Stains can easily ruin an item of furniture or a carpet, and if you share your home with kids, pets or even clumsy folk, you’ll understand the horrors of stains that you simply can’t get rid of.
However, there are some ways to help eliminate spillages before they get the chance to turn into a permanent stain, as you’ll see below:
Getting rid of coffee stains
As with all of these stain removal tips, time is of the essence, and the faster you respond to a spillage, the better the outcome will be – provided you use the right cleaning methods, that is!
To successfully eliminate a coffee stain, try any one of the following three tips:
- For fresh coffee stains – simply run water over the area. For carpets, saturate with water and blot the stain away
- For dried coffee stains – apply laundry detergent to the affected area and scrub gently using a toothbrush. Leave it for ten minutes, then rinse well with warm water.
- For stubborn coffee stains – combine a teaspoon of white vinegar with laundry detergent to make a paste and apply it to the stain. Rub gently with a toothbrush, let sit for five minutes before rinsing thoroughly.
Getting rid of wine stains
Use white vinegar to neutralize a red wine stain (soak it in vinegar, rinse and leave to dry), and if the stain is on a white fabric, you can use bleach to eliminate it, although this is most effective on dried stains.
Note, however, that heat shouldn’t be applied to any cleaning agent you use, as this will cause the stain to set.
Getting rid of ketchup stains
Remove any excess ketchup from the item first with the back of a butter knife, before running it under the sink with plenty of cold water. Always run the water through the back of the stain, not the front. Then, mix a teaspoon of laundry detergent with half a glass of cold water and rub the solution into the stain with a microfiber cloth before rinsing with cold water.
If the stain is stubborn, try blotting it with white vinegar, then placing the item on a delicate, cold water cycle in your machine.
Getting rid of bloodstains
Cold water and hand soap is great for removing blood from fabrics, but Hydrogen Peroxide is even better. Reacting with the iron in the blood, it breaks it down into easy-to-clean particles. Rinse in cold water once the peroxide has been applied to the stain, and only put the item through the dryer once the stain has completely gone, otherwise the heat will set it.
Stains don’t have to ruin a perfectly good item of clothing or spoil a carpet in your home, but you must remember to act fast, the minute a spillage occurs.
