In every household, there will be one person who tends to leave a trail of spots or stains behind them. You will have gingerbread crumbs by the kids, grease stains by the handyman and the toddler who will express himself freely by painting on the walls with peanut butter. The longer the stain sets, the more tough it will get to remove them. Therefore, you must know how to take out stains.
Here are some simple steps on how to remove stains.
Greasy Stains
- Cooking oils, lubricating oils, machine grease, butter and other similar things will leave greasy stains. Sometimes you can remove the grease spots from the washable fabrics with machine or hand wash. You will have to pretreat it with a little amount of detergent on the spot and then use a dry-cleaning solvent. If you are going to treat an old stain or the one, which was ironed then you will notice a yellow stain after it has been treated with solvent.
- If you want to remove grease from the nonwashable fabrics, then you will have to sponge the stain from the center towards the edge with a good stain removal product. This removal process will take several applications, and you must allow it to dry before you sponge it. You can remove the greasy stains with a good absorbent substance like cornstarch, French chalk, fuller’s earth and corn meal. These absorbents must be dusted on the greasy spots for removing stains. When the absorbent looks caked, it should be brushed off the fabric.
- Absorbents are simple to use and they will never harm the fabric. However, some of the stain removal agents may damage your fabric. Therefore, before you use them make sure that you read the label of your stained fabric and the label of the product as well.
Non-Greasy stains
- Non-greasy stains will be caused from juice, food coloring, tea or ink. If you get this stain on the washable fabrics, then you will have to immediately use a wet sponge to remove this stain. If this does not work, then you will have to soak the fabric in cool water. The stain will start soaking out within half an hour; if it doesn’t you will have to leave the fabric in cool water. If some of the stains still don’t come out, then you will have to rub a little detergent on it and then rinse it from cold water. The last option will be using bleach, but make sure you read the label of the fabric. If the stain is ironed or old then it will be tough to remove it.
- A non-greasy stain from a nonwashable fabric can be removed by sponging it in cold water. Another option will be placing a disposable diaper or any other absorbent pad below the stained area and flush the stain with pouring water on the area with an eyedropper. However, be careful while doing so because you will have to control the amount of water to avoid spreading of stain.
- If the stain still does not come out, then you must liquid detergent and flush the fabric for removing the stain. Sponge the stain and rub it with alcohol once you have rinsed it with detergent.
Combination Stains
- Combinations stains are caused from lipstick, salad dressing and cream, which is a combination of greasy and non-greasy items. These kinds of stains will need a double treatment. First, you will have to remove the non-greasy elements of the stain and then the greasy stains must be removed.
- You will have to treat these stains with sponge, cool water and then use a liquid detergent. Rinse the fabric and allow it to dry, apply some dry cleaning fluid on the remaining greasy portions with the help of a sponge. Let the fabric dry and you can repeat the applications if required.
Tips and Warnings:
- Always remember, the quicker the better. The best time for treating a stain is at the time it occurred. The longer the stain sets in; there are more chances of it becoming permanent.
- Before you start treating the stain, you must try to identify the staining agent. Both these things will affect the way you are treating the stain. Cotton will be treated differently as compared to rayon or silk. If you know the stained surface then it will help you in choosing the right treatment and you can avoid damaging the surface.
- Before you treat the fabric with stain removal, you must try to remove the staining agent as much as you can. The little mayonnaise you have on your dress the better, so start scrapping it out, blot out the excess liquid. However, make sure that you do not spread the stain when you are removing the excess bit of it.
- You will have to always handle the stained items carefully. Folding or wringing them will cause the stain to penetrate even deeper and it will damage the delicate fibers.
- Never use heat or hot water on the stains and you must never iron the stained fabric. This will make the stain worse and impossible to remove.
- Make sure that you pre test all the stain removing agents. Even water can damage some of the surface, so make sure you always run a sample test on some of the inconspicuous spots.
- Always remember that you must work the stain from the center to outwards. Most of the stains can be treated in the best way when you treat them outwards, such movements will never leave a ring around the area you just cleaned.