Removing Stains

Most candles tend to drip as they burn. If they aren't kept on surface intended to catch melted wax such as a candle holder with a rim around the base or on tin foil with the sides folded up, then...

It's been said image is everything, and that certainly applies to the world of cheerleading. No cheerleader wants to go to a game or competition with a uniform that has stains. The good news is...

If you’ve ever had to try to get chocolate stains out of a white shirt, you know how hard it can be. You can buy commercial stain removers, of course, but they don’t always work well on chocolate...

You get home from a party or a day at the office, take off your clothes and realize there is a lip-gloss stain on your favorite white shirt. Whether you accidentally did it yourself or it resulted...

Whether making mud pies or splashing in muddy puddles, it seems to be a common occurrence for children to get mud on their shoes and clothes. If you've ever tried getting mud out of clothing, you...

If you have recently purchased a suit, dress or blouse made of polyester or a poly blend, consider this cleaning fact: Fabrics constructed of these wrinkle-resistant fibers are durable and...

Outdoor activities are no picnic if your clothes suffer an unexpected attack from pollen spores, which can leave stubborn stains. You can eliminate these yellow outdoor offenders from your pants,...

It is sometimes difficult to get that dry, set-in stain out of your favorite clothing. You can remove the stain, but it will take patience and a little elbow grease. The type of stain will dictate...

Therapy Putty, similar to Silly Putty, is a silicone polymer clay that squishes into shapes, stretches and bounces. It has a tacky hardness to it and a wet and glossy finish. Therapy Putty is...

It happens to every cook, eventually. You may be coloring icing, cookie dough, or a beverage and you splash food coloring on your clothing. Usually, washing your clothing with your normal laundry...

When fabric is left moist for a period of time, mold may develop. Favorable conditions for mold to develop include the presence of water, oxygen, nutrients and warm temperatures. If mold is not...

If you are a smoker, live with someone who smokes or have visited a venue where smoking occurred, there's a good chance your clothes have nicotine stains. Other fabrics such as linens and curtains...

Heat-sealed patches have been a popular sew-free garment addition for years. Their uses range from the most practical repairs to name tags to stylish embellishments. Heat-sealed patches have been...

The task of removing an old stain from your favorite dress can be tricky. It can take a long time to remove the stain, depending on the length of time the stain has remained on the dress. The...

Nothing in a summer garden is as enticing as the fragrance of stargazers and other lilies. That delightful scent, unfortunately, can be as perilous as it is alluring, since lily pollen will stain...

The process of removing petroleum jelly stains from clothing is not easy. Petroleum jelly, often called by the brand name Vaseline, is a substance that can stick to surfaces, potentially causing...

One of the few problems with synthetic fabrics is the issue of stain removal. These fabrics are often delicate and have special care instructions that set them apart from basics such as cotton....

Rust ranks right up there with red wine as one of the most difficult stains to remove from pants and other clothing. But don't toss out those pricey designer jeans or khakis just yet. Rust stains...

If you live in an area with hard water, you may experience your white clothes turning gray. Hard water is filled with minerals that can leave a gray film on your clothes if it mixes with soap,...

Bleach stains can be removed from clothing, but results are not always successful when the fabric is black or dark. The bleach must be attended to quickly. Sodium thiosulfate counteracts the...

Leather clothing and furniture fabrics are among the most sensitive and difficult to maintain in your home. When they become stained with greasy substances like olive oil, salad dressing or pizza...

Accidents are bound to happen. Stains of all kinds show up on your clothes and carpets. Home remedies and anecdotes from creative sources may be helpful, but when you've got a stain like diesel...

Henna ink is a mixture of water and henna paste traditionally used to create temporary tattoos. This mixture is meant to penetrate materials and stain very deeply, so that it remains on the skin...

Getting gum on your favorite blouse can be a scary moment. Whether you blew a bubble too big that popped and got on your shirt, or sat down on a park bench where someone decided to leave you a...

Many different materials can cause stains on your clothing. Ink, chocolate, grass and blood can all cause stains that can potentially ruin a garment. Rust, formed by the oxidization of metals, can...

Paintball is a competitive sport in which players eliminate opponents by hitting them with pellets of paint fired from a marker gun. The paint used in the pellets is biodegradable, non-toxic and...

Patent leather is high gloss leather that is shiny in appearance and is frequently used by designers when creating shoes and purses. Cleaning and maintaining the material typically requires the...

A stain is truly fabric's natural enemy---it infiltrates, it damages, it holds tight and doesn't let go. But fear not, for stains are a foe that may yet be vanquished. The trick is to know thy...

Stain removal can be challenging when your water is the culprit. Water with iron particles in it, usually due to older water pipes, can stain your clothes with rust colored spots. If you also have...

Dry erase markers create a mark that can easily be removed from a nonporous surface such as a dry erase white board. If a dry erase marker gets on clothing, however, the mark is not as easy to...

If you have kids, there's a good chance that at some point during their growing-up years, you will experience the joys of cleaning crayon stains on their clothing. Crayons are wax-based, making it...

When candy or gum stain clothing, they create one of the more difficult stains to remove with basic cleaning methods. Candy and gum often stick to fabric in thick masses and sink into the clothing...

Blood contains proteins, which can make removing bloodstains from clothing difficult. When the proteins in blood are exposed to heat, they can clot and sink between the different layers of the...

Successful stain removal is a science that relies on a variety of factors, especially the ingredients of the stain and the type of fabric or material. Water-based stains tend to be easier than...

Whether you've had a sticker on your shirt all day from donating at the blood drive, or your child comes home from her friend's house covered head to toe in stickers, getting sticker adhesive off...

Hot glue is a convenient way to glue craft items together, including fabric. But what happens when you accidentally get hot glue on an item of clothing or other fabric that isn't part of the...

All parents know that a good mud puddle is a hard thing to resist. Unfortunately, the mud stains that can result can be stubborn and difficult to remove from clothing, but there are ways to return...

Paint is much easier to remove from a coat if treated within six to eight hours of the stain event, according to Ohio State University's Information Extension. Once the paint fully dries, extra...

Have you spilled ink on your sweatshirt? Is it ruined? The short answer is no. Don't throw that sweatshirt out. There is a common household item that can do the trick. If you follow these steps as...

Kids love to chew gum, and it's a treat you might let them enjoy now and then. The trouble is what happens all too often: A wad of gum lands on a shirt or skirt and makes a sticky mess. It's not...

If you have kids, you know that blood stains are a common problem with their clothing. From random nosebleeds to bike accidents to sports injuries, those little red spots of doom can be...

When crayons are in the hands of children, you never know where the colors may end up. It is rather easy to forget you are holding the crayon and accidentally strike your clothing with the crayon....

At first glance, ink stains can seem to make a shirt useless. As easily as accidental ink stains occur, they can be cleaned. Cleaning an ink stain from a shirt is easier when you follow a simple...

Maybe you are a professional painter. Maybe you work at a home supply store that mixes paint. Maybe you enjoy attempting to recreate a decorating scheme you saw on a home improvement TV show....

Cotton is undoubtedly used more often in clothing than any other fabric materials, making it more likely for you to spill on or stain cotton clothing. This includes ink stains from pens. It is...

Ink pens are handy, but the stains they can leave on clothing and furniture can be very discouraging. You may think there is no way to remove that stain, but there is a common household item that...

A smudge of ballpoint ink can make an eyesore on your favorite acrylic sweater. Fortunately, a combination of elbow grease and savvy laundering can restore your sweater to its former state.

Washing your favorite jeans with an ink pen in the pocket is no longer a crises. You do not need to rush out and buy a new pair of jeans because you think they are ruined. There is a way to get...

It's bound to happen sooner or later. It's the accidental spill, not paying attention, or an arm bump and a stain appears on your clothing at the most inconvenient time. Stains come in all forms...

Buying white shoes is always a gamble. They get dirty quickly, and anything will stain them, including the dirt on the road, food dropped on them by accident, scuff marks from the shoes rubbing...