Gaby
You don’t need harsh chemicals to get rid of old, stubborn stains—many solutions are hiding in your pantry or medicine cabinet.
Dirt and Dust
Start by scrubbing the stained area with a damp brush. Once it dries, wash the spot with warm, soapy water. If the stain remains, try a vinegar solution (3 tablespoons of vinegar per 1/2 liter of water). For items that can’t be washed, treat the stain with a 10–12% hydrogen peroxide solution.
Perspiration
Sweat stains contain inorganic salts (sulfates, phosphates, and the like), organic acids, urea, fats, cholesterol, and other compounds that can damage wool and silk and break down dyes. To remove them, use a solution of hyposulfite (1 teaspoon per 1 cup of water) and rinse with warm, boiled water. For sweat stains on wool, use a strong solution of salt and ammonia. For silk linings, treat sweat stains with equal parts ammonia and denatured alcohol.
Blood
Blood carries protein plus fats, carbohydrates, pigments, and nitrogenous compounds (amino acids, etc.). Rinse fresh blood stains first with cold water, then with warm, soapy water. Before washing, soak fabrics that have blood stains for a few hours. For old blood stains, dab first with an ammonia solution (1 teaspoon per 1 cup of water), then with a borax solution (1 teaspoon per 1 cup of water), and finally wash in warm water. For delicate silk, remove blood using starch mixed with cold water into a dough-like paste; shake off the starch afterward and wash the item.
Grease and Oil
For greasy collar spots, wipe with a cotton pad soaked in a salt solution with 10% ammonia (5 g of salt per 25 g of ammonia). Sprinkle salt on the grease and blot with bread, replacing the salt until the stain fades. For fish oil stains, try water mixed with vinegar. On synthetic fabrics, sprinkle starch over the grease, rub with a damp cloth, let dry, then brush off the starch. For velvet, gently tap the grease spot with a linen bag filled with sand. Fresh greasy stains on light fabrics can be treated immediately by sprinkling chalk powder, leaving it for 2–4 hours, then shaking it off. Oil stains can also be treated with kerosene, followed by washing the item in warm, soapy water. There are many home recipes for removing greasy stains depending on the fabric and situation.
Milk and Eggs
Egg stains must be treated right away because the proteins can set into insoluble compounds. Remove them with water mixed with ammonia or a glycerin-ammonia mixture. Heat glycerin to 40 degrees Celsius, apply it to the stain, scrub with a brush, let sit for 20 minutes, then wash the item. For milk and ice cream stains on wool, rinse immediately with soapy water or glycerin. On colored fabrics, apply a mix of 2 tablespoons glycerin, 2 tablespoons water, and a few drops of ammonia; place the stained item between two layers of white cotton and iron.
Resin
Fresh oil-resin stains can be removed with gasoline or solvents; old tar and oil-paint stains often require turpentine. On dark wool, turpentine usually works well; on white fabrics, try soapy alcohol. Scrape off excess resin, then soak in a 1:1 mix of alcohol and turpentine. Iron the fabric through absorbent paper and blot dry. If a halo appears around the stain, take the item to a professional cleaner—dry cleaning may be the only fix.
Kerosene
Kerosene stains on wool can be treated with gasoline; cotton fabrics can be washed in warm, soapy water, rinsed, and ironed while still warm. For light fabrics, treat kerosene stains with a solution of ammonia and water (1:8).
Tea, Coffee, Chocolate
These stains contain fat, protein, dye, and tannins. Wipe them with glycerin or an ammonia solution, or rinse with very salty water. For old stains on white fabrics, use hydrogen peroxide and wait 15 minutes, then rinse with cold water. Wash the item in warm, soapy water (use 1/2 teaspoon of soda or 1 teaspoon of ammonia per 1 liter of water), then rinse twice—once with warm water and once with cold water acidified with vinegar.
Beer, Wine, Berries
Fresh beer, wine, or berry stains can often be removed with a paste of water and salt—after about half an hour, rinse with soapy water and then rinse again. For red wine and berry stains on colored fabrics, try a mixture of glycerin and raw egg yolk in equal parts; after a few hours rinse with warm water. Red wine can also be treated with a potassium permanganate solution, then wiped with a hydrogen peroxide solution (1 teaspoon per 1 cup of water). For white wine, beer, or liqueur stains, use a solution of 5 g soap and 1/2 teaspoon soda in a cup of water; after a day rinse with warm water. These stains can also be treated with ice or washed in cold water. For old white-wine stains, use a mixture of white soap, turpentine, and 10% ammonia (1:2:1): apply, rinse in warm, soapy water, then rinse in cold water. Beer stains usually wash out with soapy water; for old beer stains, clean with equal parts glycerin, wine, and ammonia, mixed with water in a 3:1 ratio, then wipe the stain.
Vegetables, Fruits, Juices
Vegetable and fruit juice stains respond to a paste of laundry detergent or a 1:1 mix of glycerin and gasoline. You can also try equal parts glycerin and vodka or warm alcohol. For old stains, hold the fabric over boiling water and rub with lemon juice or vinegar diluted with vodka, then blot the area with a cotton pad soaked in an ammonia solution.
Greens
Grass and green-vegetable stains can be treated with a salt solution (1 teaspoon per 1/2 cup of warm water), vodka, or denatured alcohol. Rinse the fabric in warm water after treating the stain. For white fabrics, use a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution with a few drops of ammonia.
Oil Paint and Varnish
How you remove paint depends on its composition. Oil paint can be removed with turpentine, kerosene, or ammonia. You can rub butter or margarine into the stain, then follow with kerosene, turpentine, or gasoline, and wash afterward. An oil-paint stain also responds to a 1:1 mix of gasoline soap and turpentine—rub the mix into the stain, scrape off the dissolved paint, and blot with a damp cotton pad. For old stains, soak with turpentine and scrub with a strong baking-soda solution, then rinse with warm water. Varnish stains can be removed with wine alcohol or a 1:1 mix of denatured alcohol and acetone.
Ink
Sprinkle fresh ink stains with salt and drizzle lemon juice over them, then rinse the fabric several times. Ink also responds to glycerin—soak the fabric in glycerin for at least an hour, then rinse in salted warm water or wash in warm, soapy water. Fresh ink stains can be soaked in sour warm milk for a few hours (change the milk for large stains) and then washed in warm, soapy water with borax or ammonia added. You can also use a solution of ammonia and baking soda (1 teaspoon ammonia and 2 teaspoons baking soda per cup of water). For silk, apply a paste of mustard and let it sit for a day, then scrape off the mixture and rinse in cold water. When treating ink, first create a protective outline with melted paraffin and petroleum jelly in equal parts to prevent the stain from spreading; after removal, wash the fabric with baking soda and iron the paraffin circle out through paper napkins, changing the napkin until all paraffin is gone.
Wax
Scrape off excess wax. Cover the stained area with a damp cloth and several layers of absorbent paper, then iron with a hot iron, changing the paper until the stain disappears. For wax or stearin on velvet and plush, use alcohol or turpentine and avoid ironing.
Soot
Fresh ash stains can be cleaned with a piece of bread or washed in warm, soapy water. Moisten stubborn soot with turpentine, rinse with soapy water, then rinse again. For old soot stains, mix turpentine with egg yolk until it reaches a sour-cream consistency and warm the jar in a pot of hot water before applying.
Burn from a Hot Iron
For a burn mark from an iron, apply a paste of grated onion for one to two hours, then rinse in cold water. You can also moisten the stain with boric acid and rinse in cold water. For white fabrics, try a mixture of a few drops of ammonia, 1 teaspoon hydrogen peroxide, and 1/2 cup water.
Cosmetics
To remove lipstick stains, use borax, wash with soap, and rinse in clean water. For jersey fabrics, treat the stain with a thick paste of gasoline and talc, then wipe with hot glycerin. For cosmetics on dyeable fabrics, use equal parts ether and turpentine. Hair-dye stains respond to a 1:1 mix of hydrogen peroxide and ammonia. To remove nail polish, place absorbent paper over the stain and moisten the reverse side of the fabric with acetone.
Perfume
Wipe fresh perfume and cologne stains with alcohol. For old perfume stains on white fabrics, use equal parts ammonia and hydrogen peroxide. For perfume on wool, first moisten with wine alcohol or pure glycerin, then wipe with acetone. On light fabrics, sequentially moisten with ammonia, a hydrosulfite solution (4 g per cup of water), and an oxalic-acid solution (5 g per cup of water).
Iodine
For iodine stains, sprinkle with baking soda, drizzle with vinegar, and leave overnight, then rinse in water. You can also moisten the stain with water, rub with starch, and then wash with soap.
Fly Stains
Apply a mixture of ammonia and water (1:10) to fly stains. For old stains, soak for a few hours in soapy water with a small amount of gasoline, then scrub with a brush soaked in soapy water.
As this list shows, many effective stain removers are already in your kitchen or medicine cabinet. Fighting dirt doesn’t have to mean polluting the environment with harsh chemical agents.
