Tag Archives: clothing stains

Nicotine stains

How to Remove Nicotine Stains from Clothes

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Nicotine stains

If you are a smoker than you have no doubt seen some of your favorite garment exposed to nicotine stains. The tar that is left behind is the actual culprit of the stain and this can be a hassle to get out when you are relying on regular clothes detergent alone. But you do not have to get rid of your favorite clothes as there is a way to effectively remove those nicotine stains that isn’t all that hard.

There are many nicotine stain removers that are sold in the stores but these can be very expensive and are sketchy at best when it comes to their effectiveness. There is no need to spend the money because there is a solution you can make right at home for a fraction of the cost.

Face it, if you’re going to be smoker you will have to deal with nicotine stains. Here is how you effectively remove nicotine stains from your clothes:

•    Make a cleaning solution: You can make an effective wet cleaning solution by mixing one part glycerin, one pert dishwashing detergent that is white in color, and also eight part of water. Once combined, seal the bottle and shake it really well to ensure all the ingredients get a good mixing.
•    Prepare the garment: Grab the nicotine stained garment and before you attempt to treat it you will want to wet the affected area with cold water and let the garment sit for about twenty minutes. After the elapsed time rinse the garment on more time with cold water and this time do not allow it to sit.
•    Treat the garment: Now grab your home made spot remover and spray it liberally on the stain. Here is where you will also use the ‘secret ingredient’ which is nothing more than vinegar. Once the two cleaning agents are on the stain cover the stain with an all cotton pad or folded cloth and put that on top of the stain. Allow the cotton to set and then ‘lift’ away the stain.
•    Repeat: You may have to repeat this process several times until it looks like the stain is all but gone. When you are happy with the result you can move on to the next step.
•    Wash the garment: Now you need only wash the garment as you normally would in a regular load of laundry. However, when the load is done, do not dry the garment in your clothes dryer.
•    Dry the garment: Allow the garment to air dry to be sure that you have totally removed the nicotine stain. If you have not then you need to go back to square one and start over again.

There is no set amount of treatments that will determine when the stain will come out and there are several factors that will determine how bad the stain is including how long the garment has been exposed to smoke and how long the nicotine has been allowed to set in.

Once you have removed all the nicotine stains from your clothes you can keep them away by adding vinegar to your loads of laundry on occasion. You don’t have to do it every load, but once a month or so is not a bad idea and will help keep the nicotine stains at bay.

Milk stains

How to Remove Milk Stains from Clothes

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Milk stains

Milk stains are a pain in the neck and always seem to come when you least expect it. Usually they come in the morning when you are in a hurry to get to work and are trying to wolf down a bowl of cereal as you head out the door. Then you get to work only to realize that you are wearing some of that cereal in the form of a nice little milk stain. If you are lucky the stain won’t be so noticeable, but most of the time there is no such luck.

Once you have gone through the embarrassment of sporting a milk stain on your garment for the entire work day you need to know how to remove that milk stain from your garment. Well fear not because removing milk stains is not all that challenging and can easily be done with what you have in your home right now. Here is what you do:

•    Scrape away: Use the dull side of a butter knife to scrape away any excess milk that you see. The milk will dry crusty and by removing the crust you can better focus on the worst part of the stain which will be left behind deep in the fibers of the garment.
•    Rinse the stain: After you have scraped away as much of the stain as possible you will want to rinse the stain. Use cold water in this step and let it sit for a good twenty minutes.
•    Pre-treat: Using Dawn dish soap or some other type of pre-treater, apply a small amount in the middle of the stain and rub it in vigorously. Rub for about five minutes to ensure that the entire stain gets treated. You can also use a brush in this step if you prefer but again be sure that the entire stain is being treated.
•    Soak: Now without rinsing the pre-treatment, put the garment in a bucket of soapy cool water and let it sit for a while. If you want to you can soak it over night as the longer it gets to soak the better.
•    Wash: After removing the garment from the soapy solution and wringing it as dry as you can you can now launder the garment as you normally would. Once the load of laundry is done remove the milk stained garment and do not dry it in the clothes dryer with the rest of the load.
•    Dry the garment: Hang the garment up to air dry and ensure that you have successfully removed the milk stain. If you have then you can treat the garment as you normally would and if it is not then you will have to repeat the process until the stain goes away. Typically milk stains are effectively removed after one or two treatments.

Milk stains happen, especially when you are in a hurry or if you have kids. But if properly treated your garments will live to be stained another day and who knows, maybe next time it will be an entirely different stain that will challenge you further.