Kool-Aid Stains Drive Me Insane!

I would stop buying red kool aid and just get non red drinks from now on. (I had to do this when my eldest was about three because dad liked the red drinks too but either did not notice or was too lazy to clean up after himself so I changed tactics) Also instead of bleach try hydrogen peroxide on the stains. Soak a bit of paper towel and leave it on the stain for 10-20 mins and wipe it up afterward. Good Luck!

Is he fond of ants, roaches, and other pests? How would he feel if he went to grab a glass or bowl to find ants crawling in them because they found the sticky droplets on the counter, crawled up the wall and into the cupboard. It does not take much or long in the south, especially in the summer. Most likely, with ants and roaches, anyway, if you see one, there are definitely more. They follow the scent of the waste and set up shop. To take less than thirty seconds to squirt some cleaner and wipe up with a wet cloth to save aggrivation, time, and money later just seems so obvious.

treat him like a child? don't buy any more red kool aid. when he puts up a fuss tell him when he learns to clean up after himself you will buy more. i'm sorry but it's ridiculous that a grown man can't simply wipe the counter. Put your foot down and quit cleaning up after him.

All red drinks have been banned from my house for years! I agree w/the other poster who suggested the Magic Eraser...they really do work!

Since we are complaining about husbands annoying habits...I feel compelled to do some venting of my own...
My DH eats cereal the strangest way...he pours himself a decent amount of cereal then proceeds to fill the bowl to the rim with milk...he takes 4 bites TOPS! Never once in 13+ years has he ever eaten his whole bowl of cereal...and then leaves it in the sink! He doesn't bother to dump it and utilize the garbage disposal...he just leaves it, this is most annoying when he eats it as a midnight snack...I LOVE waking up to a big nasty bowl of mushy soggy cereal...GRRRRRRRR!

That was a fun rant! I feel better now!

I hear you. My husband ALWAYS leave the light of the stair on!
You know what l do, l wait for him to be down then l call him from way far, of course he scream what? but l don't reply or say l need you, once he gets up or down, l tell him, sweaty, could you please turn the damn lights off!!
The only down side is that he is getting in better shape than me with all that up and down the stairs, uggg.
MEN!!!!!!!!!!!!

One of my pet peves is never changing the toilet paper roll out. So one day when all three men in my house was in the living room I held a "demonstration" of how to change out the toliet paper roll.All eyes were very wide and they did not know what to say. It did not make much of a difference, but it sure did feel good to do it :)

I want to say that not only Kool-Aid but grape juice does the same thing. I used to clean up after my husband's stains on the counter that he didn't even realize he was making. Once I told him though, he started pouring and drinking it over the kitchen sink (ours is stainless steel, so it doesn't stain it). That solved our problem. So I was wondering if you could set up a safe zone for him to pour and drink his Kool-Aid. Maybe put an old, but clean towel on a spot on the counter and ask him to do it over that?

My mom always used baking soda to get the kool aid out and it worked great!!

My solution would be to stop buying the colored Kool-Aid and buy the invisible kind instead. I'm not sure what flavors it comes in, but it is better than dealing with the stains.

hi, first of all i must say, good luck i have the same problem with the kids. i just had to tell you when i was about 5 i was at a neighbors and we were having a picinic on the front porch and i spilled a smiley face pitcher of grape kool-aid on the concret and the stain is still there. i will be 50 next month. everytime i see him he ask me if i remember the kool-aid. just think what it does to our insides. i use ajax gently on the counter. good luck, R.

obviously it is harder than you think - why don't you stop buying the red sugar free koolaid? either that, or put it in sippy cups for him, since he obviously has not mastered pouring from a pitcher. Another possibility is to put it in sports drink bottles for him and then he can just grab and suck.

"Accidentally" stain his white socks with kool aid and say "see, you don't like stains and neither do I, this is how it looks when you spill kool aid on the counter. It's not pretty is it? no, no it's not, if you want the stains out of your socks, clean up the kool aid you spill before it stains my counter, please." You can get the stains out of the socks with Oxiclean.

Try Soft Scrub cleanser... that stuff cleans all kinds of stains from my counters!

Ask your husband to scrub the counter with bleach when you take the baby out to get some fresh air.

Mabey if he sees how much work it takes he will be more careful in the future. Oh, and I agree with discontinuing red drinks too. They are a PAIN!

i take a small amount of cleanser( ajax) and pour it one the spot and scrub it always comes out for me. if it's deep set then use a chore boy to scrub it out. good luck

I feel ya on this one! You know what, though? For some ungodly reason, Kool-aid stains the INSTANT it hits countertops. For another ungodly reason, the prior owners of my home installed light sea foam colored countertops! So GRRRRR as well, but if your man insists he is wiping the counter, he may truly be telling the truth!

You can buy drinks that have natural dyes (instead of red #5 - they use beet juice for color - you dont taste the beets). Better ... but it can still stain! I understand how you feel about natural products. That is all I use for cleaning and my kids can be right there and even help now that they are pre-school and school age. I have been able to use them to get any stains up. I buy them at an awesome on-line store. You can ask me about them if you like.

Otherwise, I agree with some of the other posters ... don't buy it for the house if he can't help clean it up.

Good luck!
D.

I would be furious! I would literally pull him aside and look him in the eye and say, "sweety, I have said this so many times that I am frustrated but I need you to respect me enough to either avoid the spills, clean up after yourself, or stop drinking the koolaid." I would let him know that I do many, many things for him and that I would appreciate if he would help me in the smallest way he can. Then.......if that doesn't work, I would lay a towel down every single morning in the spot that he pours his drink and tell him that if he can't clean up after himself that you will have to treat him like a child and ask him to pour it ONLY on this towel and then the drippings will land on it and you can wash it. Frustrating!!! So sorry you are having to deal with that.

I hear ya!
Easy clean up would be the Magic Eraser. If you want to use a product you already have, all you have to do is mix a little bit of baking soda with water to make a thick paste. It gets every smudge, stain and metal can 'ring' off counter tops. Just make sure to wipe away with a damp cloth.

I'd ask him once more to clean up after himself. If he forgets to do it, I would 'forget' to purchase more Kool Aid on the next shopping trip...oops! Men take a long time to get it. Keep trying!

For this exact reason we don't buy any "red" drinks anymore. That was a quick and easy solution. Otherwise if you catch it quick, I spray the Chlorox with bleach but I'm not into being green so that may not be an option for you but it does work. Good luck!