How to remove different stains from fabrics

You should consider yourself lucky if you haven’t ever ruined your favorite clothing with a stain! Whether it is grass spots on your child’s knees, sauce on your dress, ink on your jeans, or lipstick on a collar, you never see those coming. However, such marks can damage your favourite garment. Fret not, as these tough stains like grease, tea, wine, gravy, or blood are easy to remove if tackled correctly. Read on to know more about how to remove them from various fabrics such as clothes, carpets, and curtains.

Removing spots from clothes:

• If you are outside and spill tomato soup or wine on your clothes, don’t worry! Just dab it carefully with a cloth, napkin or even a piece of white bread. Make sure you don’t scrub it, as it will only spread. Instead, dab it until the worst of it is absorbed by the cloth.
• Tomato stains can be removed by soaking in vinegar and then washing as usual.
• For an oil stain, sprinkle salt over it and wait a few minutes. The salt will absorb the oil, and you can then brush the salt off. Next, use water or club soda on a corner of cloth or napkin and blot until the stain has diminished considerably.
• If you are at home, you can make a strong stain remover using cream of tartar and lemon juice. Cream of tartar is the primary ingredient in baking powder so you can use it or even baking soda like Weikfield baking powder. This can remove stains like rust and grease.

Removing ink spots and grass stains:

• Grass and ink stains can be removed using toothpaste. Use the non-gel type of toothpaste like Colgate Strong Teeth toothpaste.
• Squeeze a bit of the paste onto the stain. Next, dip an old toothbrush in water and scrub the grass or ink stain away.
• Rinse the marked area and wash the clothing in your machine as usual.
• For ballpoint ink stains, keep a paper napkin under the stain. Soak the stain in rubbing alcohol for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Blot off the stain with a clean cloth until the ink no longer transfers. Rinse, apply a stain remover like Stain Devils for ink spots or StainOff Stainoff Fabric Stain Remover and then wash using a hot cycle.

Removing blood stains:

• To remove blood stains, soak the spot with 3% hydrogen peroxide (readily available in a medical store).
• Scrape the blood off with a butter knife and rinse again with peroxide. Then wash it like you usually do. This works best if you do it before the stain has dried completely.

Removing lipstick stains:

• If the cloth is wool or silk, go for professional dry cleaning.
• Otherwise, gently scrape off the extra lipstick. Keep a thick paper towel on a table. Put the cloth on the paper towel, stain facing down.
• Take a dishwashing detergent with anti-grease properties like Vim Dishwash Gel and apply it to the back of the stain. Flip the garment over and scrub the stain with a toothbrush. Wash in the machine on a gentle cycle.

Removing grease and oil stains:

• For grease stains, sprinkle cornstarch powder (like Weikfield Corn Flour) over the stain. The cornstarch will soak up the grease. Wash as usual after this.
• For oil stains, you can rub shampoo or dishwashing liquid like Johnson’s Baby shampoo or Pril Lime Dishwash liquid over the spot, and rinse and launder normally.
• You can also rub white chalk over the stain, leave it on for 15 minutes, and brush off the extra chalk. Now, wash it in the machine as you usually do.

Removing Stains from Curtains:

• Spot-clean stains with homemade (lemon and baking soda) or store-bought stain remover (like Frosch Stain Remover Stick or Vanish Stain Remover Liquid).
• Wash the curtains using the cold wash and delicate cycle.
• Dry on low heat and hang them again when they’re mostly dry.

Removing Stains from Carpets:

• To make a powerful homemade carpet stain remover, mix 1 tsp vinegar, 1 tsp ammonia, and ½ cup liquid detergent (like Surf Excel Matic liquid) in warm water.
• Blend this using a hand blender until you see a dense froth.
• Clean the carpet stain by dipping a cloth or toothbrush in the froth and scrubbing the stain until it disappears. Vacuum the carpet after this to make sure it is clean again.
• You can also clean carpet stains with 1-2 tablespoons vinegar mixed in 1 cup of cold water or 3-5 drops of liquid detergent mixed in 1 cup of cold water.
• You can clean stains like blood, wine, beer, chocolate, coffee, tea, juice, etc. using the vinegar or detergent solution.

Use these tips to get stubborn stains off your clothes, curtains, and carpet. You’ll have your fabrics looking shiny and clean again in no time!