The Busy Mom's Guide to Stain Removal

Posted on 05/05/2023

Stain Removal Hacks Every Mom Should Know

The tasks in your schedule never end - work, family, home cleaning, cooking … There is always something on your mind and something that you have to do. Often you are in need of extra time or, alternatively, in need of a more efficient way of doing things.

Well, as far as cleaning is concerned you can rest assured that there are many proven methods that can help you deal with certain situations. Stains in particular are one problem every busy mom encounters several times (or more) each month. Knowing how to handle some of the most common stains you see when you live with children goes a long way in ensuring that you stay on top of the situation and never stress yourself. So here are 5 of the most common stains your children might force you to deal with:

-    Grass stains on clothes - you should do everything in your power to encourage your children to do some outdoors sport activities. Whether it’s football, baseball, basketball or practically anything that involves physical activity, you will be glad to see your little ones leading an active and healthy life. Dealing with the grass stains on their clothes is not going to seem so problematic for you then, especially if you know the best stain removal methods. First, you should pre-treat the stain with powder laundry detergent containing enzymes and water. Launder the clothes in the hottest water the fabric allows, and add chlorine bleach or color safe bleach depending on the type of clothes.

-    Crayon stain on the upholstery - you left your little artists with their crayons and coloring books for just 5 minutes and next thing you know they have taken their creativity on the upholstery. Don’t panic. Use a spoon or dull knife to scrape off excess crayon from the fabric. Make sure the crayon is hard, by freezing it with an ice cube. For treating the stain on the carpet, you can sponge the area with a dry cleaning solvent. Blot until the solvent is absorbed.

-    Chocolate stains on clothes - everyone loves chocolate! Even clothes, seeing as how they can accumulate rather big chocolate stains, especially during Halloween. To perform effective stain removal, you must first scrape off any excess chocolate. Be careful not to spread the yummy goodness even further though! Before you put the item for washing, pretreat it with a stain remover. Run it through the hottest cycle and use chlorine bleach or color safe bleach, depending on the type of clothing you are cleaning.

-    Ink stains on the skin - well… there is really no need to delve deeper into any scenario that explains how your children got ink all over their hands, forehead and so on. If you are worried about what action to take, there are some safe methods you can try out. Baby wipes do a great job at cleaning ink stains from the skin and so does toothpaste. One thing you can also try is jam - put some on the stain, wipe it and rinse the area with water thoroughly.

-    Ketchup stains on the tablecloth - food wars are sometimes real and it is you that has to deal with the consequences. The way to get the red stains off your tablecloth is to run the fabric under cold water after scraping as much of the ketchup as possible. Soak the tablecloth in cold water and add liquid laundry detergent. Rinse in cold water again and launder. If the damage is more severe, you can sponge the stained area with vinegar before you launder the tablecloth. This should do the trick.

You will certainly make your life easier when you know these cleaning hacks. These are stains that are highly possible when you have young children in your home. Knowing how to tackle the stains is truly a blessing.