6 Classic Stains and How To Rid Them

Okay, HOLD ON. Because like wine stains, many types of stains can actually be removed but you must act quickly and always be sure to check the garment care label prior to cleaning. Here, we show you 6 classic stains and how to rid them.

1. Red Wine Stains

Place your garment into a laundry tub or bucket, then instantly treat with warm water. Sprinkle salt over the stain and let it sit until you can see the stain absorbing. Carefully rinse the salt out and gently dab the stained area with a glycerine or laundry detergent. Then, slowly lay the garment on top of a paper towel with the stained area at the centre. Finally, rinse the garment again and continue to wash as routinely.

Also, it’s important to note here that you must not use bar or flake soaps, as these can actually make your wine stains permanent (this also applies for ‘Coffee Stains’).

2. Blood Stains

Immediately rinse the stain with cold water, and apply fitting laundry soap to the stained area. Forcefully rub soap onto the stain in a circular motion, and then place the garment into a laundry tub or bucket filled with room temperature water and detergent. Allow the garment to soak by leaving it between 15-20 minutes. After soaking is finished, spot the stain with a suitable household detergent (an enzyme stain remover is preferable). Now to conclude, machine wash garment in an individual load.

3. Oil Stains

Specifically for stains caused by machine oil, you’ll need to use a heavy-duty detergent (a moderate alkaline cleaning agent is most effective) so we recommend wearing gloves and necessary eye protection where advised during use. First, fill a laundry bucket or tub with warm water and heavy-duty detergent. Place your garment inside, and let it soak for at least 10-15 minutes. Carefully remove garment and now with an average household detergent, apply detergent straight to the stained area. Lay the garment on top of paper towels, again making sure that the stained area is at the centre. Finally, machine wash separately. If after this wash, the stain is still prominent - repeat process until satisfied.

4. Coffee Stains

Ah! How we love to love coffee, but have to hate when it stains us! First, make sure you check the stained clothing to see if you can find any recommendations as to the temperature of water you should use (since this can vary depending on the fabric). Then, quickly proceed to place clothing in a bucket filled with lukewarm water and let it soak. Finally, machine or hand wash in the recommended water temperature (hot water is needed). If necessary - repeat this process.

5. Sweaty Yellow Stains

Now we all know this scenario to be most frequent especially during hot weather where sweat stains, armpit stains and collar yellowing are sometimes uncontrollable, and of course there’s no denying the tragedy of sweat stains on white materials. So again, like for all stains - you need to act as quickly as possible.

Place the stained garment into a bucket filled with hot water and detergent and let it set until you recognise the stain significantly absorbed. If after this, you still notice blatant yellow staining then you need to remove the garment from the bucket but now this time, powder salt over the stained area or if it’s a really tough stain, use an enzyme stain remover for greater action, and then place the stained garment into hot water (you may need to re-fill the bucket with hot water if it’s lost it’s temperature) and leave it to soak.

And if you’re still trying to remove a stubborn stain from a white garment for instance, then use Bleach for a sturdier solution or even a final touch.

6. Mud Stains

As soon as you see a mud stain, shake immediately and try to scrape it off. Then, place the stained garment into a bucket with lukewarm water and continue to stir the stain. Now, add liquid detergent into the mix by applying it to the stained areas and then soap the garment inside the bucket. Allow the clothing to soak for between 30 - 60 minutes (depending on the intensity of the stain). Rinse the garment, spray the stained area using a prewash stain remover and then continue to machine wash as normal.

It’s important to note here that it’s best to machine wash separately from your normal load, and if you see the stain persist – apply Bleach where permissible.

And for stains that just won’t budge, why not visit the professionals? For your nearest Plus Dry Cleaners, see here.