Mom’s Magic – Touch on the hardest stains
Hardest stains!!
Away from home,working in a different city, I begin my daily routine. Today is a big day for me at the office. An important meeting in the office and I take out my favourite white shirt and black trousers. Everything is ready and so is the presentation. I settle down for breakfast at the table and read the newspaper while sipping my cup of hot coffee.
My phone goes off and I know there’s only one person who calls me at this hour. Maa! I talk to her and she is her usual self enquires if I have had my breakfast and prepared my lunch box. And once she’s convinced I get ready. I look at the time and realize it’s time to start for office. As I begin to finish my cup of coffee, I accidentally spill some of it on my shirt. Oh no!! My favorite shirt is now stained with coffee.
Stain on shirt?
I quickly change into another shirt and leave for office. Everything goes well and once I’m home, I have a herculean task. To clean my white shirt. Now having no knowledge of how to clean it, I call my mom and explain her the situation. After getting an hour-long lecture from mom, I now hold a Doctorate in removing stains from my clothes. So I’d like to share with you my knowledge of removing the harshest stains from your clothes.
One thing you have to know is that there are different kinds of stains and each has a different method of removing it. They’re all not the same. You’ll have stains from makeup, oils, blood, coffee, body stains, dirt stains, etc. And it is of utmost importance that you don’t mix up the procedure. Knowing how to identify the stain is the primary process. Also what is important is you always read the tag that comes with a cloth. It gives detailed instructions of how to wash it as not all clothes are made up of the same material.
Detergent
Since I’ve stained my shirt with coffee, let us wash it. The first thing is to remain any residue. Scrape it off. Then use the detergent and rub it on the stain area and use a brush to clean it. Once you see that the detergent is doing its job, load it in the washing machine and watch how the stain gets removed.
Now let’s talk about removing grass stains. Removing this is also easy. All you need is two common household items. Vinegar and dish washing liquid. In a bowl take 3 table spoons of vinegar and add 1 table spoon of dish washing liquid to it. Soak the cloth in that liquid for atleast 30 minutes while scrubbing it gently. Later use a brush and a little detergent and wash the cloth. The stain is now totally gone.
Oil stains
You’re in a mood for cooking and you spill a little oil and gravy on your apron. Time to get back to work. To remove oil from the apron, apply talcum powder to the affected area. On both the sides. In addition to it apply dish washing liquid on both the sides and using a brush, scrub the area gently. Leave it on for a while and begin washing the cloth. Viola! The oil stains are gone.
Now onto removing the gravy stains. Try to scrape off any excess or residue with a scrub. Next, soak it in a bucket of cold water. Always remember hot water helps the stain penetrate into the fabric. After you’ve soaked it in a bucket of cold water, squeeze a little lemon juice and add detergent to it. Scrub it gently and throw it in the washing machine.
Different type of stains
There are other type of stains like Deodorant stains, Sweat stains, alcohol stains let us discuss that below. One thing to remember is that, before you wash it, always soak it in cold water or try to wet the stained area using Cold water at high pressure, as the pressure helps in removing the stains. Then use an absorbant cloth to absorb the alcohol and deodorant stains. Apply the detergent on it and scrub it gently, make sure you don’t be harsh on the clothes as it can destroy the fabric.
Now once you’re done washing all the clothes, try to add a little bit of fabric conditioner as it keeps the fabric fresh, gives it a good fragrance, and increases the longevity of the fabric. And don’t forget to take care of your clothes. Else you’ll have to take hours of lecture on taking care of your stuff and how to be a responsible adult.
With that being said, Dhobi G is a go-to help for anything related to laundry. You may browse many more similar tips at https://blog.dhobig.com/. Visit Dhobi G at www.dhobig.com. Make sure to check them out on Facebook as well at https://www.facebook.com/DhobiGOnline/.