The Best Stain Removal Guide

Your daughter dribbled ice cream down her top, your son fell when climbing a tree and has blood stains on his shirt and grass stains on his shorts, your baby has vomited over your black dress, and your husband spilled his red wine on the white tablecloth. If this is a typical day in your family, you need this guide to quick and easy stain removal.

Prepare a Stain Removal Kit
An easy way to be prepared to deal with any type of stain is to get together all the essential ingredients for stain removal in one place. An empty bucket is an ideal holding tank for your stain removal kit. Your kit should contain a roll of paper towel and clean white towels or rags, talcum powder or cornflour (acts as an absorbent), pure soap, washing detergent (preferably with enzymes), nappy powder soaker, pre-wash stain remover, white vinegar, and bicarbonate of soda. You may also like to include the following products:

Cloudy ammonia is a strong alkaline cleaner, a grease solvent, and bleach in one. You need to use a strongly diluted mixture often per cent cloudy ammonia to 90 per cent water and use the mixture when wearing gloves in a well-ventilated area.

Hydrogen peroxide is an ideal stain remover for wine, coffee, and ink stains, but you should not use it on wool or silk.

Glycerine is colorless, non-toxic, and loosens stains that have set or dried.

Methylated spirits dissolves ink and grass stains. You should dilute this product, especially if using on synthetic fabrics.

Eucalyptus oil is antiseptic, water soluble oil that removes a variety of stains, especially glue, chewing gum, and grease.

Keep your stain removal kit handy in the laundry, away from children.

Stain Removal Made Easy
This list of common stains will help you to use the right products from your kit to remove the stain, both on washable and non-washable textiles.

Beer
Make up a mixture of a tiny amount of cloudy ammonia and at least a pint of water. Dab this solution on the beer stain. For non-washable products, sponge the stain with methylated spirits and rub in a small amount of pure soap. Leave the stain to dry and brush out the soap.

Blood
Soak, the washable material in cold soapy water or water with a dash of ammonia in it. If you cannot wash the product, mix cornflour or talcum powder with cold water to make a thick paste to spread over the stain. When the paste is dry, brush away the caked paste to remove the blood stain. For older or set blood stains, dab the stain with glycerine to soften the stain before treating.

Chocolate, Coffee, Tea, and Soft Drink
Mix two tablespoons of borax with a pint of water. Dab the mixture on the stain or allow the clothes to soak for a while in the mixture and then wash the clothes as you normally do. For non-washable textiles, mix water with white vinegar and methylated spirits and dab on to the affected areas.

Fruit, Fruit Juice, and Egg
Soak the item in a mixture of two tablespoons of borax with a pint of water and wash normally. For non-washable textiles, dab the stain with cold water and glycerine. Leave the stain alone for an hour and sponge the affected area with lemon juice. Wipe off with a damp cloth.

Grass
Use eucalyptus oil to loosen the stain before laundering. Dab on white vinegar and methylated spirits to remove grass stains from non-washables.

Grease
Use your water and cloudy ammonia solution to remove grease from washable clothing. Apply a small amount of eucalyptus oil to a grease stain on a non-washable item. Cover the oil with talcum powder or cornflour and leave to dry. Brush away the residue and the grease stain should disappear.

Ice-cream
Soak, in cold water mixed with your nappy soaker or washing detergent with enzymes before washing. Dab methylated spirits on non-washable textiles and then sponge the item with water to remove ice cream stains.

Ink
Methylated spirits or eucalyptus oil will remove ink stains from all fabrics

Jam or Jelly
Soak in a solution of two tablespoons of borax to one pint of water and then wash. Use one part water and three parts methylated spirits to remove jelly from non-washables.

Lipstick
Use eucalyptus oil to loosen the stain and wash normally. Dry-cleaning fluid or eucalyptus oil will remove lipstick from non-washable fabrics.

Perspiration
Apply a thick paste of the nappy powdered soaker and water to the stain. Leave for 20 minutes before washing. You will need to have non-washable garments professionally dry-cleaned.