Rules for every stain
Lift off any solids with a spoon, then blot with a white cloth. Flush from the back of the fabric, so that you push the stain out the way it came in. Test any treatment on an inside seam first. Check the spot after washing and before drying, and if any shadow remains, treat it again and let the piece air-dry. A garment labeled dry clean only should be blotted and taken to the cleaner within a day or two.
Treatment by type
- Protein stains such as blood, sweat, egg, dairy and vomit need cold water only, because hot water cooks protein into the fiber. Soak the spot in cold water, work in an enzyme detergent, and wash. Three percent hydrogen peroxide lifts blood from white and colorfast cloth.
- Oil and grease, including salad dressing, butter and makeup, will not move for water alone. Cover the spot with cornstarch for fifteen minutes, brush it off, work in plain dish soap, wait ten minutes, and wash in the warmest water the label allows.
- Tannin stains such as coffee, tea, red wine, juice and beer should be flushed with cold water and rubbed with liquid detergent before washing. Avoid bar soap, which can set them.
- Ballpoint ink comes out with rubbing alcohol dabbed on from the back while a paper towel underneath soaks it up.
- Tomato sauce, chocolate and lipstick are combinations. Treat the grease first with dish soap, then soak out the remaining color with oxygen bleach.
What to keep on the shelf
Five things handle nearly everything: liquid enzyme detergent, dish soap, powdered oxygen bleach, hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol. Oxygen bleach is safe on most colored fabric but not on silk, wool or leather. Dissolve it in warm water as the label directs and soak the garment for one to eight hours. An overnight soak is also the best chance for an old stain that has been through the dryer.
Yellow underarms and chlorine bleach
The yellow marks under the arms of white shirts come from sweat reacting with the aluminum in antiperspirant. Chlorine bleach tends to make them darker, so soak them in oxygen bleach instead. Save chlorine bleach for sturdy white cotton, since it ruins wool and silk and strips color from anything it splashes. Never mix it with ammonia or vinegar, because the fumes are toxic.
Tip Club soda and salt on red wine are mostly folklore. Cold water and a blotting cloth do more than either.
