How to remove tough stains at home

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Surely you had to experience an unpleasant feeling at the sight of an annoying spot on your favorite blouse or trousers, especially if because of this you had to part with your favorite thing.

You don't need to throw away your clothes right away, because many stains can be easily removed even without the intervention of dry cleaning. It is quite possible to cope with them on your own. But you need to perform this procedure with care so as not to spoil your favorite thing even more.

123RF / Katarzyna Bialasiewicz

Practical advice

Before you start removing stains, you need to establish their origin and composition. Many fresh stains disappear easily after washing with soap, baking soda or other detergents. The old stains are sometimes affected by complex chemical solutions, in this case it is important to find out the consequences of treatment - whether the structure and color of the fabric will change. To do this, rub the product with a chemical in an inconspicuous place.

It is better to remove the stain from the seamy side, while placing a piece of white cloth on the front side.

When cleaning, use cotton wool, a cloth, a hard brush or brush. To avoid streaks and ghosting, the fabric around the stains is moistened with water, gasoline or sprinkled with talcum powder, starch. On small spots, the product is applied with a pipette or a wooden stick. Large spots rub from the edges to the middle. If you try to rub from the center, there is a high probability that the stain will "creep" to the sides.

Greasy stains

To remove greasy dirt, you can use ammonia diluted with water and detergent, then iron the thing through a clean white cloth. You can also deal with such stains by placing the problem area between layers of blotting paper and ironing it with a non-hot iron. The dirt can be sprinkled with salt, changing it periodically and repeating the procedure.

To remove greasy stains from clothes, you must immediately sprinkle the stained area with tooth powder, talcum powder or chalk, cover with a clean sheet of white paper and press down with something heavy. After a few hours, you need to carefully knock out and clean the contaminated area.

Greasy stains from canned food, fish, sauces or milk are removed with a soap solution. If the stain is old, try soaking the fabric with warm glycerin first, then wash it thoroughly.

123RF / costasz

Egg stains

Never wash a thing soiled with an egg in hot water: it will "cook" and the yellowness will no longer be removed from the fabric. To remove yellow stains from eggs, wash clothes in cold water, moisten a cotton pad with vinegar-added water, wipe the stained area and only then wash the item in hot water.

Sprinkle a fresh egg stain generously with salt and moisten a little with water. After waiting for a while, remove the salt with a brush.

Drink stains

To deal with tea stains, simply sprinkle sugar on the stained area, leave it for an hour, and then simply wash.

Stains from wine, coffee, cocoa and chocolate can be removed with a solution of one tablespoon of ammonia in one liter of boiled water. Using a swab, gently wipe the stain in a circular motion from the edges to the center, and then rinse in clean water.

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The stain from wine spilled on clothes should be covered with dry salt as soon as possible or blotted with a napkin so that it does not spread.

Beer stains are cleaned with soapy water or good bio-powder.

Fruit stains

Stains from grapes, cherries, and red wine can be easily removed by pouring boiling water over them until they completely disappear. A fruit stain can be removed by sprinkling it with salt, soaking it in hot water for a few minutes, and washing it off with detergents.

Such contaminants can be removed well if you soak them in hot milk and then rinse them with water. Try removing old stains with citric acid.

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Grass stains

Wipe fresh green stains with triple cologne. If the stain is old, treat it with a mixture of 30 milliliters of cologne and 10 milliliters of ammonia.

Sweat stains

To remove unpleasant sweat stains from clothes, dissolve one tablespoon of salt in a glass of water and wipe the stain with the resulting solution. Also try treating the stain with 6% vinegar or lemon juice and then washing it.

Blood stains

Cloth stained with blood should never be soaked in hot water. These stains will be better removed if you soak things in salty cold water for several hours and then wash them in warm water.

Paint stains

If the contamination is not too large, moisten the stain with turpentine, kerosene or acetone, then wipe it with ammonia until the stain disappears.

Soften old stains with turpentine, clean with a baking soda solution and rinse with warm water. Water-based paint is removed with a cloth previously soaked in an aqueous solution of vinegar in equal proportions.

123RF / Antonio Diaz

Paraffin and wax stains

To remove the stain from the candle, you must first peel off the wax from the fabric, and then put blotting paper on the front and the inside of it and iron it with a not very hot iron. The blotter should be changed until the stain disappears.

Makeup stains

Stains of cosmetics containing fat on silk and woolen fabrics are removed in the same way as grease stains. Spots of other cosmetics on white cotton, linen and woolen fabrics are removed with ammonia and washed with water.

Lipstick traces are removed with gasoline, trichlorethylene or pure alcohol. Nail polish can be removed with acetone or amyl acetate.

Marker and ink stains

Try rubbing ballpoint pen stains with rubbing alcohol or vinegar. Felt-tip stains can be removed by washing the stained area of clothing in milk or yogurt.

Chewing gum

If chewing gum sticks to your clothes, do not rub it, but put the soiled item in the refrigerator for several hours. The gum will freeze and can be easily removed from the fabric.