Remove the Worst Food Stains Out Of Your Clothes With These Easy Cleaning Hacks
When it comes to removing food stains from clothing, many people tend to be unsuccessful until they apply a method that has some scientific basis. For the most part, food stains are caused by the interaction of organic compounds with cotton blend fabrics, which create a molecular process that must be broken up for the purpose of removing the stain.
Time is of the essence when treating garments that have been subject to food stains. In all cases, the ideal first step would be to pour cold water from the faucet on the opposite side of the stain. This breaks up the long molecules into shorter chemical chains and prevents them from spreading.
Coffee and Tea Stains
Since water by itself is an inorganic compound, it needs a solvent to completely remove the stain. To this effect, a mixture of laundry detergent, preferably liquid, and cold water can be effective when allowed to sit on the affected spot for about five minutes.
Another helpful method that involves cold water is to submerge the garment in a tub while using your fingers to rub out the stain. When dealing with coffee stains, it is better to simply let the piece of clothing soak for 30 minutes.
Ketchup and Tomato Stains
Ketchup stains require scraping off the sauce with a butter knife before applying dish soap to the affected spot and letting it sit for about a minute. Next, a few drops of white vinegar should do the trick before soaking the garment in cold water.
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Pizza and Greasy Stains
Oil and greasy stains require a blotting agent such as a paper towel. The next step is to apply enough sodium bicarbonate, also known as baking soda, to cover the stain. What follows is the application of a reagent, which in household situations would be club soda. The last step involves rinsing with cold water and rubbing out any stain remnants.
Another blotting agent that works similar to baking soda is corn starch, which is an ingredient found in household stain removers. Using an old toothbrush instead of your fingers adds efficiency to the process, but it must not be used too forcefully.
Certain cotton-blend fabrics may react better to warm water instead of cold H20. This is often the case with food stains caused by peanut butter. The exception to this would be wine stains, which should always be removed with cold water.
Do you know of any other efficient methods to remove stains?
