How To Remove Clothing Stains
There are always going to be those children that skin their knee, find the mud puddle to jump in or somehow end up with more grass on their clothing than there is in the yard. Let’s not forget the messy work clothes, the gardening clothes or the clothing that has to endure the car tune up.
There are plenty of times when foods are the true problem behind all of your clothing stains. Yet, no matter what it is that is causing your stains, you can find effective ways of removing the stain with just a bit of help and guidance. Everyday, clothing stain removal has to be taken into account.
Knowing How To Remove The Stain Is The Trick
When it comes to fighting stains on clothing, you have to work quickly to get the job done well. Yet, even when you find a stain on the clothing and it has been in the laundry basket (or under their beds!) long enough to set, you can still find success. Here is a step by step look at what to do first when you do find a clothing stain.
Step One: Rinse And Soak
The first thing to do is to rinse the stained area with cold to cool water. Never use hot water or even warm water especially on stains such as blood, wine or coffee as this will cause the stain to further set.
Once you rinse the stain thoroughly, you can then soak it in a cold bath of water. Allow it to sit at least for an hour to help in getting the stain removed.
Step Two: Wash
When you remove the stain from the soaking, you will then want to take a soft sponge or terry cloth and blot the stain. Do not rub it as this will spread the stain and cause it to be rubbed more so into the fabric. Now, you can apply a pre treatment to the stain. You can use store bought pre treating products. If you do this, make sure to follow the directions carefully. You will need to allow the stain to sit for at least a few minutes before laundering.
If you do not want to purchase another product or do not have the time to do so, you can usually use your laundry detergent as a pre treatment product as well. Here, you will want to follow the directions provided by the maker of the detergent. Again, allowing it to sit several minutes will help to pull the stain out. Do not allow it to dry through, though.
Step Three: Launder
Once you have the stain pre treated and allowed it to sit for the recommended time, you can rinse this out; most of the time though this is unnecessary. If you do it, though, make sure to flip the clothing over and rinse it from the back to the front to help the water pressure push the stain through. Don’t be alarmed if it is not fully removed at this point.
Now, you can follow the care instructions provided by the manufacturer of the clothing for laundering. You will need to insure that if there is a rule of no bleach being used on the clothing, that you do not use bleach. This will damage the material significantly.
When you remove the stain from the wash, check to insure most of the stain has been removed. You may have to repeat this step. In any case, do not put the fabric in the dryer, but rather allow it to air dry. Repeat as necessary.
Stains On Dry Clean Only Fabric
If you have clothing stains that require dry cleaning, you should insure that you get it in as soon as possible. Rinse the fabric in the stained area with cold water to keep it from setting as soon as it happens.
Emergency Stain Treatment
No time to get to the laundry room? If so, you can handle the clothing stain no matter where you are. First, use cold water to rinse through the stain. This will help to keep it from setting. You can use a mild detergent on the area if you have it. Do not rub into the stain but rather blot on and off of the stain. Rinse thoroughly. As soon as you can, make sure to get to the stain to give it further stain removal treatment as directed above.
Finally, if you find that you have tough stains to deal with, the best products to use to help you to remove them including enzyme containing laundry detergents (read the box), color safe bleaches (only if allowable per the clothing manufacturer) and laundry pretreatment products. Keep these on hand for any clothing stain removal tasks you may need to take on.
