Stain Removal Techniques
All tried and tested by Skipper - Domestic Guru.
EUCALYPTUS OIL
Dab eucalyptus oil on grease stains and it comes right off.
My daughter ran into a pole that had grease on it, and it got all over her brand new fleece jacket. I moistened a rag with eucalyptus oil and dabbed the grease marks with it and with little effort it came off! I popped the jacket in the wash and all the other clothes had a nice crisp eucalyptus smell. It wasn’t overpowering and the jacket is good as new!
Ecualyptus oil doesn’t work on old stains however.
METHOLAYTED SPIRITS
Pour a small amount of metho on texta and pen marks, soak in warm soapy water for a moment then wash as usual.
My daughter (sigh) got dark blue pen and texta all over herself and on her brand new white cotton blouse. I poured a little metho over the marks. Don’t panic when the stain seems to get bigger and brighter and soak through to other sections of the item!! It’s the stain lifting from the fabric. I then hand washed it in some warm soapy water and the stain has gone completely. Not a hint of blue anywhere and the blouse is as good as new!
REMOVING TOMATO STAINS
As always it’s best to deal with these sorts of stains as soon as you can, but as we know that isn’t always possible. I dealt with a spaghetti stain about 4 days old with lemon juice. It was all over my son’s shirt (he’s 18 months old and loves to feed himself so he is allowed to be messy) I chopped a lemon in half and squeezed the juice all over the stain, I rubbed the halves over the stains to get the juice into the stain and left it for a bit. I laundered it as usual and hung it out to dry in the sun. Presto! The shirt looks brand new!!
REMOVING COFFEE STAINS
To find out the best way to remove coffee stains, I made up some very strong black coffee and poured big patches all over pale and white shirts. Again it’s important to deal with the stain asap - these stains were worked on after 5 minutes of soaking into the fabric. Leaving the stain too long and allowing it to dry completely will seal the stain, making it more difficult to remove. It’s important to not RUB at stains - but to blot and dab at them until the stain has lifted somewhat.
VINEGAR
Pour white vinegar over the stain and blot with whatever you have handy (face cloth, rag, paper towel) Launder as usual when you are able to. The spot was 100% removed.
BABY WIPES
Blot with a baby wipe until the stain has mostly lifted. This is a bit more time consuming but very handy if you are out and about and can’t get to the laundry. Launder as usual afterwards – spot was 100% removed
DISHWASHING LIQUID + WATER
Half fill a cup/mug with cold water and add a squirt a little dishwashing liquid in it. Mix well then blot and launder as usual afterwards. This is a handy technique if you are at work in an office and have access to a kitchen. This is also helpful if you are out at a friends place etc. The spot was 100% removed.
RED WINE STAIN REMOVAL
Ewww what a nasty stain this was! Note: try not to spill big amounts of red wine on your clothes - you have buckley’s chance of getting it out! The trick with red wine spills is to act QUICKLY! As soon as it happens, move fast to remove the stain so it doesn’t ruin your clothes. I poured about 3 tbs of wine on the shirts and used the following stain removal techniques:
BICARB SODA - sprinkled on the wine stain within a minute of spill. It absorbed the wine, 10 minutes later I shook the bicarb off and laundered as usual. The stain turned a dark brown, and has faded by about half.
WHITE WINE - poured onto the stain within a minute of spill. Dabbed at the stain untill no more would come up. Laundered as usual. The stain is only faint and if the amount of wine wasn’t so large, I think the stain would have come up completely and the shirt would be re-useable.
VINEGAR - poured onto stain within a minute of spill. Dabbed at the stain untill no more would come up and laundered as usual. The stain is faint, but the edges of the stain are still quite noticeable. Again if the wine amount was smaller, it probably wouldn’t be so bad.
GREASE/OIL STAINS
Pour a little eucalyptus oil over the stain and leave for a moment. Dab at the stain with a clean rag then launder as usual.
REMOVING RUN DYE
It’s important to act quickly. While the garment is still wet, place into nappy-san and very warm water and allow to soak overnight. Launder again as usual and the stain should have come out. Don’t you hate it when the white part of the PJ top becomes pink from the red part??
REMOVING BLOOD STAINS
I was so excited when I did this test. DH picked up my son who had cut his lip, resulting in blood all over his shoulder on his brand new white shirt. I laid the shirt, stained part facing downwards in a small bowl, and poured milk over it. I left it for a few hours, came back and the stain was gone! I chucked it in the wash as usual since I didn’t want DH ponging of milk! The stain was a few hours old when I got to it. If possible, it’s best to act ASAP. I can’t gurantee this method will work on older blood stain.
