How to Remove Stains

If you have ever spilled Kool-Aid on the front of your new white shirt, you may have wondered how to remove stains from your clothing. The good news is that you can remove stains without expensive products. It's easier that you ever expected.

Before attacking the stain, wash the garment with a load of clothes. At this stage, you do not have to do anything special to the stain. The only rule is that you must use cold water.

When the load of laundry is done, separate the stained article from the rest. Do not place the stained item in the dryer with the other clothes. The reason you have just washed the item, with no special treatment, is to determine whether the stain has been removed (fully or partially).

You might be pleasantly surprised to find that the stain easily and completely disappeared without effort. Never go through the bother of pre-treating or scrubbing a stain before trying a regular wash first. Most stains are really not stains at all. They are just soiled areas of the fabric.

If the stain was not removed at this stage, you can move on to the next stage of stain removal. Pre-treat the damp item with regular laundry detergent. You do not need a special product marketed toward stain removal. Pour the detergent, full-strength, on the stain. Rub the detergent into the spot by rubbing the fabric between the heels of your palms. If the stain seems particularly nasty, you can gently rub the soap into the fibers of the fabric with a toothbrush. Do not use a toothbrush if the fabric is particularly delicate.

The next step is to simply let the item sit untouched for 2 days. When you are ready to do another load of laundry (after the 2 day minimum), just throw the item in with the wash. Once again, do not use hot water.

The stain will be gone when you remove the item from the wash. This method is so simple and effective. It has never been known to fail. When people try to remove stains, they tend to use overkill. Expensive pre-treaters and stain removers are a waste of money. Excessive scrubbing is a waste of time. Hot water will set the stain into the fabric and make it more difficult to remove. That is the same reason you cannot dry the item until the stain is gone. The heat from the clothes dryer will "cook" the stain into the clothing.

If you follow these instructions on how to remove stains, your wardrobe will look new and refreshingly stain-free.