Laundry Tips: 6 Weird Ways to Remove Stains

Stains are a common (and unfortunate) part of life. While your Maytag washer likely does a wonderful job when it comes to washing your clothes, sometimes you may need to help out a bit when it comes to a particularly bad ink mark or grease stain.

Unfortunately, stain remover is not always on hand, and sometimes it isn’t the best option anyway. Not to worry though, there are plenty of household products that can help you quickly and easily remove stains, and get on with your life.

Here are a few laundry stain tips to help you in a pinch.

Hairspray

Whether you need an emergency treatment because the kids found your hidden permanent marker or you are trying to save a favorite shirt after an unfortunate run-in with a broken ink pen, hairspray has the potential to save the day. Simply spray the ink stains with this magical hairstyle-holding, ink-removing substance and watch them disappear before your eyes.

Milk

Another great option for removing ink stains likes to hang out in your fridge. While milk is an amazing source of calcium, it is also one powerful tool when it comes to ink stain removal. Give your ink-stained shirts, sheets, and skirts an overnight milk bath to remove stains and then wash as usual to remove the milk.

Cola

If you have kids running around your house, you have likely had your own fair share of blood stains make their way into your laundry baskets. The next time your son gets a bloody nose or your little girl scrapes her knee, try soaking the blood stains in cola. While soda pop isn’t exactly what you might think of when you think about cleaning clothing, this trick really does work.

Artificial Sweetener

Grease stains are a stubborn part of life for anyone who cooks. The next time bacon grease manages to jump out of the pan and onto your favorite shirt, grab the artificial sweetener. By blotting a bit of this sweetness on the grease you can pull oils out of fabric and remove grease stains in no time at all. How sweet is that?

Dawn Dish Soap

Dawn is one of the best-selling dish soaps for a reason: It’s the absolute best soap for removing grease. This isn’t just true for dishes either—Dawn can be used on clothing to remove tough grease as well. If the artificial sweetener trick above doesn’t completely remove a grease stain, try rubbing a tiny bit of Dawn dish soap on the affected area to pull out the oils and remove the stain.

Shampoo

The next time you find a ring around the collar of your favorite work shirt, use shampoo. Shampoo is made to break down body oils in your hair, so it stands to reason that it can do the same for fabric. Rub a bit of cheap shampoo on the ring around your collar and watch as it works its magic and completely removes any evidence of a ring.

As a general rule, keep in mind that it is always best to blot—not rub—when removing a stain. Forcefully rubbing can cause the stain to become more deeply ingrained in the fabric, and thus more difficult to get out.

Of course, your washing machine plays a crucial role in making sure all of your clothes remain stain-free. For this reason, if you ever find that your machine is not working like it should, it is important to call in a professional right away.

Here at Fred’s Appliance Repair we pride ourselves on our exceptional quality of service, and would be happy to fix any issue you may be dealing with.  These tips are not available for troubleshooting.

Please contact us today for more information.