Linda Cobb, the Queen of Clean®, suggests some great stain removers that are found in your cupboard: - Alcohol -- Rubbing alcohol is great for grass stains and so much more.
- Ammonia -- The perspiration stain fighter.
- Automatic dishwasher detergent -- Keep this on hand as a bleach substitute and whitener/brightener even if you don't have a dishwasher. Liquid, powder and tablet form all work well. If you choose the tablet, make sure it has dissolved before you add clothes. Pour directly on stain, or soak.
- Baking soda -- Removes odors.
- Club soda -- My favorite Oh my gosh, how did I do that? spotter. Use it on any fabric or surface that can be treated with water. A slight dabbing on dry-clean-only fabrics is also permissible, just be sure to test first! Use club soda on any spill -- ask the waiter for some if you're dining out -- dab it on and blot if off. Club soda keeps spills from becoming stains and brings the offending spill to the surface so it can be easily removed. It's totally safe. I always make sure to have a bottle on hand.
- Cream of tartar -- I bet you have some of this in the kitchen cupboard, but how often do you use if? Well, here's your chance. Mix cream of tartar with lemon juice and you have a wonderful bleach for white clothes spotted with food or other stains. It's even effective on many rust stains.
- Denture-cleaning tablets -- The cure-all for white table linens with food stains and white cotton with stains. Dissolve one table per 1/2 cup water. Pour directly on stain or spot.
- Dishwashing liquid -- A wonderful spotter, used undiluted on tough stains.
- Glycerin -- You can remove tar, tree sap (think Christmas tree), juice stains, mustard, ketchup and barbecue sauce.
- Hydrogen peroxide -- 3 percent hydrogen peroxide is super for removing blood stains, especially if they are fairly fresh. It also is a wonderful bleaching agent for stubborn stains on white clothes. Combine 1/2 cup of hydrogen peroxide and 1 teaspoon of ammonia for an unbeatable stain removal combination. Make sure to use 3 percent and not the kind you use to bleach your hair!
- Lemon juice -- This is nature's bleach and disinfectant. I don't know where we'd be without it. If you have spots on white clothes, apply some lemon juice and lay them in the sun. Apply a little more lemon juice prior to laundering, or prespray and launder as usual. This is really effective on baby formula stains.
- Meat tenderizer -- A combo of meat tenderizer (unseasoned, please, or you'll have a whole new stain!) and cold water is just the answer to protein-based stains such as blood, milk, etc.
- Salt -- Sprinkling salt on spilled red wine will keep the wine from staining until you can launder it. Mixed with lemon juice, salt will remove mildew stains.
- Shampoo -- Any brand will do. Cheap is fine. I save the small bottles from hotel/motel stays and keep them in the laundry room. Great for treating ring-around-the-collar, mud and cosmetic stains.
- Shave cream -- The innocent-looking can of shave cream in your bathroom is one of the best spot and stain removers available. That's because it's really whipped soap! If you have a spill on your clothes (or even your carpet), moisten the spot, work in some shave cream, and then flush it with cool water. If the offending spot is on something you're wearing, work the shave cream in and then use a clean cloth (a washcloth works fine) to blot the shave cream and the spot away. A quick touch of the blow-dryer to prevent a ring and you're on your way. The best thing about shave cream is that even if it doesn't work it won't set the stain, so the spot can still be removed later. Keep a small sample can in your suitcase when you travel. It's saved me more than once!
- White vinegar -- A great spotter for suede -- used undiluted. It's also a wonderful fabric softener. Just put 1/4 cup white vinegar in the final rinse. (And no, you won't smell like salad!)
This chapter from Talking Dirty Laundry with the Queen of Clean was reprinted with permission from Pocket Books, a subsidiary of Simon & Schuster. Please see the Resources, below, for information on how to order all of Linda Cobb's books from Amazon.com or just click on the links under the captions of the book covers, right.
RESOURCES :
Talking Dirty With the Queen of Clean
ISBN: 0743418301
Author: Linda Cobb
(1998)
Simon & Schuster / Pocket Books
Website: www.simonsays.com
Talking Dirty Laundry With the Queen of Clean
ISBN: 0743418328
Author: Linda Cobb
(2001)
Simon & Schuster / Pocket Books
Website: www.simonsays.com
The Queen of Clean: The Royal Guide to Spot and Stain Removal
ISBN: 0743437837
Author: Linda Cobb
(2001)
Simon & Schuster / Pocket Books
Website: www.simonsays.com
A Queen for All Seasons: A Year of Tips, Tricks, and Picks for a Cleaner House and ...
ISBN: 0743428315
Author: Linda Cobb
(2001)
Simon & Schuster / Pocket Books
Website: www.simonsays.com
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