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ms_thrifty

stains in clothing

ms-thrifty
10 years ago

Two things that I have found that really work are cold water, but only if you do it immediately -and sometimes very warm water and hand soap if you can't get it out with cold water immediately. The cold water idea is from Martha Stewart. All the stain, spot removers, other things like for coffee, blood, etc. seem to never work for me.
Anyone have any other stain tips that work for you?
Also, I had a pair of white cotton capris that I recently took out of the plastic storage bin, only to find that they had large yellow spots on them. I am positive they weren't there last fall when I put them in the storage bin. I tried a little bleach and put them out in the sun..That didn't work, so since I had them for a few years I just trashed them.

Comments (19)

  • annie1971
    10 years ago

    I've had really good luck using oxiclean laundry spray. Things that need brightening I soak in the powdered laundry booster; things can soak for as long as it takes without harming the fabric. I never use bleach for laundry anymore.
    Plastic is not the best for storage unless it's airless like a space saver bag. Your capris may have begun to mildew; but then fabrics that have seemingly invisible stains (like sweat or perfume, etc) can develop spots during storage.

  • Vertise
    10 years ago

    Hydrogen peroxide. I guess you have to worry about lightening but I've never had that happen with the regular low percentage stuff from the drug store. A vet tech shared the tip. I don't know if it is hard on clothing or not the way clorox is.

    You might try vinegar too. That's great for removing rug spots. Or vinegar and baking soda which bubbles and is used for cleaning.

  • mitchdesj
    10 years ago

    I recently rubbed some stains with cascade dishwasher grains, on a light pink cotton sweater, it workedâ¦.

    I make a paste with a little bit of water and get a grainy paste from the Cascade; rub and rinse.
    I don't leave the paste on, I rub and rinse and repeat if needed. I'm not sure it would not discolour other fabrics though.

    As for white cotton, I washed white pants recently in a full load of hot water and a cup of javex, they had yellowed over the winter in the plastic. They were cotton and came out bright white.

  • graywings123
    10 years ago

    Tell me more about javex - I have not heard of it.

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    10 years ago

    Be careful with the dishwashing liquid as they contain bleach and can discolor non-white fabrics.

  • annie1971
    10 years ago

    I think javex is Clorox bleach.

  • Olychick
    10 years ago

    I think I have an almost foolproof method for removing stains. It works nearly every time on EVERYTHING. If not the first time, then the second and works even on greasy stains that have been washed and dried!

    I put the clothes in the washer (I have a front load so not much water is used. If you have a top load, I would just do a tiny load so there isn't too much water in the machine) and add a big scoopful of Oxyclean - the scoop that comes with it (I use the unscented) and my regular laundry soap (I use an organic type cleaner). I let it swirl around for a minute or two to dissolve the Oxyclean powder, then I turn off the machine and let it sit a LONG time...sometimes overnight. Then I turn on the machine and let it complete the cycle. If the clothes with stains are whites, I use hot water, otherwise I use warm with a cold rinse for both.

    I can't believe how white the whites get, and how it really refreshes the colors, plus it gets out all the stains. If a stain is really stubborn, I might squirt some Oxyclean stain remover on it first and let it sit for a while before proceeding as above.

    Here is a link that might be useful: the one I use

  • annie1971
    10 years ago

    Olychick: My front loader drains the water out if I turn it off, so I soak in my laundry room sink; but I also am amazed at how white my whites are with a combination of Oxiclean (I only use about 1/3 the scoop) and Charlie's soap and my front loader.

  • theroselvr
    10 years ago

    Javex Bleach is Canadian by Clorox according to what I read.

    What I've found over the years; I will not use any brand of bleach except Clorox because it eventually yellow's clothes.

    I love Oxyclean; both liquid & powder.

    Dishwasher detergent will bleach your clothes; I found that out when my friend bought some at BJ's. I got some on my clothes & by the time I drove the 1 1/2 hours home; my jeans were ruined.

  • mitchdesj
    10 years ago

    oh my , yes Javex is canadian: you would think I would have used the word Clorox, since I have a condo in Floridaâ¦as well as living in Calgary, lol

  • trailrunner
    10 years ago

    There isn't any way to get out the yellow spots that appear on white clothes spontaneously after storage. I don't know what causes it and it is only certain fabrics...it is something something strange but there is no recourse except to dye the garment.

    Be careful with the Clorox..I used to be an avid user . No matter how little you use and how short a time you soak it will indeed get out a lot of stains but the fabric in that spot will wear through and you will likely get a hole in that spot :(

    The oxy thing overnight has saved more of my clothes than anything else. It works on grease stains wonderfully. I had a dark green shirt with grease stains on the belly area. I did the overnight soak and it all came out ! I love that shirt and have worn it now another 2 yrs and I was going to toss it. c

  • ellendi
    10 years ago

    For years I used Amway spray for stains. I had to order it from a sales rep. I ran out and decided not to reorder as my daughters are grown.
    What I do now is just take liquid Tide and pour it over the stain. For a chocolate stain, I put in the washer immediately. For other stains, I put on the Tide and leave it until I am ready to do a wash.
    Now I kind of feel stupid for spending all that money on Amway.

  • patty_cakes
    10 years ago

    I've used products w/oxi, but the best product i've used is Folex. It's great for colors as well as whites, and can remove stains, strawberry margarita from off-white carpeting, which makes it doubly great. You can get it at Walmart, HD, Lowe's, and even CVS.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Folex info...

  • daisychain01
    10 years ago

    Okay, here's my funny tip: Head n' Shoulders shampoo for blood stains. No idea how it works, but I keep a bottle in the laundry room. A dab with cold water and a bit of a scrub, works everytime.

  • busybee3
    10 years ago

    i have got to agree folex is great for carpets, but i've never tried it on clothing!

    one of the best tips i have is that certain white cottons will develop yellow spots as a reaction to chlorine bleach... i don't know what causes that with certain cottons-- but, if you soak the yellow bleach spot in white vinegar, it will disappear!

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    10 years ago

    I did make the mistake of spraying oxyclean on a spot one time and not washing the shirt for a couple of days...the stain was gone, but so was the color in the fabric. Oops!

    Has anyone tried these "color catchers" you throw in the wash? I was wondering as I ruined a few colored t-shirts by washing them with a dark green table cloth (that had been washed before and in cold water) and still it ran and left splotches. Didn't know if the dye was ever removable or if I need to trash/re-dye...

  • badgergal
    10 years ago

    Annie, I use color catchers quite often and they do work. It will prevent colors from transfering on to lighter fabrics but it will not remove color that was previously transferred onto items.
    My daughter recently had some dark color transfer on to two brand new maternity tops. She really didnt want to just toss them but couldn't wear them to work the way they looked. I took them from her and intended to try oxyclean on them but ended up using a stain remover called Zout. I was pleasantly surprised. It took every bit of the transferred color out. (Don't know if it was just my lucky day or not but it worked for me. I have since used Zout on other stains and it works so much better than other brands I have used. It is my go to stain remover now.

  • sis3
    10 years ago

    I sometimes use dish soap for food stains like tomato sauce but for blood, sweat, and food stains etc. I usually use "biological" powder from England. I soak the stained garments in a cool solution and the stains magically lift out. I am told that you do have the equivalent of biological powders here in the USA but I am not sure of the product names. They should contain enzymes. I have posted the Wikipedia link below.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Biological powder

  • lizbeth-gardener
    10 years ago

    I love Oxyclean, especially for set in stains. I soak in a bucketful of hot water. Some stains require a several day soak, most just overnight. My daughters just kept a bucket going in their laundry room sink when they had infants and there is usually still one with little kids and grass, mud, blood, etc.

    My go to for grease and tomato stains is Dawn dish soap. Just put on front and back side of stain and wash.
    Oxyclean doesn't always get my grease stains out.

    For yellowed whites that nothing else works on and they are headed for the trash bin, I will use the Clorox 2, Cascade and boiling water recipe. It does work.

    I do use the Color Catchers, especially in Spring and Summer when there are brighter colors in the wash.

    Hydrogen peroxide works on set in blood, but Oxyclean probably does, too.

    This isn't really a stain, but a towel washing tip I got on GW. I was having trouble with smelly towels so started using white vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser. It took care of the problem.

    busybee3:Glad to hear about the white vinegar on yellowed whites-will have to try.

    badgergal: Also will keep the info. on Zout in my file. Have had that happen in the past.

    sis3: I think our Oxyclean and Biz (cleaners with enzymes) are probably similar to your biological powder.