Stains, Stains, and More Stains

Fresh grass stains : Dip soft toothbrush in ammonia and work the stain and rinse with cool water, repeat untill the stain is gone. Works on Sneakers as well.
All warm water and hot water will set certain stains ( all protein stains) and so will the heat of the dryer and steam. Best to treat stains with cool water and only wash the garment in warm or hot water once the stain is lifted. Good luck

Get some Borax sister! It's way better than OxiClean. Tide IS the best detergent and I actually take 1/4 cup tide and put it in a squirt bottle with water and spray my stains that way. Very rarely does it not work. If you are still having trouble, dilute the Borax in water and try that as a spot remover.

Good luck Laundry Diva! = )

Hmmm -I know it's similar to Shout, but I've always used Spray-n-Wash (now it's called Resolve stain remover -it's for clothes though, not carpet). I swear by it! There are very few stains that don't come out when I use it -including grass.

Soaking overnight in vinegar?

And hot water won't shrink clothes - they shrink in the dryer.

And now my knowledge of laundry has been exhausted....

good luck!

I love my stain stick. It looks like deodorant and you rub it on the stain and then leave it till you wash. I try to rub it on all stains before they hit the laundry pile. This way it gets to work on the stain for a bit.

The biggest problem is probably your washing machine. I bought a very nice HE washing machine (I researched my choice on Consumer Reports and everything) a few years ago and I HATE IT!!!!! Using less water may be better for the environment, but it is not better for getting out stains. Another problem is the phosphate-free detergents, also better for the environment but not as effective at cleaning. My mom buys trisodium phosphate powder (brand name White King) and adds it to her wash, she swears by it. I havn't tried it yet because I do feel badly about what it may do to the local fish and other water animals. Apparently you can either have clean clothes or a clean environment, but not both.

Odd question for you...when you wash your clothes are there bubbles and suds? When I had to have my front load washer repaired I was told bubbles and suds are bad for a front load washer. (Which didn't make sense to me, I only used HE detergent and just the recommended amount. All the other stuff I used was also ok for my machine.) Bubbles can do something to the filter, which will make your washer work improperly. And for some washers (especially the really nice ones like yours) it can cause confusion in washing cycles, cause delays and make proper rinsing of clothes difficult. Which could attribute to the clothes not getting clean and stain sticking around.

Our repair man said that most of the time, you can even use less washing detergent than recommeneded. He said you should see very few bubbles during the cycle and non when the cycle is over. And he also warned me to rinse out any milk spills before washing, because milk can cause bubbles too.

When we had problems with our washer I noticed the same thing you are talking about...things just didn't look clean. The stains I was so diligently working on remained. My hubby cleaned out the filter (requires taking apart our entire machine, I hear some machines have easily accessible filters). That helped the problem a lot. Unfortunately, the damage had been done and our filter pump was broken and had to be replaced.

So, if it were me, based on our experience, I'd first check the filter. Then I would reduce the amount of detergent and see if that helps.

Hi - I have a 5 year old and two year old who regularly either have food on them or grass stains and dirt! This is the one thing that works for our household:
http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=70299&...

* 1 part Dawn
* 1 part baking soda
* 2 parts hydrogen peroxide
Mix together, apply to stain and scrub with brush, let sit for about an hour. Rinse thoroughly before washing to get all the Dawn out (especially if you have an HE washer). Good luck!

I have a Samsung front load HE machine (3 years old) and I use much less soap than recommeneded. Maybe that's wrong but I have never had the types of problems you are describing. I remember the manual cautioning against too much soap/sud action. I suppose I decided to be conservative with my soap usage as a result. If I were you, I would call Samsung to see what they had to say about their product. It could be a filter issue as mentioned below or some other issue.

With any stain so long as you don't apply heat (water or dryer), then you can keep trying to get the stain out. A handful of times I have worked on the same garment with different methods to get the stain out. You have to be careful not to damage the fabric but patience and a light hand help. In the end I am usually successful and if not, then so be it. I am also a firm believer in Borax and not OxiClean. The latter doesn't get my skirt up for doing much while the former does make a noticeable difference in my opinion, especially with whites. I use Shout on my stains and rarely does that not work. Remember to let the Shout to sit as per the instructions. Typically I spray the stains first and let those items sit while I fill the machine and putter around. If Shout doesn't work, then I head to the internet. There is a wealth of information out their regarding specific stains and their precise treatments. More than once I would have used the wrong process for stain removal if I hadn't done a little research first. Good luck and happy laundering.