Throw away a garment because it has an ugly stain? In most cases, there is no need. We previously wrote an article on simple remedies that work for most stains. Some stains are so stubborn that they need special treatment. Think sunburn or ink stains. No matter what you try, that difficult stain just won't come out. Because we from thegreenlist.nl find it a terrible waste to throw away clothes, we have listed the best tips for removing stubborn stains for you.
Easily remove difficult stains
With our clothing purchases, we put a strain on the environment. This starts while growing the raw materials and continues during fabric making, colouring, transporting and selling the garment. You may not think about it every day, but it takes a lot of land, pesticides, chemicals, water and other raw materials before a garment hangs in your closet. That's why it makes sense to use your clothes for as long as possible and buy second-hand as much as possible. Have you accidentally made an ugly stain in that new (second-hand) garment? Then read the tips in this article quickly and easily to get that stain out.
Read this before you start removing that difficult stain
Beware that not all remedies are suitable for every material and not all materials can withstand a long soak. It is therefore advisable to try it on a small inconspicuous area first. Also bear in mind that some agents such as lemon, baking soda, toothpaste and vinegar can have a bleaching effect.
The faster you remove a stain, the easier it will be. Are you on the move or don't have the right remedy at hand? Then at least try to keep the stain wet. This will give you the best chance of getting the stain out completely later.
Difficult stain of red fruit
Do you have red fruit stains, such as strawberry or raspberry, in your clothes? Then get them out easily and quickly with boiling water. Turn the garment inside out. Optionally, you can stretch the garment over a colander and secure it with pegs. Then pour a little boiling water over it and you will see that the stain disappears like snow in the sun. Beware: do this only with garments made of 100% cotton.
A two-year-old eating strawberries in her pretty dirndl dress? That's asking for stains. Since we were at a party, I couldn't pour boiling water over her dress right away. So it only became two days later. And even then, the trick worked!
Is your garment not made of 100% cotton? Then you can also try using wet vinegar. Place the stain in a bowl of soda vinegar and let it soak for an hour. Then rinse the garment well. And finally, red fruit stains can also be faded by toothpaste. Wet the stain and rub it with white toothpaste, let it soak in for a while and rinse well again.
If a slight stain is still visible after treating with the above remedies, you can lay the garment wet in the sun to dry. With any luck, the last remnants of the stain will then also disappear.
Bloodstain
With blood stains, on the contrary, you should avoid hot water, as the protein in the blood will solidify and the stain will bond with the textile. Therefore, it is best to rinse blood stains immediately with cold water. If the stain doesn't come out right away, sprinkle some baking soda on it and let it soak in. You can also try hanging the wet garment in the sun after rinsing it well first. Do you have a blood stain that has already dried? Then soak it in a bowl of cold water and baking soda for a few hours. Then immediately wash it in the washing machine with some (stain) salt added if necessary. Be aware that stain salt is not always natural and durable. Preferably choose a natural form of stain salt such as sodium percarbonate.
Don't have baking soda in the house? Then you can try using lemon juice to remove the blood stain. Drip some lemon juice on the stain and leave it on for half an hour. Then rinse it out with cold water. For stubborn stains, you can make a paste of lemon juice and salt. Let this soak in well too and then rinse it out again.
Grease stain
It happens so easily during a dinner party, oops a grease stain on your clothes. Since grease is not water-soluble, you will have to come up with some coarser tools. A common remedy for removing grease stains is washing-up liquid. If possible, wash out the stain immediately with a little dishwashing detergent and cold water. Is the stain a bit older? Then let the washing-up liquid soak in for a while. Another option is to wet the stain and rub it with a little ox gall soap or green soap. Let it soak in for a while and then machine wash by hand or at 30 or 40°C.
Chocolate stain
Chocolate stains are a regular occurrence for us. Especially once chocolate stains have dried in, I had a hard time getting them out. Fortunately, there are some simple remedies that I have used to get those difficult chocolate stains out of our clothes. The first step: if there are still bits of (chocolate) on your garment, carefully remove them first. You can do this, for example, by scraping it off with a dull knife. Is the chocolate liquid? Then you can put the garment in the freezer for a few hours so the chocolate will harden and you can scrape it off more easily.
Chocolate stains are difficult to remove because of the fat contained in chocolate. Therefore, like grease stains, you can remove chocolate stains with a little washing-up liquid, ox gall soap or green soap.
Difficult stain from sunburn
Especially with sunburn stains, it is important to get to them quickly. With the right remedies, you can still get that difficult sunburn stain out of your clothes. Before treating a stain, try to soak up any remaining sunburn residue, e.g. with a piece of kitchen paper or a soft cloth. Sunburn stains can also be treated with the same products as grease stains: washing-up liquid, ox gall soap or green soap. On light clothes, you can also try baking soda: wet the stain, cover the stain with baking soda and leave it for half an hour. Then wash out well.
The sun also does wonders for difficult stains, but for a grease stain like from sunburn, you will have to work.
Difficult stain from tomatoes or red sauce
Especially on light clothes, stains from tomatoes or red sauce look ugly. If you get to it quickly, you can try rinsing out the stain immediately with water. Since sauce, such as ketchup, usually contains sugar, it is important to use cold water. With hot water, the sugar will solidify and stick even more between the fibres. Do the stains not come out straight away? Then try using ox gall soap or green soap. Soak for a while and rinse well. If possible, let the clothes dry in the sun to bleach any remaining stains.
Do you have dried-in tomato (sauce) stains? Then you can try using colourless soda vinegar. Pour a little soda vinegar over the stain and let it soak in for about half an hour. Then rinse with cold water. You can also treat dried-in stains with ox gall soap or green soap and the power of the sun.
Difficult stain from red wine
With red wine stains, you want to get to it as soon as possible. Sprinkle the fresh stain with salt or baking soda and let it soak in for a while so it can absorb the wine. Then wash the garment thoroughly. Can't get the red wine stain out straight away? At least try to keep the stain wet. Older red wine stains can be treated with natural vinegar. Let the vinegar soak in for about 15 minutes and then wash it out well.
Difficult stains that really won't come out
Have you tried all the remedies and you really can't get a stain out? Then you could still try using a chemical stain remover such as Vanish Oxi Action. This is not the most sustainable choice, but still usually better than throwing away a garment. After all, producing new clothes has even more negative impact on the environment. Be careful not to let your clothes dry in the sun after treatment with Vanish, as this will cause yellow (bleaching) stains.
Another option is to creatively save your clothes from landfill. For example, you can use the dyeing clothes with natural textile paint, sew a nice label on it or embroider a flower over the stain.
Grass stain
Grass stains on clothes are common among children. If you get to them quickly, you can usually get grass stains out by washing them right away as hot as possible and then letting them dry in the sun. Older grass stains are a little trickier to remove. White toothpaste will bleach out the grass stain. After ten minutes at most, wash the toothpaste out again with warm water, otherwise that will stain again. Other remedies for grass stains include lemon juice, vinegar, washing-up liquid or ox gall soap. Rub the stain with the respective agent, let it soak in for a while and then rinse well. If you can, let the garment dry in the sun.
Paint stain
Worked a little too enthusiastically on your DIY project? Hobby paint or acrylic paint is easily removed by first soaking the garment in cold water for a few hours and then rubbing it with ox gall soap or green soap. Soak briefly and then wash out well. My daughter came out of school the other day with blue paint on her white shirt. With the above tips and my piece of ox gall soap, the stain was gone in no time.
Inkblot
Left-handed people in particular are familiar with the ink stain problem. In that case, again, the sooner you get the stain out, the better the result. Remedies that work well against ink stains are natural vinegar or lemon juice. Let it soak in for a while, brush again and then wash thoroughly.
Look, even an ink stain can easily come off with soda vinegar or lemon juice.
Get started with a no buy clothing style
Besides stain removal, we have many more tips to rediscover the unworn clothes in your closet. We get you started with the No Buy Fashion Guide. Over a hundred pages of cool ideas on how to look nice without even buying anything. Nothing. Nope. Nada. Not even second-hand! For 9.50 euros you will have it delivered straight to your inbox and thus on your tablet or mobile phone!
Will you also join this fun community? Read this guide too and discover lots of original ideas. Because so many cool clothes are already out there! Order the No Buy Fashion Guide from our webshop!
Get rid of difficult stains
If you catch it in time, you can simply get most stains out of your clothes again. Bookmark this article on your phone so you can immediately use the right remedy to remove that difficult stain. This way, your clothes will last longer and it's not only good for your wallet, but also for the environment. Do you have any good stain removal tips that are not mentioned in the article? Be sure to let us know via the follow and contact buttons at the bottom of this page.
More sustainable tips from thegreenlist.nl
- Baking soda is not only useful for removing stains, but you can use it many more cleaning jobs to come.
- Natural vinegar is also such a panacea with which you can not only remove stains but also clean all kinds of things.
- Another natural topper for eco-friendly cleaning: citric acid.
Sources: Utopia, Waschbär, RTL news, Servus, Smarticular. Photo credits: main image: Sarah Brown (Unsplash), dresses: Leeloo Thefirst (Pexels), Sunburn: RFstudio (Pexels), other photos: Kirsten Schoner.
