to clothes to my pets.
Also, for rust stains, I use Magica Rust Remover. It comes in a tube and I used to be able to buy it at Restoration Hardware. It's amazing. Removes rust stains from clothing and carpet.
I've always been curious about Fels Naptha. I'll give it a try on my next stubborn stain.
I use my Cascade with bleach to get red dirt out of white baseball pants. Works fast without long soaking, and I rinse it out in the sink and can launder the pants with colored clothing. We don't have enough whites for a separate load.
I have to remember to print this out so I can leave this in my laundry room. My poor hubby just threw out a shir t with rust stains on it. Any suggestions?
Lemon juice on stain and hang in sun
Another great way to remove blood from clothing is Hydrogen peroxide :)
Great tips. And I 2nd the Fels Neptha!
The only thing I don't see listed that my laundry struggles with, is oil and grease from automotive work. My husband is a mechanic and his clothes get completely ruined from transmission fluid and oil and various other smelly liquids that are used. I have yet to fine a way to remove those stains!
I used Lestoil for this ... even works on tar type stains like driveway sealer or roof patch
Try the cleaner Simple Green!
I read in our local newspaper a couple of years ago about using Windex to get out blood stains. It works great. It's the only thing I use to get out a blood stain now.
Somehow some furniture stain ended up on a shirt that I really like-any tips for getting that out?
I love the wax tip, we learned that freezing the stain will allow the buildup to pop off most of it. The iron also sounds like a great plan.
Also wanted to point out that the less you rub any fabric the better. Practically any stain is removable until it gets into the fibers (not between yarns or threads, but the actual fibers). Rubbing can push the stain into the fibers, that's also why working from the back is better it allows the stain to go out the same path it came in on.
Knowing the chemistry of a stain is also very helpful. If it's a protein based stain (anything that comes out of a human, blood, milk, that baby's diaper) it needs to be worked with cold water. Proteins cook in heat, just like a steak on the grill, thus setting a stain in. Chocolate is almost always made with milk so it also needs the cold water treatment.
Last random tip: if a small blood stain is fresh-spit on it. The enzymes in your spit break down the structures in blood. So if the hubby nicks himself while shaving and gets his shirt, or you're sewing and stab your finger with the needle-just get a little spit on there and it'll magically start to disappear.
hi read ur tips.. seem helpful but i dont know how to stains of dark colour clothes from light colour clothes ..plz guide .. also i live in india were half of the things u have mentioned above are not available
thanks
What stain removers do you recommend please? You just say stain remover on the list. This is amazing! Thank you so so much!