Child eating ice cream

Summer Stains

by Laundry

The summer months are for getting out and about and enjoying the lovely weather.  We all enjoy a good picnic in the park or a family BBQ. But with summer fun comes dirt and stains.  I have jotted down some of my quick stain removal hacks for you.

Grass is one of the biggest stains over the summer especially on children’s clothing

Grass stains on clothes can be removed with a toothbrush and plain white toothpaste; Squeeze a small amount of the toothpaste onto the stain, then dip the toothbrush in clean cold water and use it to scrub away the stain. Repeat this process as needed to treat all of the stain. Rinse the area and wash the clothing as usual.

Mud

Don’t rub mud because that only pushes the soil deeper into the fibres. As soon as possible, hold the stained areas under a tap of running cold water. Hold the fabric with the wrong side of the stain directly under the tap to force the mud out of the fibres. Then put a spot of washing up liquid onto the stain and wash as normal.

If your washing a muddy sports kits soak in a bucket of cold water along with a good squirt of washing up liquid and then put in the washing machine as normal.

Ice Cream

If your like me you will carry around antibacterial wipes or you will have my handy handbag cleaning pack so you can act quick with an ice cream stain, a quick blot with the wipes and the stain will be halfway out. Once home pop some washing up liquid onto the area and then wash as hot as possible to get the stain fully out.

Oil Off Bike Chains

We all enjoy a good long bike ride in the summer but there is always that risk that the chain may come off and then you are left you have to put this back on and get your hands all greasy which in turn can easily transfer onto your clothes. My advice is to not treat with plain water as this will help set the stain. Place the clothing face down on clean paper towels and apply a stain remover to the back, I like the vanish stain remover or the OXY plus from Astonish  is also a good choice. Let the clothing air-dry, then rinse. Machine wash, using the hottest water recommended for the clothing and this should hopefully come out for you.

Blood

We have all been there, a play at the park turns into a cut, graze of a t-shirt covered in blood!!  The joys of being a parent a fast fix is to wet and soak the fabric in cold water, then rub with a bar of soap as soon as you get home.  Then put in the washing machine on the hottest washing cycle your clothing will take.

Tea and coffee Stains

Beautiful sunny afternoon so lets meet for a coffee or a cuppa and oops someone knocks the drinks over.  Tea and coffee all over the table and all over you!  But don’t despair, The stain will come out with a little sugar.

Mix up a solution of heavily sugared water by stirring the water as you add sugar to it. Keep adding sugar until it no longer dissolves. Then submerge the stained area for several minutes in a small container of the heavily sugared water, then wash as normal. This is such an old fashioned cleaning tip and I remember my great Nan doing this to my Mum when I will a child and it worked like a treat.  Its so surprising that kitchen cupboard items can really help!

Well I hope this quick stain removal guide will give you a stain free and clean summer.

Enjoy the glorious weather and don’t worry about those stains too much as we will get them out.

see more of my cleaning tips and advice by clicking here

Thanks for reading.
Lynsey Queen of Clean xoxo

egg

The messiest stains at Easter Time

by Laundry

Who doesn’t love chocolate Easter Eggs?

The Easter weekend is a traditional a time to give out chocolate eggs and let the kids go crazy with Easter Egg hunts and mountains of delicious chocolate and Easter cakes.

As yummy as chocolate is, Chocolate will stain over the easter period along with other stains such as grass stains, mud, butter from delicious hot cross buns and sticky finger marks.  

If you catch the stains quickly they don’t tend to be a problem and my stain busting guide has most of them covered.

But when left untreated for a few hours they can become hard to shift as the stain will absorb itself into the fabric.

I have put together a few very simple tips to help you tackle those Easter weekend stains.

Grass Stains

To remove ground in tough grass stains from children’s clothes.  Simply add a Stain remover and leave to soak for at least 15 minutes before washing as normal.

 If you don’t have a stain treatment to hand then good old washing up liquid or using a liquid laundry detergent as a pretreat should work.  Once you have left the soap to soak into the garment then, get a toothbrush and gentle rub over the stain to work the liquid into the area. Finally add to your washing machine and pop on the highest temperature the garment will take.

If you are out and about when the stain hits, grab your hand sanitiser and cover as much of the stain as possible.

If your stain has not been completely lifted after washing, you may want to consider using rubbing alcohol or hairspray. The reason why is that the alcohol found in these products breaks down the green pigments in grass stains.

If you are using rubbing alcohol, dab a small amount onto a clean cloth, and gently sponge it over your stain. When you see the colour lifting, rinse your garment in cold water and continue with the usual removal process. 

To use hairspray, spray a liberal amount over your stain and wait for it to completely dry. Once it has dried, used a soft-bristled brush, such as a toothbrush to scrub at your stain. When you notice the colour begin to fade, flush out the hairspray with cold water. 

Butter 

Hot cross buns are complimented perfectly when topped with a generous amount of butter. If you accidentally drop some butter on your clothing, don’t panic, simply follow these instructions. 

If your butter stain has been caused by a blob of butter, begin the removal process by using a butter knife or spoon to gently lift as much solid butter as possible.

After you have removed any solid bits of butter, use a clean white cloth, or paper towel, to gently dab the stain. Make sure that you are dabbing and not rubbing, as rubbing will cause your stain to set further into your clothing.

Once you have removed as much excess oil from the stain as possible, sprinkle a generous amount of either cornstarch, bicarbonate of soda, chalk or talcum powder over your stain. Allow your powder to sit on your stain for at least 15 minutes to give it an ample amount of time to absorb as much oil as possible. After 15 minutes, gently brush the powder off of your item. 

Next cover the stain with either your liquid laundry detergent or washing up liquid and gently work into the stain using your fingers.

Finally, wash your item as you usually would. If your stain has not been removed, repeat the process. 

Mud Stains

Pre-soak the garment as soon as possible in a bowl of cold water with 3 heaped tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda for approx one hour.  Then pop in the wash as normal with the highest temperature the garment will allow.

Chocolate stains

Gently wipe as much of the excess chocolate as you can, taking care not to push the stain deeper into the fibres. You can use a blunt knife or credit card for this. Then flush out as much chocolate as you can using cold running water from the back of the stain. Make sure that you are using cold and not hot water because hot water will only set your chocolate stain further into your clothing. 

Soak in a solution of detergent and warm water for at least 30 minutes before washing as usual at the highest temperature allowed.

Want to learn more crazy cleaning tips then then grab a copy of one of my books and I will show you how to clean your house and tidy up your life