Summertime means summer fun. Picnics, ballgames, vacations – it’s all fun and games until you stain your clothes. We have stain removal tips for you.
Whether its a grass stain on your nice white shorts or strawberry juice that leaked on your shirt, there are many summer-specific stains. Our award-winning staff at Intek is accustomed to taking on large professional cleaning jobs in Sioux Falls and Yankton, but you’ll need a solution for these smaller stains that occur in everyday life. Here are some tips on how to remove common summer stains.
1. Grass
The best way to remove a grass stain is to lightly coat the affected area with liquid laundry detergent (with enzymes), rub it into the stain, and let it sit for five minutes before putting it in the washing machine with bleach (chlorine or oxygen) and hottest water temp allowed by the clothing label (repeat this final step for all stains affecting machine-washable fabrics).
2. Ketchup or mustard
Gently scrape off the excess sauce. Then blot the spot with a cloth or paper towel dipped in cold water. If you have a mustard stain, work some glycerin (purchase at drug stores) and let the garment sit for five minutes. Ketchup stains should be flushed with cold water from the back side. For both types of stains, apply liquid detergent to the front of the stain and push down on it with a clean toothbrush to break up any hard residue. Add detergent and machine wash as described earlier.
3. Barbecue sauce
Apply glycerin, then rinse with cool water. Add a combination solvent (Shout or something similar) and let it sit for 15 minutes. Do a regular machine wash cycle.
4. Juicy berries
Sponge affected area with cool water, then stretch the stained cloth over a bowl or pot in your sink. Hoist a pot of boiling water 12 inches above the fabric and pour it through the stain. If the mark doesn’t disappear, sponge it with rubbing alcohol before washing it in the machine.
5. Sunblock
Scrape away excess and apply aerosol-spray stain remover (Shout) or solvent spot remover (Afta). Machine wash.
6. Ice cream
Quickly soak the garment in cold water and leave it for 10 minutes. If you let the stain dry, you’ll have a harder time removing it. Apply detergent to the stain, and soak it in room temperature water for 30 minutes before applying a stain remover stick and letting it sit for 7-10 minutes.
7. Red wine or sangria
Cover stain with salt, then stretch fabric over a bowl and soak with boiling water as described in the berry stain removal process.
8. Iced coffee
If the coffee doesn’t have milk, pre-treat it with an acidic remedy such as vinegar. The next step, applicable to coffee with or without milk, is to apply liquid detergent to the stain before rubbing it into the cloth and laundering at the warmest possible temp as discussed earlier.
9. Soft drink
Sponge or soak in cool water, wring out excess and apply a prewash stain remover. Launder accordingly. Add bleach if safe.
Additional tips:
Have a portable stain remover handy and use it quickly after any spill. Wash the garment in a machine as quickly as possible.
Do you have a stain you can’t handle yourself? Contact Intek for carpet cleaning, tile floor cleaning and other services.
