How to remove stains from clothes?

Nobody likes stains on clothes. If you have stained your favorite sweater with the sauce, or if your child has soiled the dressing gown in mud, do not rush to get rid of the clothes. Here's how to clean your clothes to make them look like new. The most important thing is to choose the right cleaning agent and follow the instructions.

Taking action right away to prevent staining is necessary, but not sufficient. The stain will not disappear if you wash it off with water and continue to do your own thing.

There are three basic steps to effective stain removal, regardless of the nature of the stain:

1. Choose a suitable solvent.

2. Use an appropriate cleaning method.

3. Find the right powder.

Most standard stains do not require a special approach to treatment, as well as the use of sophisticated products. Let's take a closer look at each of the listed stages.

Choosing the right solvent requires knowing two things:

• what will dissolve the stain in question;

• which is safe to use on the fabric you are working with.

Using the wrong cleaning product can damage the fabric more than the original stain. Most of the clothing is made from fairly durable materials, but they all have their own strengths and weaknesses.

• Cotton. It is easy to bleach white cotton, but very difficult to color, so use chlorine bleach as a last resort and thin it well. Detergents and light acids (lemon juice, vinegar) work best.

• Wool much more heat sensitive than cotton and must be handled with care. You can only use detergents for wool and wash with warm water, acid treatment can damage the fabric. Treat the stain with water or wool detergent as soon as possible.

• Synthetics best cleaned with standard laundry detergent or grease soap.

• Silk - very delicate fabric. You can treat the stains with water, but instead of letting the damp stain dry on its own, rinse the entire garment thoroughly or you will end up with a water stain that is almost as bad as the original. Glycerin is also effective and neutral.

Here are the main families of stain removers and solvents, and the types of stains they are most effective for when cleaning:

• Water - versatile, safe to use and cheap. Effective to prevent stains. A prolonged soak is required, which has little effect on grease and oil stains, but significantly reduces the effect of dyes (pomade, hair dye).

• Salt. Cheap and almost everyone has it. Can be applied over damp stains. Effective against stains: sweat or underarm deodorant, red wine and blood.

• Vinegar or lemon juice. Weak acids are great for removing coffee and tea, grass stains and sticky residues such as tape and glue. Vinegar is also effective against mold. Do not use on wool.

• Dishwashing liquid. Laundry detergents and dish detergents are quite similar and interchangeable in most situations. Dish detergent is generally harsher and can ruin delicate fabrics if you don't rinse it thoroughly. Effective against grease stains.

• Oxidizing bleaches: the most common example here is hydrogen peroxide. They are effective in removing color, making them ideal for makeup, herb, and other pigment-based damage. They are less effective against grease and can damage delicate fabrics. Dilute if necessary for a softer cleaning.

• Glycerol - neutral available remedy. Good for inks and dyes.

• Mineral alcohols - Intensive remover for tar and asphalt stains. Too aggressive for delicate fabrics. Rinse clothing thoroughly after handling and air dry.

While stain remover sprays, sticks, and pens are effective against stubborn stains, they have two disadvantages: they are expensive and sometimes need to be used in large quantities.

To avoid the need to discard your clothes because of old stains, follow these general guidelines:

1. Wash off the stain immediately with water or an appropriate solvent, if at hand.

2. Do not place clothing near heat sources.

3. Apply solvents gently to dirt and allow to soak in, do not rub.

There are inexpensive and affordable products: dishwashing detergent and hydrogen peroxide. You can add baking soda for additional cleaning.

Mix one part dish soap with two parts hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle and apply to old stain. Keep the product on hold for as long as possible. Take only the 3% hydrogen peroxide solution available at any drugstore instead of looking for a 35% solution.

There are secrets for removing various organic food stains on clothes.

Follow each step and the dirt will go away without problems:

• Brush off any remaining chocolate from your clothing. Chill the stain in the refrigerator if necessary, and then remove it.
• Rinse the wrong side of the stained cloth with cold water or soda water. Ideally, keep the back of the fabric under the tap. This will help loosen the chocolate particles and push them out of the fibers of the clothing.

• Wipe the stain with a laundry detergent or liquid dish soap. Do this carefully (but not too harshly) and make sure the detergent saturates the fabric.
• Soak clothing in cold water for 15 minutes and gently rub the product into the stain every 3-5 minutes. Rinse the fabric until the stain disappears. You may need to reapply more detergent for a particularly hard stain.
• Machine wash your clothes. If contamination remains, repeat steps 2 through 5. Be sure to check that the contamination has completely disappeared before you dry or wet the garment.

This method will help get rid of bright spots from other fruits and vegetables:

• Apply a liquid laundry detergent or stain remover, then rinse well with cold water.
• If dirt remains, wash in a solution of cold water and chlorine or oxygen bleach. Chlorine bleach is preferable to use on light-colored fabrics.
• Rinse clothing in cold water and add a suitable bleach if necessary.

Tea contains tannin and stains your clothes. Wine, coffee, tea, soft drinks, fruits and fruit juices usually contain tannin as well. Prepare the stain for cleaning by soaking in cold water, then rinsing in the hottest temperature suitable for the garment.

To remove coffee or tea stains, apply 1/3 cup vinegar mixed with 2/3 cup water to the dyed cloth. Hang the clothes in the sun to dry, then wash as usual.

Children and adults alike love to play on the grass in summer. This leaves grass and foliage stains on clothing. Some foods, such as blueberries and mustard, leave unpleasant marks on things.

These problems can be dealt with with the help of available tools:

1. Apply to clothing in undiluted vinegar for 30 minutes, then rinse.
2. If you still see signs of a stain after washing, try making a paste with vinegar and baking soda.
3. Use an old toothbrush to cover the dirt, then re-wash.

Glossy stains from greasy products remain on clothes and furniture, for example, if you are used to eating on a sofa, it will soon lose its former attractiveness. The situation can be easily remedied.

The choice of product depends on the nature of the stain:

1. If the stain remains from cooking oil, treat it immediately with warm water. Gently dab the grease dissolving dish soap onto the cloth, place a paper towel on top and let stand.Repeat as needed.

2. If the pollution is old, Thoroughly apply bleach or dry-cleaning solvent to the inside of the garment and cover with a paper towel, then rinse thoroughly.

3. Motor lubricant or machine oil. Such a stain should be immediately treated with warm water. As soon as possible, soak the garment in warm water with a high power detergent. Remove, rub the stained area with detergent directly and lay face down on paper towels. Stretch. Repeat as needed.

To remove rust, soak a cotton swab in vinegar and use it to remove the stain. Then apply a thin layer of salt and vinegar to it. Place clothing outside in direct sunlight until the stain is gone. Then wash as usual.

Many people are familiar with the situation when you forgot the iron on your favorite jacket, skirt or trousers, even on a coat, and yellow burned spots remain on things. Some of them can be washed at home.

You're essentially burning tissue, so (unfortunately) this kind of stain can be permanent. Nevertheless, in some cases (especially on synthetics and cotton fabrics) there is hope.

How to clean iron stains:

• Move quickly to remove the burn marks. Remove the iron from your clothes and switch it off immediately - do not continue ironing. You must remove the burn mark as soon as possible.
• Rinse clothes in warm water. This will prepare the item for preprocessing.
• Soak clothes in bleach (optional). Check the label on your clothing to make sure it is safe to use bleach on it. If so, you can then pre-treat the item by soaking it in diluted bleach for about 15 minutes. Pre-soaking will increase the chances of removing burn marks.

• After you've pretreated your item, machine wash it using a high quality laundry detergent. Set the machine to the correct cycle and temperature as recommended on the garment care label.
• Dry in the sun. After completing the wash cycle, check for a visible burn mark and hang the item to dry in the sun. The sun's rays will help lighten the stain more.

It is not easy to remove gasoline stains from clothes, but it is still possible, the main thing is to act promptly:

1. Blot your clothing with paper towels first to remove excess gasoline. It is effective in such cases to use baking soda to absorb excess fluid.

2. Kitchenware detergent is a versatile product, as it is specially formulated to remove grease and oil stains. Use 2 tablespoons of soap or liquid detergent and a soft bristle brush.

3. Keep the composition on the stained clothing for five minutes, then rinse in hot water at the temperature of the fabric for about half an hour. It is important to use the hottest water that is safe for the type of fabric.

4. Check clothes for odors and stains after washing.

You can make a paste with 2 parts baking soda and 1 part water and rub it on the stained cloth. Let it air dry and then wipe the baking soda out of your clothes. This step can be repeated again until all gasoline is removed.

Dip the clothes in water and soda solution and let sit overnight. Stretch in the morning.

Soak clothing in warm water with 1 cup ammonia. Perform work in a ventilated area or on a balcony, soak for several hours. Wash afterwards without using chlorine-based cleaning agents.

Clean off as much resin as possible before processing.You can use a dull knife to gently scrape the resin off the fabric. The sooner you start removing the tar, the easier it will be to remove the stain.

Removal of thick chips by freezing:

1. Place the ice cubes in a plastic bag and run them over the resin to release the particles from the fabric. This will cause the resin to freeze (harden) and become brittle and pliable.

2. It can now be cleaned directly with your fingers or with a smooth dull knife, or you can use a spoon or canapé skewer when the resin has hardened.

Wipe it with one of the following grease / solvent based products:

• Warmed (not too hot) lard or other fats from meat or poultry;
• Mineral oils from the pharmacy;
• Car dehydrator;
• Coconut, olive, canola or any other vegetable oil.

Remove the dissolved, greased resin by wiping with a lint-free cloth with a towel or cleaning rag, and wash as usual.

Don't use bleach. Using chlorine on white clothing will remove the white color from the fabric. One alternative is a colorless bleach based on hydrogen peroxide.

Fundamental rules:

1. Take action immediately. Whatever you do, take a damp paper towel and start removing the stain within one to two minutes. Remove the edges of the stain first to prevent it from spreading.

2. Do not blot the fabric. You've probably heard that you need to blot the stain instead of wiping it down, haven't you? In the case of white fabrics, blotting will only strengthen the dye on the fabric.

3. Do not delay flushing. The less time you wait, the easier it will be to remove stains.

The right product, applied incorrectly, can degrade the color of the garment.

Blot the stain gently instead of rubbing with a cloth or fingers.

However, you can get better results if you use a series of steps designed specifically to remove stains from fabrics:

• Dampen the stain with water immediately. This rule works with all things. Make sure the entire fabric is soaked and that water seeps through the fabric and does not just sit on the surface.

• When you remove the garment, re-wet the stain and apply absorbent. Salt is the most common and cheapest option, but some people use cornstarch or talcum powder for a similar effect. This works best on smooth fabrics such as cotton jerseys. Let the absorbent sit for ten or fifteen minutes, then scrub and rinse with water.

• Apply solvent from the wrong side of the garment, under the stain.

• Place the fabric face down on a clean paper towel. Like an absorbent, it absorbs chemicals that are actually causing the stain to become dirty.

• Keep the clothes on a paper towel for an hour or so. Different solvents have different reaction times, but they all take some time. The only real guidance here is to go back to the final rinse before the solvent is completely dry. Watch her. If the solvent has time to dry completely, you may simply end up with a larger stain, but lighter than before.

• Rinse clothing to remove dirt and solvent.

• Some stains can be removed simply by wiping or dry cleaning, but a specific product is best. In the case of fine wool or silk, it is better to limit yourself to water.

Children's things are always the dirtiest.Little children run around the yard like scum, play on the grass and climb trees. Unsurprisingly, their clothes look like a rainbow - you can see so many different colors on them. If you do not plan to preserve the memory of the adventures of the child, you need to urgently take action.

However, there is a chance to extend the life of children's clothing.

Even the most stubborn stains recede before such simple methods:

• Just make a stain-damaging mixture: Mix chlorine bleach and any hypoallergenic vegetable oil in a 1: 1 ratio and add three quarters of a cup of your regular powder. Dissolve the resulting mixture in a bowl of water and soak the laundry overnight or for 5-6 hours. Now you can wash your laundry in your usual way with the addition of powder for baby clothes.

• Take a couple of tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide from the pharmacy and the same amount of liquid dish soap. Add two tablespoons of baking soda, available in the kitchen, to the resulting solution. Apply the composition directly to the stain and wait up to half an hour. Now rinse the laundry and you can wash your clothes as usual.

• Combine 2 teaspoons of hydrogen peroxide with 2 teaspoons of dishwashing liquid and 2 tbsp. tablespoons of baking soda. Apply the resulting mixture to stains and leave for 20 minutes. Then rinse the stains intensively and add a small stain remover to the washing machine.

You're probably wondering which handles stains better: dry powder or liquid detergent. Let's compare the pros and cons of two cleaning products.

Advantages:

• Great for removing stains, especially old ones;
• Cheaper;
• The carton packaging is more environmentally friendly.

Disadvantages:

• Sometimes it does not dissolve properly, leaving marks on clothing;
• Contains sodium sulfate, which may cause allergies;
• Contains more chemicals than liquid detergent, which is harmful to the gut and plumbing.

Advantages:

• The detergent is pre-dissolved, so there is no sediment;
• Liquid detergent contains fewer chemicals than powder and is therefore safer for the environment;
• You can pre-treat stains by pouring liquid directly onto the fabric.

Disadvantages:

• Liquid detergents are generally more expensive than powder;
• Plastic packaging is not as environmentally friendly;
• Liquid detergent works well for fresh stains, but does less well for dried stains;

It is difficult to say which remedy is better. But you can say for sure which one is better suited in certain cases:

• The powder is best suited for heavily soiled garments.
• The liquid is best suited for high-power washing machines and do-it-yourself dispensers such as Siemens iDos.

Study the information on the label, pay special attention to the composition. If it contains:

• Phosphates. When buying detergent, pay attention to the “P” or “NP” symbols on the packaging. They refer to phosphorus, which softens water and helps to retain contaminated water in the water. The problem with phosphorus is that it can lead to overgrowth of blue-green algae. For this reason, it is better to buy laundry detergent with the "NP" symbol.

• Enzymes. They are used in washing machines to remove stains. If you frequently wash stains from your clothes, an enzyme-rich detergent is your friend. However, enzymes are known to irritate the skin and should be avoided if anyone in your family has sensitive skin.

• Optical brighteners. They coat the fabric with fluorescent particles that absorb ultraviolet radiation and then re-emit it as blue-white. It makes your clothes look brighter and whiter. Optical brighteners should be avoided with sensitive skin as they can cause rashes.

1. Baking soda effectively cleans when diluted with water to a paste.

2. Liquid laundry detergent works more effectively than powder detergent because it is absorbed into the stain and fibers of the garment.

3. Usually, hot water from the tap is enough to get rid of the stain. For particularly stubborn stains, you can heat the water on the stove top or in the microwave.

4. Be careful if you choose to use a mild bleaching agent on your laundry. Even lemon juice can eat up colors and discolor patterns.

Follow these simple guidelines and try to remove dirt from the fabric as quickly as possible. You can always find tools at hand that will help return your clothes to a great look.

For information on how to effectively remove stains from clothes, see the next video.