Tips to Remove Red Stains

It inevitably will happen to someone at your table every year. Whether it be Aunt Ida, Uncle Fred, your toddler or you, cranberry sauce will spatter down from the table into a lap. This year is was me (and I was only passing it along).

After I returned from quickly dabbing at the stain with a warm washcloth and some liquid detergent, the conversation turned towards the nightmare of red stains and what each of us do to remove them from our lives.

Get the red out- hairspray- more than just a musical

Do you remember the Aqua net days? When you would spray so much hair spray that your hair could literally break a brick wall? Really, was that just me? It was so the 80's and I wanted my hair to stay! I have a new use for hairspray, since I so seldom use it nowadays at all. In fact, the one lone pump bottle in our home is actually stored on the shelf near the washing machine. If I notice a smear of lipstick on something... then I spray a bit of hairspray on it and launder as usual. As long as I notice (or someone! Hint hint to my family members) quickly enough, then the stain will be removed.

Get the red out- the secret ingredient: acetone

The holidays are here and for my daughter that means...time to break out the scarlet red nail polish and paint her finger and toenails (and mine... and her grandmother's). She has since perfected this wonderful feat but in earlier years... disaster struck several times. She had some friends over one day and lo and be hold they played make up and fashion diva. With the scarlet red polish. The top was not screwed on, and later the bottle was knocked over... all over the bedspread. Nail polish remover on a damp cloth blotted from the back of the stain forced the polish to bleed onto the damp cloth. The stain was removed. Thankfully.

Get the red out- alcohol- more than just for drinking during the holidays

Your home is filled with friends and family... all over to admire the new hardwood floors you just had installed. A friend comments that there, over there in the far left corner near your schoolwork desk and papers a single red marker stain in noticeable. And you thought you had maneuvered all the furniture to hide that. Your friend tells you that rubbing alcohol will remove the stain, followed with a rinse of cold water. What do you know... the stain is gone. In addition, you will be more careful about placing the cap back on your red grading marker.

Get the red out- dueling wines

Are you a red wine only drinker? You might want to keep a bottle of white wine around, just in case. If red wine spills on the tablecloth, immediately soak with white wine. The chemicals neutralize each other, making the red stain easier to erase. Follow up with regular laundry detergent.