How to Remove Different Types of Stains from Garments!

Remove Different Types of Stains from Garments

Different Types of Stains and How to Remove them

How to remove blood stains? How to remove dried blood stains? How to remove stains of ink? and many such questions are asked frequently here we are going to discuss a set of techniques that are absolutely vital for keeping your clothes in wearable condition as long as possible. 

How do you remove any type of stain you might encounter? This blog deals with how to remove the musty smell from vintage clothing, how to wash and maintain wool sweaters and some cheap and easy laundry methods. What is natural oil stain removal for clothing?

No matter how careful a man is in his day-to-day life with his garments, sometimes the occasional stain is inevitable whether it be from a plate of spaghetti or while changing the car tire on the side of the road or really any time spent with a toddler, you are bound to encounter a tough stain at some point.

However, stain removal does not have to be a chore or involve a dry cleaner. As long as you understand some basic chemistry you will be all set. To begin, here is a breakdown of the four basic types of stains you are generally going to encounter. 

 

Different Types of Stains:

Organic and In-Organic Stains:

Stains are majorly divided into two organic and inorganic stains. 

Stains may be organic or inorganic in nature and they can be oily or not. There are four types of stains that are organic, inorganic, oily organic, and oily inorganic. 

As examples of each of these, stains from living organisms including plants are considered organic, things like grass, blood, or red wine. Meanwhile, stains from man-made materials are inorganic, things like ink, solvents, or machine dust. Oily organics are things like barbecue sauce or sweat stains and oily in-organic are generally cosmetics like lipstick.

With that said, there are a few exceptions as far as treatment is concerned. Coffee and tea are treated like in-organic. For such exceptions and really for any case, it never hurts to do a little bit of searching on the web but in general, here are the best techniques we have found for getting rid of all of these different types of stains. 

  

How to remove organic stains?

Here are the following main questions that can be answered.

How to remove Blood Stains?

How to remove Grass Stains? and

How to remove Wine Stains?

Firstly, organic stains are best treated with hot water and a substance that is commonly marketed as a bleach alternative. Bleach alternatives and oxygen bleach are marketing names for a substance that is scientifically known as sodium per-carbonate or SPC for short. 

It is an active ingredient in cleaners, like Oxiclean, but whereas those types of commercial cleaners usually contain fillers, SPC is most effective in its pure form. Here is a related point: as long as we are talking about bleach alternative, never use conventional chlorine bleach on your clothes again. Not for spots and not for whitening. Most white clothing is generally treated with agents referred to as optical whiteners or optical brighteners. 

Chlorine bleach, in addition to being harmful to the body, if ingested.  Prolonged contact with clothes can be making them look less white and can damage the fibers of clothes over time.

To treat an organic stain, lay a towel on your work surface. For any type of stains we are about to cover in this article, putting down a clean towel is a good idea. 

Then, add a bit of SPC, we used about 1/2 cap full to a basin of hot water and stir it till it completely dissolved. Then, thoroughly wet the stained area of the garment with the warm water and SPC mixture. Lay the garment flat on the towel and gently blot at the stain with a clean cotton cloth. Use a safe stain brush on most fabrics. The exceptions to this being wool and silk, because these fabrics are often more delicate. After pre-treating your stain, it can be washed normally in your machine and if you would like, you can also add a bit of SPC directly to the machine during the washing process. 

 

How to remove in-organic stains?

Next, the in-organic stains like ink are best removed using a solvent. Rubbing alcohol or more technically isopropyl alcohol is best here. Alternatively, you can also use different substances like plain vodka. Applying the alcohol on the stain with a spray bottle works well, after which point it can be gently blotted. Then wash like a normal wash as before, you can add some SPC (sodium per-carbonate) to the machine if you would like. 

Any oil stain removal, whether they are organic or inorganic in nature, is best treated as follows:

 

Dealing with the Oil Stain Removal:

Generally, oils often surround other staining substances, we will be looking at these stains sort of like a stain sandwiched within the oil layer.

To remove the oil layer, fill a spray bottle with a solution of 50 percent white vinegar and 50 percent water. Spray on the layer of the stain and then blot. The use of a brush on stains may work best here. 

Then, apply a bit of water along with laundry detergent or soap flakes and scrub again to deal with the main stain layer and for the final layer of oil, spray again with your water and vinegar solution, blot, or scrub a final time. Wash as normal with optional SPC. Finally, we are going to pay special attention to sweat stains.

 

Sweat Stains:

Yellow sweat stains on your shirt embarrass, distracts, and ruins the shirt. It definitely ruins the social life. Here we will see how to prevent and get rid of sweat stains.

Use sweat pads or seat guards under the arms inside the shirt or dress. The use of antiperspirants can prevent staining your shirt due to bacteria prone stains. Antiperspirants are applied before bedtime to let it dry, otherwise it can leave a yellow patch of stain on the clothe wore. Do not allow frequent drying of the clothing, else the stain sets in, wash it with detergent and water ASAP to avoid setting of stain.

Apply a few drops of the stain solution to the sweat stain then add a pinch of SPC, you should create a paste with either your finger or your stain brush. Let this paste sit for at least 20 minutes or longer if you prefer and then rinse it out with hot water. In fact, boiling water poured works best here then wash as normal with optional SPC. Here is a related tip to prevent stains from returning to these garments, you can spray the affected areas with your vinegar and water solution before washing them as normal in your machine. 

 

Stains on Wool and Silk Garments:

As we said earlier, these types of garments are usually more delicate in nature so you do not have to apply SPC to them directly or scrub them with a stain brush. Woolen clothes are investment pieces made to keep you warm and comfortable for years to come. Special care has to be taken to retain the shape and color while removing stains from woolen sweaters.

To remove stains on wool, first try to scrape off the stain with a blunt-edged spoon or knife if required. Soak the clothing in a mixture of vinegar and wool detergent in cool water. Tap this stain from the inside of the garment to stop the spread of the stain.

Once spotting is done, soak the garment in the cool water of wool detergent. Gently rub the stain and rinse until the soap residue is washed away.

For rinsing, place these woolen clothes on a towel and gently twist it to remove excess water.   

Similarly, like woolen clothes, silk clothes are also an investment piece and treasured and worn occasionally, for their richness and luxurious feel. 

Before attempting to remove stains or wash silk clothes always read the washing instructions on the label carefully. 

Carry out this simple silk test before washing, squeeze the silk in your hand and release, if it is high-quality silk it will smooth out quickly. This silk can normally be washed gently. Never use stain removers on silk items. Spot treatment may result in fading color and fabric damage.

Even diluted chlorine bleach can damage the silk clothes by fading the color and weakening the fabric. When silk is wet the fabric is fragile, do not twist it. Roll it in a clean white towel to squeeze out the excess water. Do not use a tumble dryer with hot steam to dry the silk.

Lime does a miracle to remove stains on silk. Mix lime juice in water, soak the stained portion in this mixture for some time, and rinse. Lime water tends to fade the color, hence rinse it immediately. If the stains are stubborn then soak the cloth in petrol and tab it with a clean white cloth. Never use a brush to remove stains on silk material, it may damage the texture of the cloth.

 

Baby food Stains:

Your baby is bound to get a spot on her clothes at some point. We will help you wipe out five common stains.

If your infant spits up then flush the area with cool water, then apply a detergent or all-purpose stain remover that contains enzymes, such as protease or amylase, directly to the stain. Check the ingredients list.

Wash the garment in warm water with an enzyme detergent and oxygen bleach combo. The best detergent for babies should be mild and with anti-bacterial properties. 

To get rid of baby food stains, soak the stain for at least 15 to 20 minutes in equal parts water and white vinegar, and rub with alcohol, using alcohol in diluted form is safe for most fabrics. If that lifts the stain, toss the item in the Washer-Extractor. If it doesn't work, then do spotting again in equal parts water and white vinegar before you wash it again.

When baby oil, cream, or petroleum jelly lands on your little one, remove any excess with a spoon, then sprinkle the spot with talcum powder to absorb the oil. Wait ten minutes, scrape the area again with the spoon, then treat it with a stain remover and toss it in the wash.

Soak formula or breast stains for a few minutes in warm water, before adding enzymes pre-soak in water. If the spot lingers, treat it with a stain remover before washing the item.

For a diaper blow out, shake any solids into the toilet, then soak the garment for at least 15 minutes in a mixture of cold water and enzyme detergent. Apply more enzyme detergent to the stain before washing it in cool water. If the stain is still there, soak it in the oxygen bleach. When the stain is gone, wash the garment in very hot water to sanitize it. Then, dry it in the sun to bleach it further.

We have tried to explain the techniques in layman’s language. We will be coming up with more tips and tricks in upcoming posts.