Thrifty Mommy

Frugal Friday 25: Thrifty Stain Removers

by Karen on September 28th, 2007

A few weeks ago, Cuddlebug snuck a red crayon into the living room and colored on the beige carpets.  What to do?  I called my frugal friend Revka and thought she might have some tips.  Indeed she did and I was inspired to share some stain removal tips with you.

1.  Crayon on carpet - Spray with WD-40 and scrub.  Follow immediately with dish soap and water or steam clean carpet.  The soap removes the WD-40.

2.  Ballpoint ink -  Place a paper towel or rag under the stain and then saturate the stain with an alcohol-based hair spray or rubbing alcohol, which will help to break up the ink.  The paper towel will help to absorb the excess hairspray/alcohol or stain if it starts to run.  Then blot the stain with a rag.  Continue these steps until the stain is removed and then wash as normal.  (You may want to test the hairspray on an inconspicuous area first.)

3.  Chocolate - Mix detergent and warm water together and blot the stain.  Next, blot the area with ammonia and water.  Clean the area again with the detergent solution.  Then, clean the area again with clean water (no soap).  Repeat as necessary until stain is gone.  I found out the hard way that this does work!

4.  Chewing gum - Put ice cubes in a plastic bag and place on gum stain.  You could even try to put the whole garment into the freezer.  Crack or scrape off excess gum.  Spray the stain with a pretreatment product.  Rub with a heavy-duty liquid detergent such as Wisk, Gain, or Tide.  Rinse with hot water.  Repeat until stain is gone.  If stain will not come out, then try using liquid lighter fluid (test first).  Put lighter fluid on a clean cloth and rub over the remaining gum.  Wash as normal.

5.  Lipstick - Remove any excess, then rub in glycerine or petroleum jelly.  If stain persists use grease solvent or stain remover.  Wash as normal. 

For small and fresh stains - Spray the stain with a stain remover such as Shout! or apply liquid laundry detergent or powdered detergent mixed with water to make a paste.  Remember to blot and sponge the stain.  Sponge from the outside of the stain toward the inside to keep the stain from spreading.

Other tips: 

If you have a mystery stain, soak the fabric in cold water before washing or applying a stain remover.  Some stains will set with warm water. 

Sponge a stain, don’t rub it.  Rubbing sometimes damages the fabric.

Read clothing labels!  If it says no bleach, then don’t do it. 

Wash delicates in zippered mesh bags.  You can usually get these at the dollar store. 

Don’t heat dry or iron your clothes until you know the stain is gone.  This will cause the stains to set.

Please share your stain removing tips with us!   :)

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