Bridal 911: Stain Removal

It is your wedding day and everything is running perfectly. You have been planning this day for months now, and it is running smoothing up until now. Your eyes grow out of shock after noticing a big-nasty stain on your beautiful-white gown. Through all the stress of wedding planning and the pressure of knowing you will soon be married, you try to remain calm and search for simple-quick solutions to remove your gowns' blemish.

Get ready to identify your stain and make it disappear!

Stain Number 1 (Culprit: Oily Food)

We all know that oily food is a classic apparel killer, and, although we can't prevent this mishap, we can help make it less noticeable. Talcum powder is your best option for this type of stain. It will absorb your oily mess within minutes and make the oil stain less noticeable. Leave the powder to sit on the stain about 10 minutes and then shake off.

Stain Number 2 (Culprit: Ink)

Ink stains are the most common stains when it comes to clothing and we all hate them! You never know when an ink pen is going to spring a leak all over you, and it's too late by the time it happens. Best way to get rid of your inky situation is to pull out the hairspray. That's right, hairspray.

Test the hairspray on a very small portion of your dress before applying to a large-more noticeable area. Every fabric is different, and some more touchy than others. Continue to care for your stain if the hairspray didn't damage your gown. Hold a cloth behind the stained portion of your dress and spray lightly with the hairspray. It is best to wait at least 5 minutes before removing the hairspray. To remove the hairspray from your dress, gently dab the area with a damp cloth. Do not rub the area! This will only make the stain spread.

Stain Number 3 (Culprit: Blood)

Let's face it. We're all humans and every single one of us have blood flowing through are veins. You never know when something might happen and cause you to bleed, so you must be prepared for everything!

First you need to identify the bleeder. Is your own blood or someone else's? Whoever is the bleeder, you need their saliva on a cloth and then dab that cloth onto the blood. This removes blood stains 90% of the time. If the blood is dry or almost dry, go to the next step and wet a cloth with cold water and damp the blood stain with the cloth.

Now I know this sounds completely cheesy, but if you're desperate enough you'll give it a try. You can always try to hide the stain-blemish as you would if you had a blemish; cover up. Try to cover up any of the stain that may be left behind after you have tried both of the above. This can be done quickly with chalk. This is way harder if you're wearing gowns that are not colored white.

Stain Number 4 (Culprit: Lipstick)

Okay, so lipstick is very common at weddings. The best way to hide a lipstick stain on your gown is to apply baking soda (assuming you're wearing white) to the stain, let sit a couple minutes, and shake off. This will help to eliminate the stains' appearance.

All of these stain hiding solutions should be used as a last resort; complete must! Seek help from a professional dry cleaner if you have time, but, if you don't, I wish you the best of luck getting your stain(s) out.