Stain Removing Products for Clothes- Environment Friendly and Home Made!

When it comes to removing stains from clothes I don't use the chemical stain removers, simply because I am trying to be environmentally friendly! Also the commercial stain removers are usually better suited for stains that happened 2 seconds ago, and from my experience the item normally gets left for a while.

My secret weapons in almost every case are white vinegar, Bicarbonate of Soda or lots of pre-machine dish washing soap and scrubbing. So if you are ever at your wits end to get a stain out try bicarb or vinegar.

For all stains first remove excess that can be soaked up or scraped off. Always check the label to see that the garment is not dry clean only or fragile and lastly when applying the remover stay on the spot, don't spread the stain onto the rest of the garment. Most importantly, begin removing the stain as soon as you can, the longer it's there the harder it is to get out.

Blood stains can be removed easily by soaking in cold water and normal dish washing soap, and a lot of scrubbing, but this is only if it is fresh. If the blood stain is dry, stubborn or old it will need a different method. Use ammonia or 3% peroxide dabbed onto the stain, you can also try vinegar if you are scared of the peroxide bleaching the garment, but always check on a tiny spot that it won't bleach first. You can also try rubbing with salt once it has been soaking for a while.

For chocolate the best thing is simple washing up detergent rubbed in and left, rinsed and repeated. Before you start make sure you have removed what ever you can manually.

For grass stains – and others – try rubbing in a mixture of warm water and vinegar, waiting about 10 minutes and then putting it into a normal wash.

For oil stains that are fresh lay the garment flat, stain up, and sprinkle generously with talc powder, bicarb or cornstarch, this soaks up the oil. Leave for as long as possible – half an hour at least, or up to 24 hours. Then thoroughly remove the powder, and soak the stain in warm water and liquid washing soap. Leave for about 15 minutes, rinse, and repeat if necessary and then wash as usual in washing machine.

Lipstick is oil based so can be treated accordingly. Dab with alcohol or Ammonia then rinse or leave with washing liquid on it for 10 minutes and then gently rub it in. Hairspray can also be sprayed on the stain (also ink stains) left for 15 minutes and then washed away with warm water.

Coffee stains can be soaked in a vinegar and cold water solution, or dab with bicarb on a wet cloth, then rinse. An egg yoke can be mixed with a little alcohol and warm water and dabbed on.