Stain Removal Tips

Stains are evil monsters sent to attack mummy's sanity at her most vulnerable moments!

They are guaranteed to appear on sparkling (ish) clean clothes just as you are about to go out of the door or immediately after you have finished the most enormous pile of laundry, and have lost the will to live.

After an angry tirade about how much time mummy spends on laundry, you then bizarrely forget about said stain(s) until you take said items out of the washing machine and realise you've sealed the stain in fast!

Aaargh!

I confess to having ruined too, too many "best" clothes in this way. But in my defence, stain removal always seemed so blinking complicated.

I'd not even heard of most of the stuff you were meant to use, never mind though of buying it.

But as my stain removal ineptitude was becoming an expensive habit, I thought I had better master it.

I have ploughed my way through the laundry bibles of Martha Stewart and other stain removing queens and over the last year translated it into easy language and practical tips that actually make sense to me.

And wonder of wonders if you stock up on this basic stain removal kit, these super easy stain removal tips will tackle most of the stains that your kids chuck at you.

Stain Removal Kit

Obviously keep all of this well out of the reach of little hands:

Dish washing liquid (also great for keeping your bathroom shiny)
Enzyme based / biological laundry detergent - decant into a small bottle e.g. an old hand soap bottle so that you can put just a small amount on the stain
Baking soda / Bicarb of soda
White vinegar - decanted into a small bottle with spray or squirt nozzle
Hydrogen peroxide
Dry solvent dry cleaning solution
Rubbing alcohol / surgical spirit
Petroleum jelly
Small bottles with spray + squirt nozzles
Soft scrubbing brush
Old muslin cloths
Pipette

Stain Removal Top Tips

Do NOT let it near the washing machine until you've treated the stain
Do NOT put any hot water on the stain, it will set it
Keep a stain removal kit in the bathroom so you can treat clothes as they're taken off, whilst the kids are cleaning their teeth, in the bath, messing around etc!
Or treat as soon as you can
Treat as gently as you can to start off with & only up the ante if the stain won't come out
Keep this list in your bathroom (+ laundry room if you're lucky enough to have one!) so you know how to treat different stains - because boy are they pernickety!

Common Family Stains

For each of your children's favourite stains, I've listed what to start removing the stain with and what to try next ... and next ... and next ... if it really doesn't come out. Obviously as soon as it does come out, you can stop!

Paint

Spray on diluted dish washing liquid, let it soak in, rinse with luke warm water
Squirt a small dollop of enzyme / bio laundry detergent on
Press down & gently rub in with scrubbing brush, rinse with luke warm water

Felt Tips

If it's a children's water based felt-tip:

Spray on diluted dish washing liquid, leave to soak in, rinse with cold water

If it's an oil based felt-tip (children's shouldn't be) or biro:

Put petroleum jelly around the stain
Use pipette to apply rubbing alcohol
Open windows, apply dry cleaning liquid, let dry
Spray on diluted dish washing liquid & rinse
Squirt on a small dollop of enzyme / bio laundry detergent & rinse in warm water

Chocolate

Spray on diluted dish washing liquid, let it soak in, rinse with luke warm water
Squirt on a small dollop of enzyme / bio laundry detergent
Press down & gently rub in with scrubbing brush, rinse with luke warm water

Pasta Sauce

Spray on diluted dish washing liquid, let it soak in, rinse with luke warm water
Spray or squirt on white vinegar
Squirt on a dollop of enzyme laundry detergent & rinse off with luke warm water
Use pipette to apply hydrogen peroxide
Squirt on a dollop of enzyme laundry detergent & rinse off with luke warm water

Berries (& other fruit & veg)

Spray diluted dish washing liquid on stain
Spray or squirt on white vinegar to rinse off
Use pipette to apply hydrogen peroxide
Squirt on a dollop of enzyme laundry detergent & rinse off with luke warm water

Grass

Open windows, apply dry cleaning liquid (e.g. Dryel, Clorox, Dylon) to stain
Press a muslin cloth down onto the dry cleaning liquid
Apply more dry cleaning liquid & press down until stain mostly removed
Use pipette to apply rubbing alcohol to stain
Press down with muslin cloth & leave to dry
Gently rub in enzyme / bio laundry detergent & rinse with luke warm water

Mud

Get rid of any grass stains first
Spray on diluted dish washing liquid, let it soak in, rinse with luke warm water
Squirt a small dollop of enzyme / bio laundry detergent on
Press down & gently rub in with scrubbing brush, rinse with luke warm water

Blood

Spray on diluted dish washing liquid, let it soak in, rinse with luke warm water
Squirt a small dollop of enzyme / bio laundry detergent on
Press down & gently rub in with scrubbing brush, rinse with luke warm water

If you found this post helpful do check out my other housework tips plus all the other great laundry links at the bottom of this post. And follow my laundry board on Pinterest ...