Best Laundry Tips for Removing Stains

Stain Removal Tips:

• This is for the small grease splatters you can get on your shirt/top while cooking/frying. Dab a little cornstarch, flour or baby powder to completely cover the stain so it absorbs the grease, then launder as usual. This tip has been used in our family for generations.
• Dawn dishsoap gets rid of those horrid grease stains that never seem to want to go away. Just dab a bit on the actual stain and wash away! They come out clean. The great thing is, it even works after something has been through the laundry and dried and you just missed it!
• Rubbing alcohol gets out ink stains from clothes and walls
• Hydrogen Peroxide gets out fresh blood stains quickly and economically
• For ball point pen ink on your clothes, try a sponge soaked with milk. Rub on the spot. Sometimes it may take a couple of tries. This also works for blood stains.
• ​For oil or grease stains in clothes, all they need is full strength detergent with a little lemon juice added for about 15 minutes. Then wash as usual. Not recommended for delicate fabrics
• To help getting oil or grease out on clothing I used baby powder. I sprinkle a generous amount of powder on the spot, fold up the clothing, let it set for a day or two, then shake out the powder and wash normally and the stain is gone. I learned this little trick from my mother in law.
• After trying many different solutions, this is the best method I’ve found to get red clay dirt stains out of white baseball pants. I put the pants in a bucket and pour in a couple of inches of hydrogen peroxide. Then I let the pants soak overnight. If you don’t soak them long enough, it won’t work. The next morning I wash them in the washing machine. I’ve had great results!
• To get out ink stains or makeup such as lipstick out of good dresses or blouses/dress shirts, spray hairspray (preferably aerosol) on it, while wet, keep wiping with damp cloth… and it’ll be gone in no time
• For those of you with babies – you’ve probably experience a diaper blow out from time to time or even little leaks here and there. Instead of throwing out those onesies or having permanent stains rub on some Dawn dish soap on the stain before washing. It removes all traces of the mess and keeps the baby clothes looking stain free.
• Add just about 1/4 cup of white vinegar to sheets and towels, shower curtains and other household linens to prevent that mildew smell.
• If you add a little bit (like a 1/4 cup) of ammonia right on the towels along with the usual amount of detergent and wash normally it will kill the mildew and leave the towels fresh! Just remember- DON’T combine chlorine bleach with ammonia, ever.
• To freshen clothes and get rid of under arm odor, put ½ box of baking soda in the wash. It’s simple, cheap, and doesn’t hurt the environment. ​
• Baby wipes are one the best kept secrets of modern busy family bees. If something spills on clothing, the inevitable uh-oh don’t sweat it just grab a baby wipe or two and rub it away or start the pre-wash treatment now before it has a chance to become a hot mess. 98% of clothing stains never need additional help to salvage the garment and they are oh so gentle on most materials.  What’s good for the young’s face and backside can’t be all bad on what we wear!
• Keep a bottle of stain remover or a stain stick in every room. Then when a spill happens you can pre-treat right then and there!