Knowing how to get rid of clothing stains is a great skill that comes in handy if you have children, pets, or are a messy eater and seemingly prone to food splatters and spills. And with the right application and cleaning supplies, you’ll no longer have to toss out all your stained clothing and you’d be able to get rid of the most stubborn stains.
Below, we listed 5 tips to help you remove your stubborn clothing stains:
Use the right kind of bleach
There are two types of bleaches that can be used for clothing: chlorine and oxygen
• Chlorine bleach: the most well-known bleach on the market, Clorox, is a chlorine bleach that is strong and works well at disinfecting, whitening, and deodorizing. While this type of bleach does work to remove clothing stains, it tends to also strip all colors and dyes on fabrics. This type of bleach is best used on all-white fabrics such as towels, t-shirts, and bedsheets.
• Oxygen bleach: another popular bleach on the market is Oxiclean, which is an oxygen bleach. This bleach is milder and works better for most fabrics since it is color-safe. This type of bleach brightens and maintains the color of your clothing, while also removes all of those pesky stains.
Dish soap
Surfactants, such as Dawn dish soap, are excellent to use as spot treatments on greasy clothing stains. This can include stains from oil, fat, butter, etc. Simply apply a little dish soap directly onto the stain, rub the soap in, let it sit for a few minutes, and toss your clothing item into the wash.
Hydrogen peroxide
To combat yellow stains on a shirt collar or denim jacket, hydrogen peroxide is perfect to use as a spot treatment. Spray 3% hydrogen peroxide onto the stain, let it sit overnight, and wash your clothing item. You can repeat this process a few times to get your desired outcome.
Baking soda
To pretreat and get rid of underarm sweat stains, combine water with baking soda to create a paste. Then, simply scrub it onto your stain, let it sit for a few hours, and brush the paste off before tossing your item into the wash.
Enzyme treatments
Enzyme stain removers work best at breaking down stubborn protein stains such as blood, grass, chocolate, baby formula, and more. Spray your stain, let it sit, and wash normally afterwards. Enzymatic cleaners are also excellent for getting rid of smelly clothing odors.
