Dear Dot,
I saw it Your post about using shaving cream on tomato stains. Does it work on most stains? My grandson threw up on my shirt. I rinsed it immediately, but I was traveling and couldn't wash it for a few days. When I washed it the stain remained. I want to find something that is eco-friendly and non-toxic that I can take anywhere and use to effectively pre-treat stains. Do you have any ideas?
– Julie
Dear Julie,
The short answer: Shaving cream is a skilled stain fighter, but it's not your only option. Non-toxic and eco-friendly options include staples like white vinegar, baking soda, and lemon juice, as well as stain removal products like oxygen bleach and Amodex ink and stain remover. Test it on site and choose what works best for you and your clothes!
Dear Julie,
Let's protect your clothes from future unpleasant situations, be it grandchild's vomit, chocolate sauce, pomegranate juice or spilled coffee. As we shared in the Climate quick tip They say: Shaving cream is an affordable and eco-friendly stain remover—and travel-friendly too, since it's probably already in your toiletry bag. It not only works on tomato stains, but also coffee, mustard and makeup stains. You may have benefited from shaving cream during your recent travel fiasco because it can actually help clean up vomit too! When, however Better homes and gardens When they tested it, they found that it was less effective on some other stains like ink and nail polish. Additionally, they found that while it worked somewhat on coffee and oil stains, it did not completely remove them. With shaving cream, it's best to apply it to the stain immediately. (Side note: Make sure you use a lathering shaving cream that has stain-fighting ingredients. Gel and cream shaving solutions do not.) And by the way: shaving cream works really well on carpets!
If shaving cream isn't suitable for your stain, there are many other eco-friendly and non-toxic alternatives. I remember a Conversation Dot's intern Emily had a conversation with the Laundry Evangelist (his real name is Patric Richardson), who recommends white vinegar as a stain remover. But don't add it to your laundry because it dilutes the detergent, he said. Rather use it for pre-treatment. “I love vinegar for priming,” he told Emily, noting that he prefers it to lemon juice. “It’s just so much cheaper, so readily available and so many people have it.”
To remove stains with vinegar, he recommends “soaking white laundry beforehand in a mixture of one part distilled white vinegar to six parts water. Allow it to soak completely submerged for a few hours or even overnight.” Vinegar can also work on paints, but do a spot test first to make sure they don't bleed. Make a spot treatment by mixing equal parts vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Spray the stain and leave for 10-15 minutes before blotting, then rinsing and tossing in the wash. When rinsing, you should use some laundry soap to remove the vinegar.
However, there are a few precautions when using vinegar: Avoid frequent use of vinegar on your workout clothes or other clothing with stretchy fabrics, as the acid in vinegar will affect elasticity. And definitely don't use vinegar with chlorine bleach as it causes a chemical reaction that results in dangerous fumes.
Another non-toxic stain-fighting superhero is plain old baking soda. Baking soda is a powerhouse at eliminating odors, making it ideal for vomit relief (although Dot hopes the experience was a one-off, Julie).
To pre-treat stains with baking soda, mix the baking soda with a little water to form a spreadable paste and then rub the paste into the stain. Leave it on for up to 30 minutes before washing. For an oil stain, sprinkle dry baking soda on the stain and allow it to soak up the oil. Then brush off the baking soda and put the item in the laundry.
The Laundry Evangelist recommended an even more readily available solution – and free! – Help to protect white clothing from unsightly stains: sunlight. “Add half a cup of lemon juice to a load of whites in the washing machine (you can put it in the fabric softener dispenser) before putting it in the sun. The lemon juice reacts with the sunlight and increases the bleaching power!” he said.
The Laundry Evangelist has also touted oxygen bleach as a stain remover because it is a safe and environmentally friendly alternative to chlorine bleach. Oxygen bleach is made from sodium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide. As soon as it comes into contact with water, oxygen is released. The byproduct is soda, which is not harmful to the environment. Oxygen bleach works well on most fabrics (but can damage silk and wool). It is also color safe and removes stains without stripping the color.
If you are looking for a compact and portable stain remover that you can keep in your bag, Amodex Ink and Stain Remover may be right for you. The laundry evangelist has recommended This non-toxic product even works on Sharpie stains.
But remember Dot's Laundry Law: Do a spot test first!
Thanks for your question, Julie. Let's hope that the memories and memorabilia you bring back from future trips don't include stained clothes!
Flawless,
Point