The Oregonian recently gave tips on how to save your your best table linens from stains.  Ellingsaeter says, if you act fast you can save your linens! 

Gravy: Pretreat or soak with a product containing enzymes.  Soak for 30 minutes if stain is dry.  Launder as usual; don’tdry until stain is out.

Red Wine: Blot out as much as you can with a clean cloth dipped in cool water.  Pretreat with stain remover or liquid laundry detergent.  Wash with fabric-safe bleach.

Cranberry Sauce:  Soak in cold water (hot water sets the stain).  Wash with bleach safe for the fabric.

Candle Wax:  Lift wax with a dull knife.  For what remains, place the cloth between towels as wax is absorbed. 

For other stains, you can start with commercial detergents, degreasers and other products specifically formulted for stains.  Or rely on these common stain busters:

• Alcohol: Removes grass, grease and soft drinks.
• Ammonia: Removes blood, perspiration, tea and urine.
• Borax: Removes fruit and juice stains.
• Hydrogen Peroxide: Removes scorch marks and chocolate.
• Lemon Juice: Removes ink, iodine and rust.
• Liquid Shampoo: Removes grease, oil and tar.
• Petroleum Jelly: Remove ink.
• White Vinegar: Removes alcohol, deodorants, coffee and glue.

Does bleach actually clean?  Does it actually kill germs? 

Recently, our company president ran across and article in Planet Laundry Magazine called “The Bleaching Process – It Helps to Understand What Bleach Does-And Does Not Do – For Wash-Dry-Fold Garments”.  The author of the article, Jeff Gardner, is the owner of Sel Dale Laundromat in St. Paul, MN.  He believes the general public is mislead when it comes to bleach. 

“When you bleach something, you are not cleaning it.  You are not taking out a stain when you bleach a garment.  Yet, this is something that is completely misunderstood by the general public.”  So if bleach doesn’t clean or take the stain out, what exactly does it do?  Gardener says, “Bleaches do one thing – they remove the color of a stain so that it becomes invisible.”  So not only does bleach not clean the stain the stain actually remains on the clothes and the bleach is ”simply masking the stain.”  Gardner also points out that if a white garment is continually bleached it will often turn gray.  “White clothing is as white as it is because its dyed and infused with optical brighteners.  But continued bleaching will eventually wear away those dyes and brighteners, returning the garment to the original grayish color of cotton, for example.”  To read additional articles from Jeff Gardner go to Plantlaundry.com.

Have you been needing to change out a light fixture or maybe fix a cracked porcelain sink?  Have no fear Mrs. FIXIT is here! Okay, enough of the cheesy stuff.  However, why not feel empowered and save money at the same time by fixing home repairs yourself.  Mrs. FIXIT gives directions on how to accomplish an abundance of repairs around the home from laundry stains to installing a toilet.  I don’t know about you but this is a site I will remember! 

image from thenest.com

Stains are difficult but when you know what to do it can be as easy as 1, 2, 3.  Here are some very helpful tips from Betty’s Laundry Secrets book.  Now, you don’t have an excuse for throwing out the shirt with the grease stain.  Pay attention now!

Coffee:  Betty says that coffee isn’t hard to get out if you get to it with soap and water right away.

Fruit:  Betty always puts lemon on the stain first.  If that doesn’t work then she uses bar soap.

Mildew:  Wash the garment in warm or hot water with bleach, depending on the fabric and line-dry or dry flat in direct sunlight.

Oil and grease:  Sprinkle some cornstarch or baking soda on the stain, then place the garment, stain side down on a large rag on top of an ironing board.  Iron with a hot iron on the wrong side of the stain–most oil and grease stains will come right out .  (This trick works only for oil and grease, which need heat to dissolve.

Rust:  Soak fabric spotted with brown rust stains (which sometimes come from hard water) in a solution of 1 part lemon juice and 1 part water for at least 30 minutes.  Do not use chlorine bleach on rust stains.

Tea stains:  These are hard to get out, but Betty soaks tea stains in cool water and applies bar soap anyway.

Betty’s Rules of Thumb for Stain Removal

• Don’t ever try to use hot water on anything that’s stained.  Hot water will set most stains, especially those containing protein (such as blood stains and many foods stains.)
• When in doubt, soak it.
• If you notice a stain on a garment after washing it, don’t put it in the dryer.  Instead, while the item is still damp, attack the stain with ivory soap.
• If you catch a stain in the act–say, at a dinner party after one glass of wine to many–blot the stain immediately with a clean rag or sponge.
• If a stain is faded but not completely gone after you take the garment out of the washer, hang the garment outside with the stain facing the sun.  Often, sunlight will do the trick.

1. Take Your Temperatures
First and foremost, follow the item’s care label. Generally, the rules are as follows:
Cold is for fine fabrics, items that might shrink, and sensitive dark colors.
Warm is for moderately soiled stuff and man-made fabrics.
Hot is for whites, really dirty clothes, and colorfast items.

2. Keep Whites Bright
When your whites start going gray (or yellow), consider these factors: You might not be using enough detergent to get clothes clean; the water temps might be too low (whites do best in hot water); and you could be contaminating the laundry with really dirty clothes that are making the mildly soiled clothes even dirtier! Make the contaminated load a do-over and try a bleach product that’s safe for the fabrics in the wash.

3. Prevent Fading
It’s a sad day when your perfect black pants don’t look so black and crisp anymore. Turn dark-colored clothes inside out before washing and drying to reduce abrasion and dulling. Also, check the water temperature — it might be too hot for your richly colored pieces. Check the care label to see what the manufacturer suggests.

4. Prevent Shrinking
Stop blaming your dryer. Most shrinkage happens in the washer when fabric relaxes (usually about 1 to 3 percent). The best way to avoid turning your large into a small is to follow the care label. If it permits machine washing, use a cold water setting and either hang the item to dry or turn the dryer down to its lowest setting. Be careful — once something has shrunk, you’re stuck with it.

5. Avoid Bleeding
Never turn your clothes an icky shade of pink again. To find out if something is colorfast, drop a little water on an inside corner or seam, and see if the dye runs. To be safe, wash it alone the first time and check if the water has turned a different shade.

When a red article of clothing infects the load, there’s not much you can do. You can opt to run the load again and add bleach, but the damage is usually permanent. Enjoy your new wardrobe!

6. Do the Delicates
Don’t subject your dainty brassieres to the aggressive agitation of the machine (unless there is a special “delicate” cycle, in which case it’s best to place them in a mesh lingerie bag to limit tossing that can weaken and pull the fabric). When in doubt, washing by hand is always a safe alternative. To wash delicates, fill the sink with cool water, add a capful of mild detergent such as Forever New, and swish it around with your hand for about 3 to 5 minutes. Allow the bra to soak for an additional 10 minutes and then rinse with cool water. Finish by laying it flat on a white towel. If you’re in a hurry, roll it up and lightly squeeze it to extract excess water.

7. Limit the Suds
Less is more when it comes to detergent. Follow the recommendations on the bottle. It might seem like too little, but trust us, your clothes will not get cleaner — in fact they might get dirtier. Too many suds at one time can actually trap soil, redepositing it on clothes and even in the crevices of the machine (like the space between the basket and tub). Sitting in that warm place all alone, the body soil has nothing better to do than turn mildewy and stink up the washing machine. Didn’t listen? Escape from a sudsy overflow by setting the washer to run on a short rinse and spin cycle without detergent.

8. Sort!
You should sort by color, water temp, soil, and sometimes fabric.
Whites: Keep them separate, otherwise dyes from darks could bleed on to them.
Lights: Divide into groups of colorfast pastels, medium colors, and light print pieces.
Darks: Same as lights
Heavily soiled: Separate items or the dirt might transfer to innocent pieces of clothing, making the whites gray and the brights dull.
Fabrics: Use the above rule but if you want to get ambitious, sort by fabrics that might transfer lint, such as towels, flannel, and fleece items. And always check pockets for tissues.

9. Find the Right Detergent
If you like the scent of a country meadow, then choose the brand that fulfills your sensory needs. For function first, read this:
Liquid detergents are good for pretreating stains and removing food.
Powder is nice for general loads (it’s also really good at lifting out ground-in dirt).
Ultra versions are concentrated liquids or powders in small packages designed to give you more bang for your buck. Since you need less for each use, they last longer and the packages take up less space.
HE, or high-efficiency detergents, reduce the level of suds and prevent color transfer in high-efficiency machines or machines with low-water modes (those that hold 8 gallons of water as opposed to 12 to 17).

10. Don’t Forget to Add the Fabric Softener
Do you want dry, wrinkle-free clothing? Then use a fabric softener either in liquid or sheet form. Nowadays, some detergents add in their own touch of softener. Before you add the liquid to your wash, you’ll need to dilute it first before it mixes with the water. Be sure to avoid pouring it directly onto clothes as it might stain. (Some fabric softeners can lessen the effectiveness of flame retardancy on fabrics, sometimes found in clothing like children’s sleepwear.)

11. Don’t Let Your Laundry Linger
It’s best to take the laundry out of the machine right away, but phone calls, nail polish, the game, and crying kids can impede even your best efforts. The longer clothes sit, the more they wrinkle in the dryer or get moldy in the wash. Aside from paying close attention to the time, opt for the automatic cycle versus the timed cycle on the dryer so things don’t get overly dry (the auto function senses when the load is dry and shuts off). Also, choose the tumble press or wrinkle guard option. When the cycle ends, the machine will tumble at timed intervals to prevent the setting in of wrinkles.

12. Keep Stains From Setting
Act now! If you pretreat as quickly as possible, you might prevent the stain from becoming a permanent addition. Rinse or soak the garment in cold water, apply a stain remover, and get it to the washer. Don’t put the shirt in the dryer if the stain remains or it will set. Instead, pretreat, wash, and repeat.

13. Static Cling Stuck on You?
Not to get technical on you, but that cling is caused by a buildup of electrical charges when clothes rub against each other in the dryer. Drying on too high a setting doesn’t help. Use a fabric softener sheet to sedate the sparks and select the lowest temperature setting possible that will still get the job done.

14. Save the Socks
Missing socks are an age-old mystery. Frankly, there is no solid answer on how to keep socks from disappearing. Some experts suggest that socks can get sucked under the agitator and down the drain when the water empties. Others say the missing sock probably never made it to the laundry room in the first place. If you don’t pay close attention when you load up the basket (and really, do we have time?), small pieces like single socks can fall and get kicked under the bed, stuck in the hamper, or adopted by the dog as a toy. Keep track of socks by counting them after they come out of the wash and before they find their way into the dryer. We’d never suggest you handle stinky socks more than needed.

– The Nest Editors

I’ve blogged about removing stains using household products but occasionally we get that stubborn stain that requires more.  The company Whink® has three laundry products on the market to help save your clothes from going to the reject pile.  The first product is called Instant Spot Remover.  This product works great for that coffee spill at work or the ketchup splap from eating a hamburger in your car and many other potential stains.  This product takes the spot out on site! 

For more set-in stains or if you left your Instant Spot Remover at home, Whink® product Wash Away® is what you’re looking for.  It works on grass stains, grease stains, chocolate stains and more.  And it’s safe on all washable fabrics!  This product should be a requirement in the laundry room.

Whink® even has a product that takes rust stains out of your clothes.  The product is called No More Yellow®.  It is a unique formula that is part detergent, part rust stain removal. No More Yellow® also prevents the rust and dirt from redepositing on clothing during the wash.  No More Yellow® can even take dye stains out of white fabrics that were washed by mistake with colored garments.  I really like the fact that all of these products have multiple uses, which makes life way less complicated.

Barbeques, summer sports and wine parties all spell the word “stain” in my book.  Luckily our friends at Carbona are here to help us find some nifty solutions for stain removal.  Here is their list of stain solutions.

Spoon it off. If there’s a substance like chocolate, sauce or butter, use a spoon or butter knife to lift it off. Never scrape fabric with something sharp as you could rough up the fibers. Do not ever rub a stain, because you’ll work it into the fibers instead of removing it.

Stains.  We’ve all been there working hard to get a stain out before it sets in.  My most recent incident appeared last Friday with my brand new khakis and pizza sauce.  Yikes! Not to worry the Queen of Clean is at your rescue.  If you’re not familiar with the Queen of Clean you can learn how to clean just about anything in your household, including that precious wardrobe of yours!  I tested my knowledge on stain removal from her Laundry Quiz.  Test yourself to see if you’re a grade A when it comes to clean laundry.

Plus here are a few tips on your washable laundry by the Queen of Clean .

Each year, Americans consume an average of 23.8lbs of candy each. That’s just tad more than the average weight of a 1-year-old child. A majority of that baby-sized bag of candy is consumed during the week that immediately follows Halloween. As a result, simple math tells us that that very week (this week) is when a good percentage of candy stains occur. Do we agree? Good. Now put down your pillowcase full of fun-sized joy and chew on some wisdom from Tide®:

How to Remove Halloween from Your Clothes

Chocolate and caramel candy stains

Probably the most common of all Halloween stains. Simply soak the garment in cold water and treat with a prewash stain remover. Next, launder in warm water. Rinse and inspect the garment to make sure the stain is fully removed. If the stain remains, re-soak in cold water for about 30 minutes and repeat laundering.

Chewing gum

Too bad gum stains aren’t as much fun as actually chewing gum. But they’re not a lost cause either. If the stain is fresh and the gum is still stuck and hard, apply some ice to harden the gum residue. Next, remove gum by cracking or scraping with a dull knife. Rub the stain with a heavy duty liquid detergent. Rinse in hot water. Repeat if necessary, then launder and inspect the stain. You might have to repeat the process if the gum is not fully removed after the first run.

Laundry Tip: Tide® doesn’t know delicates. We do. If your dry-clean-only garment has a small candy stain try pretreating first then tossing it in the dryer with a Woolite® Dry Clean at Home with Dry Cleaner’s Secret cloth.