You’re out to eat with your friends and during the meal, a piece of kale falls onto your blouse. Of course, it was the one bit that held all of the vinaigrette dressing. The dressing has soaked into the blouse at an alarming speed, and no amount of ice water at the table is going to get it out. How do you remove stains like this? The blouse is too cute to toss, and besides, you got it in that really kitschy shop that one time when you were in London. You can’t just easily replace it. What do you do?
How to remove a salad dressing stain
Here are some steps to take before admitting defeat.
- Grab a spoon and get as much of the dressing off as you can.
- Use a stain stick right away. Make sure you cover both sides.
- Rinse with as warm water as possible, as long as the fabric allows it.
- Once able, rub laundry detergent into the stain and leave it for 3-10 minutes, depending on the size of the stain.
- Wash it in as hot as possible water for the fabric.
- Check to ensure the oil stain is removed. If not, there is still hope, but it’s not looking good.
- If still showing the oil stain, rub detergent on the stain again
- soak the garment in very warm water for 30 minutes
- Keep checking the stain, and if still showing, try rubbing baking soda on it.
- Keep trying until either you get the stain out or it’s not getting any better.
How to remove a blood stain
It is definitely possible to save a garment from a bloodstain. Here are some steps to remove stains quickly.
- If possible, immediately get the stain wet with cold water.
- Rub it thoroughly with soap. Either laundry detergent or a bar of soap should work.
- If the stain is on a white or light shirt, use hydrogen peroxide and a q-tip to clean the spot. Not good for darker colors as it will bleach out the spot.
- Put the garment in the washer as soon as you can. Most detergents have an enzyme that attacks protein stains, just check to ensure yours does.
How to remove a coffee stain
If you are a coffee drinker, you have at some point had to deal with the ominous coffee stain. Here are some steps to remove the stress of the stain on your freshly laundered work shirt.
- Coldwater is your friend. Use it freely. Soak the stain with cold water as soon as possible.
- Hot water will set the stain. Do not use hot water
- Dish detergent tends to work best
- Rub the stain with detergent
- Soak stain again in cold water
- Repeat if needed
How to remove a red wine stain
The lights are low, the evening is coming to an end, and your date spills their glass of pinot noir on the table, sending several drops across your garment. What do you do?
Here are steps to remove stains from red wine.
- Don’t Rub, Blot.
- If available, rub some salt on the stain. This will pull the excess wine out of the garment.
- Again, if available, cleanse with white wine. It can dig into the stain and lift out most of it.
- Launder with a detergent that claims to work on wine stains.
Hopefully, this provides the information needed to save those garments that are close to being lost by stains. Sometimes it can also be all about soap usage. Lightning Clean uses Detergent Osmosis to get a better clean. Overall, make sure to read the labels in your clothing so that you understand the proper way to care for that type of clothing.