Stains and Stain Removal: Find the solution for your Stain Problem here

Caution: Cleaning materials, in particular some solvents are very toxic, Carbon tetrachloride and trichlorethylene should not be used in the home.

Blood Stains and Stuck on Gum: I've found the best thing for removing blood stains from clothing is liquid Tide. Just place garment in a pail of water with a fairly decent amount of liquid Tide. Let it soak for a couple hours and the blood just disappears.

Also, when my daughter was little she fell asleep in the back seat of my grandma's car and smeared her gum all over the upholstery. It was summer time and very hot. I was sure the seat was ruined. Anyway, I had some mineral spirits on hand and decided to give it a try. I wasn't sure if it would affect the color of the velour, but figured the seat was ruined already. It removed the gum easily and didn't bother the color (maroon) whatsoever. What a relief! -- Renee Charbonneau 23/04/08 -- In some places Mineral Spirits are known as 'White Spirit' -- Ed

Subject: Getting Stains out of T-shirt Underarms. Buy a product called Iron Out or something similar and follow directions. This is a popular product in northern Wisconsin and Michigan because of the iron content in the water. I used it to protect the whites when we bought a cabin in that area – and l and behold, it took cleaned those t-shirts right up. -- Bill Bradford. . 18/12/07

Subject: Yellow Stain. I can't tell you how to get rid of existing yellow but I can tell you how not to get yellow again on new items...I believe in cheap and environmentally safe...go buy a box of Borax...it is a powder and costs about 3 dollars...put a sprinkle of that in every load of light colored laundry along with whatever laundry soap you use and you shouldn't have anymore problems with yellowing...One more of many other uses for borax is it will shine you bathroom porcelain right up and great for cleaning toilets, plus many other things....It will save you money and cut the cost of your cleaning products in half. Good luck. -- CHRIS and Angie FORD Jan 25 2006

Subject: Underarm Stains. You know what else works to remove underarm stains? Baking soda mixed with water to make a paste. Pre-treat then wash as usual. -- Karyn Hudson. Oct 1 2007

Subject: No more yellow in the wash To get out the yellow stains from bleach or from iron and rust use "Whink (brand) No More Yellow!" It is fantastic. I had stains on my white jeans and didn't read the label first where it said not to use chlotine bleach. Well, as you can imagine, my white pants were now yellow and nothing seemed to work until I tried the product by Whink. I found it by the Ritt dyes in my supermarket and I loved it! It worked so easily and has a detergent built into it. It is wonderful! -- Leslie- NJ Leslie Coolong" 11 Jul 2007

Subject: Nicotine and Tar Stains on hands and skin from smoking. Use this great new product I found: Nico-Wipe Hand Cleaner for Smokers. Available at www.nicowipe.com and on Ebay. -- James Schwartz. Sep 28 2007

Subject: Removing Rust Stains on Clothing. Hey, I just found a great new stain remover...ZAP (tile/grout restorer). I tried to get a rust stain off of a white fairly new/expensive dress shirt of Jamie's (cotton/poly). I tried bleach, dishwasher detergent, lemon juice/salt, the usual...but NOTHING would budge that stain. ZAP claims to remove rust stains from showers so I thought what did I have to lose? I was going to toss the shirt anyway so if it ate a hole or stained it more it wouldn't matter. I sprayed some on, worked it into the stain, waited about 30 secs and then rinsed. Whah-lah...no more stain and no hole! -- Jamie and Wendy Reynolds - Granite Bay, California USA 28 Nov 2007

Subject: Tomato based stain - How do you remove stains from plastic containers used to reheat foods (like tomato sauce) in the microwave? These stains are permanent. Nothing will remove them, as they are now part of the plastic, which has been modified on a molecular level. This change is caused by the high temperatures experienced in isolated areas on the perimeters of containers used to heat or re-heat food in a microwave oven. The worst part is not the tomato sauce becoming part of the container, but the plastic container becoming part of the food! There are ongoing studies on the effects of chemicals that mimic oestrogen, which are found in most plastic packaging and plastic containers. Researchers are currently trying to draw the link between this, increased in infertility in men, and increased breast cancer in women, caused by these xenoestrogens. Yikes! Not to fear monger, but it might be best to err on the side of caution by toss! ing those plastic containers and only use glass or ceramic dishes in the microwave. -- James Sayer

 If A equals success, then the formula is: A= X + Y + Z   X is work. Y is play. Z is keep your mouth shut. - Albert Einstein  27 Nov 2002

Subject: Tomato Stains in Plastic Containers: Try rubbing the container with Baking Soda on a sponge, rinse well and dry. To avoid getting stains, always rinse the container with cold water (not Hot Water) before washing the container out. Found at www.epinions.com/hmgd-review-2E90-A2BE45D-38AB4734-prod2 -- 27 Nov 2002

Subject: Ferric Chloride Stains. If you use ferric chloride and are concerned about skin stains, fear not, lemon juice will make it disappear -- Like magic!! -- Adam Waldron 14th April 2007

Subject: Blood Stains. To get fresh blood off of clothing (even white), all you have to do is rinse with cold water and rub a little bit. This works very well, I know because I get a lot of nosebleeds. -- Michael M 18th January 2007

Subject: Blood Stains. Hello, I was on your website reading about how to remove ink stains from fabric and as I was reading there were some great tips. I have one of my own personal favorite stain remover for blood stains to share. My teenage daughter during her time of the month got blood on the couch. So I grabbed my bottle of peroxide and poured it right on the spot, dabbed with a clean cloth and repeated until it was gone. It is like there was never even a spot there. It works great and I believe it works on any fabric. Thought I would share. Sincerely Kristian C . 7/12/07

Cleaning Carpet with Shaving Foam. A dirty patch on your carpet will come off with the application of a dollop of shaving foam and a little time. Leave the foam for half an hour or so then, using a damp (preferrably cotton cloth wipe the spot. It will be necessary to clean the cloth out and repeat the process. Finish off with drying thoroughly with a dry cloth. Davina Martin January 2007

Tea Stains. Tea stains on the inside of cups can best be dealt with by using a paste made with Baking Soda -- Davina Martin. 18th January 2007

Subject: The Absolute Best All Purpose Cleaner.Engine degreaser. It comes in a huge 5 gallon bottle that can be purchased at Wal-Mart , K-mart, Target, or automotive part store for about $5.

It removes adhesives, cleans carpets, furniture, clothing, walls, bathrooms...EVERYTHING. It sounds like it would be a very harsh astringent, but it actually isn't. I use it all the time and have for years. -- "Joey" Observe instructions on such products

Yellow Bleach Stains I had a problem with staining on my white canvas tennis shoes by trying to bleach them to remove dirt. I was able to remove the yellow bleach stains by soaking the shoes in a solution of 1/2 cup cream of tartar (I bought it from a store that sells bulk spices) and 1 quart of hot (almost boiling) water. The tip I read said to soak for 30 minutes, but it took 1-1/2 hours for my shoes. TD Pitts --  10/07/2004

Subject: Tree Sap Stains.  My vocation exposes my clothes to resins and tree saps. We deal with with it by using alcohol and sometimes acetone, Hardened resin can be broken up and the powder brushed off but it can take a while to solidify. The remaining stain from some trees can be removed with oxy bleach. We get acetone from a supply house but I believe nail varnish remover is a form of the solvent -- Darren Denniard

Blood Stains: To remove or reduce fresh blood stains, soak the item in a bowl of milk overnight then wash in the normal way -- Jane Jea   8 Dec 2003

Blood Stains: A small cut on my ear opened up during an afternoon nap. It bled copiously and made the hotel sheets look like a massacre had taken place. The hotel had supplied brilliantly white sheets, duvet covers and pillowcases and only two of the items were free from the stains, the largest red mark was as large as a human hand and even as I stood up to survey the damage a dozen or so new spots appeared!

I took the bedclothes straight to bath and started scrubbing them in cold water. The I had read somewhere that oxy type bleaches worked for blood stains and was about to rush out to buy some when I noticed that my wife's toothpasrrte was Colgate 'Oxygen' - a small dollop on a spot soon came up like new and I set to work. Half a toothpaste tube and half an hour later they had all gone and we were back to how they had looked before the event. I hung them up in the shower and only then I could wipe the sweat from by brow and pour myself a glass of water.

The water bill for three small bottles was $12.00 when we checked so I hate to think what we would have been charged for new sheets and duvet covers. It also saved the embarrassment of explaining so much blood from a tiny cut. perhaps even arrest and interrogation in a foreign jail. Thank you Mr Colgate-- Rolf Douglas   15th Feb2007

Subject: Ink Pen Stain: To get an ink stain out, spray ultra-hold hairspray on the stain, let it dry, then wash like normal. ( Don't be afraid of putting too much hairspray on the stain.) -Polli

Subject: Stains on Clothing
I have found that most types of baby wipes work great on removing a stain from your clothing. Anyone with babies always have baby wipes handy. Try it some time it works. I always use them when my 2 year old gets something on her and it works great for taking ink from your skin. -- Bradley E Baker --

Attack the stain straight away. If you are going to use water make sure that it is as cold as possible -- Jean Smith Kirkcaldy Scotland

Do not use salt on Red wine stains. - - Vanessa Echols

Use white wine on red wine stains. - - Vanessa Echols

 

Vanessa, are we to assume that considerable amounts of wine are consumed (and spilled) in your household?? -- Ed

If the stain is extreme and your garment is cotton or similar try disguising the stain by tie-dying it -- Dave Edmunds

Embarrassing Stains: I know people don't like to discuss (stains in underwear) but they are there. I discovered the other day when I was washing my sons that this worked. I used half a cup of dish washer detergent. I couldn't believe how white they became. No stains. I believe the dish washing detergent is the trick. SUE  

Vicky Lansky in her book "It worked for me" suggests using dishwasher products for removing stubborn stains in clothing.

To remove toilet stains, use a pumice stone and rub hard, It will not scratch and works well- did on my toilet bowl after 20 years of build-up -- James A Boyle  

Nicotine Stains. Remove them from your fingers with lemon juice, and scrubbing with pumice stone. Then add hand cream. - Jacob Thorne, Bristol

Melted Wax: To remove melted wax from clothing '... you will lay a brown paper bag over the garment before you iron over it then keep moving the bag around it will absorb the wax  -- Magnand

Age Stains: I have heard a mixture of fresh lemon juice and salt rubbed on spots and placed in sun will bleach out yellow in old stains. This information from my wise Aunt Sue. I would try it first on just one small area and see how it does. -- Good Luck, Patti Seizetheday

Chocolate Stains. First blot or scrape off any excess chocolate. Add a solution of biological washing powder, and then blot with clean towels. If the stain remains soak the fabric in biological detergent. White fabrics can be dabbed with bleach. - Anna, Canada

Rubbing a Brazil nut on a scratch can disguise some surface damage in wooden furniture -- Veronica

Chewing gum: To remove chewing gum from clothes freeze, or cover the gum with ice, then crack and scrape off. – Marjory Simpson.

Ink Stains. If the ink is still wet put baking powder on the stain, and then brush it off after a few minutes when it has soaked up some of the ink. You may need to repeat this a few times. Clean wet ink off carpet with soda water, then blot it off with paper towels. Then clean with a detergent. - Ruth Knowles

Rust stains in white cotton: To remove the stain, rub with lemon juice and salt. Leave it several hours. It's even more effective when placed in the sun. Wash as normal. - -  

If you find that you can't remove a stain from your shirt...then give it to your Mum -- Daniel Anderson -- Milton Keynes England <;o)

Dave, some ideas:- Lipstick - try Vaseline. Soda water or club soda for wine and tea, salt and lemon juice for rust stains, someone suggested salt for ink stains but haven't tried it yet -- Sally Edmunds. (careful with salt as it can fix some types of stain -- Ed)

Glycerine is useful for coffee and some other types of stains. Blood stains - spit on it - or use meat tenderiser or ammonia

Subject: Oily Stains. The best product to remove salad dressing and other oily stains from clothing (especially that which contains some polyester, which is notoriously difficult to clean) is Prell shampoo. Squeeze a little onto the spot, rub lightly, and wash as usual. I would never use Prell on my hair, but there is always a tube of it in my laundry area. --

Carpet Stains: It seems that kids always spill red kool-aid on carpets. One day I just grabbed the first thing I could find and it worked great! Lysol Antibacterial kitchen cleaner on a fresh carpet stain will immediately get all the red out. (any color, really) Just spray and dab it with a clean towel. This also gets the kool-aid stains from kitchen counter tops without using bleach. -- "D. Carr"

Useful links:
www.forceoutproducts.com - The following links are to ForceOutProducts stain removal products: 

Car Odors - Musty Odors - Smoke Odors -  Cat Urine Odors - Dog Odors - Carpet Stains - Pet Stains - General Stain Removal

Another site devoted to stain removal - www.stainexpert.co.uk

 

We welcome feedback on the sites we link to - Thanks