Stains are a fact of life when it comes to kids-or grownups that forget and weed the garden on their knees in their good jean capris.
Sigh.
Ok, so no one is perfect! Before you run out and buy some expensive stain remover, try this frugal stain soak and see how it works for you.
Frugal Stain Soak
note: this soak depends on the work of the enzymes in the dishwasher detergent and works best on organic stains. If you’ve got permanent marker on your clothes you could always try it, but I wouldn’t count on it doing much.
Ingredients:
1/2 C Powdered Dishwasher Detergent (the most basic kind you can find-no bells and whistles)
1 scoop Oxyclean or similar product
-In your washer with the hottest water you can combine the ingredients and your stained items.
-Soak overnight-or a minimum of 7 hours.
-Add your laundry soap and wash as usual.
Does it work? Well you tell me:
When you look at the jeans in person, you can see a very very faint beige tinge to the pants on the knees-but only I would ever notice it.
I’ve heard folks say that this soak works particularly well on baby clothes, even the ones with those mysterious stains that weren’t there when you packed the baby clothes away but somehow appeared during storage. I’ve also read that folks who buy antique linens at estate sales and such to resell use a similar formula-but you better do some research before you soak anything valuable or antique in the solution.
Do you have a favorite stain removal remedy?
a loose paste of baking soda and peroxide works really good on blood. I always spot test on newer clothes as peroxide can sometimes fade items.
I pretreat with Dawn dishsoap. It has to be Dawn, it gets out any kind on oil type of stain, really good for spilling a little dinner on your self. I have even used it on older stains with good results. Dab a little on, rub it with a soft toothbrush (one set aside for just ths purpose), and then launder when ready. I think the longer it sits the better it is.
I’ve got a white baseball jersey that has some mystery stains on it…….it’s just CRYING out for me to try this soak on it. Thanks Jenn!
What if it’s a garment that usually is washed in cold water? Does soaking it in hot cause it to fade?
I use a similar recipe. One cup Cascade powder + one cup Clorox 2 powder. Mix in a 5 gallon plastic bucket with hot water and soak clothes for several hours or overnight. The only problem I’ve run into occasionally is that some colors bleed so I do all the whites separately.
It’s because you’re using hot water. Hot water tends to set stains. If you add a cup of vinegar to the mix of cascade, clorox 2, and water it will set the colors so that the colors stay.
Hi Jenn! Thanks for stopping by and commenting on my patio furniture! I love this soaking tip and will definitely try it. I have generally found that a nice long soak will lift out lots of stains, but I never thought to use dishwashing detergent – brilliant! As for the enzymes, I recently read a tip about using meat tenderizer to pre-treat stubborn stains but I haven’t had a chance to try it yet. Thanks!
Brooke
Wow, that’s impressive! I’ve got to try it out! 🙂