Cleaning up Stains

For grease and oil stains if you can catch them right away try using either cornstarch or baby powder any kind of powder will work. What the powder does is it absorbs as much of the grease/oil it can then you can use Dawn or another treatment. Do this until its out, try not to let it get dryed in the dryer otherwise its harder to remove. And peroxide is the best thing for blood stains hands down. I use it every time I get blood on anything. Use a towel, toilet paper or even q-tips or cotton balls. Whatever you have dab the peroxide on the stain until its gone. It treats old and new stains equally.
W. H.

Hydrogen Peroxide you can get at any store, just mix with water and let the clothes soak for a day!!! It disolves proteins like blood!!! Love, G.. :0)

My Yiayia(grandmother) alsways uses the cheapest shampoo she can find to get stains out! Also try Dawn dish washing soap, it really does cut through grease! It has saved many chhothing items in my household! Good luck!

Hi M.: I think I might have a solution for your oil and grease stains. I pre-treat these kinds of stains with Dawn dish soap. I wet the stain with water and rub a couple of drops of soap into it. It helps to treat the stain right away if possible. I let the soap soak into the spot as long as possible then I just wash the garment like always. I hope this works as well for you and it has for me! I'm afraid I don't have any advice for the blood stains :( Good luck!

Vee

I thought my sons dad was amazing when he told me how to get tough stains out of the carbet. I dont know if it will work for your problem but it does work miracles on red cool aid stains... lol

Pour windex on the stain and then lay a TERRY CLOTH RAG over it. Then take your hot iron and place it on over the terry cloth rag. The heat, windex and terry cloth bring stains out wonderfully. I dont know how they just do!

Good Luck ;)

Try Zout. In 25 years I haven't come across a stain yet it won't remove. As for blood stains, I would put some Zout on the stain, use an old tooth broush to work it into the stain, then make sure you soak the stained area in COLD water to loosen the protein. Treat again with Zout before placing in the washing machine.
With any other stains, treat with Zout, work in with an old brush and wash as usual. I also place a capful of Zout in every load. It serves as a fabric brightner as well.
You'll find Zout at Walgreen's and Nob Hill for certain.

I was first introduced to Zout by a neighbor who was a telephone lineman. His claim was that Zout takes out everystain including pole grease. He was right! Difficult or "set" stains may require multiple treatments, but Zout will get them out. Every other stain removing product on the market pales to this stuff.

L.

I wished I had an answer to your grease stains because I've used so many products and have to resign that some stains just won't come off. But for blood stains, OxyClean. I usually pour a bit of the powder into a spray bottle and spray stained item. Both of my children (ages 8 and 5) had bloody noses in the past and this really works.

Hi M.,

First of all - cheers and hugs to you for being a stay at home mom!! Best job in the world and most important! I too am a SAHM though I was a professional (instructional designer and trainer) before I became PG...never went back and have never regretted it. I wanted to encourage you because I know there can be a lot of different pressures that try to push a woman toward going back to the work world, including sometimes financial, but this time when your kids are little goes by SO FAST, and your being there makes all the difference. It has for my daughter and in fact our whole family. SAHMs rock!! God will provide - He gave you your kids and He's cheering you on! :)

As far as the stains - you have my empathy, I hate laundry stains! Ugh! I noticed OxyClean mentioned, which is a good one for soaking out stains. Here are some things that work for me (haven't seen a couple of them mentioned yet):

Soilove is a great stain remover and is unbelievably cheap too. In the East Bay you can find it at Safeway in the laundry section in a green plastic bottle. It's literally less than $2.00 for a good sized bottle. You can squirt it on, or as I like to do for convenience, put it in a clean spray bottle so you can spray it on. It takes out almost everything I have ever tried it on.

For blood and grease, the only thing even better than Soilove is a little set of stain removers by Carbona called Stain Devils (yeah, an unfortunate name!). Here is a link to see them:

http://www.carbona.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&...

In the East Bay they are available at Joann Fabrics, and may be in other fabric stores, I haven't looked. They used to be at Target or WalMart years ago but then they stopped carrying them (IDK why). These little bottles pack a punch!!! I use the one labeled for "blood and milk" when I have blood to deal with, and definitely use the ones for "fat, grease, and oil" and "ketchup and sauces" a lot - they are super.

I don't know for sure about your mattress - you could try the Soilove or the Stain Devil for blood (I might try that SD first) and let them work, then gently blot with clean water and an absorbent cloth till the stain (hopefully) fades. Mattress stains are a pain - even simple liquids can leave a slight ring as someone else has mentioned.

Good luck with your stain removal!!

Blessings,
S.

I suggest pouring a bit of Coca-Cola in the wash with the greasy clothes. It sounds weird but it works!

I am sold on Oxyclean!

Wow, so many responses, I only skimmed the first few. For blood, the KEY is to use cold water (ok, cool, AZ has no cold water this time of year!) let it soak and dissolve. On a mattress I'm not as sure, but I'd blot a lot. I deal with blood stains all the time on clothes (my husband's a veterinarian) and it is actually the easiest stain to get out.

And YES on the mattress pad! :-)

Genesis 950 - lots of mechanics and other worker type guys use it in their shops to remove stains from uniforms. www.genesis950.com

Hi!
For grease on clothes, I usually find that pre spraying with Zout (it's a prewash like shout, but made by Dial-- look for the red bottle by the rest of the pre-treatments or Fels Naptha Bars just wet the bar and rub on the grease stains, then launder. Also by Dial, it's harder to find, tho--been around forever--ask your Grandma! and is the best, when you can find it!)
For the mattress, if you don't have a spot bot or portable stain remover for carpets or upholstery, I'd fill a spray bottle with hot water and add a couple tablespoons of oxy-clean and spray on the stain and blot. If it's really bad, you could try getting the rug doctor machine (rent at your grocery or Bed bath and beyond, etc) and get the upholstery attachment. Key is that you want to make sure that you suck up as much liquid as you applied if possible!
Good luck!

Not sure about oil, but my ex used to get bloody noses all the time and for some reason salt water worked really well to get blood out of clothes...not sure about matresses, might be worth a shot.....oh and not like ocean water salt water but salt dissolved in water salt water.

When using dawn, use the white colored stuff. I've let the blue colored dawn sit on my clothes overnight before washing them and it actually left a bluish stain.

I always keep a bottle of Dawn dishwashing liquid (No substitutions!)next to the washing machine. It even takes out old grease stains! I swear by the stuff ;)

Have you tried the liquid form of Oxiclean? You can buy it in a spray bottle now. I bet it would work on both oil and blood. And the other remedy for blood is Hydrogen Peroxide, it bubbles when in contact with blood and pulls it out-works great!

Have you tried a product called Simple Green? I use it all the time on my kids' clothes and I have a 3 yr old and a 14 month old so. It helps alot and gets out stains that I never thought of.

I don't know about the mattress stains, but for oil stains on clothes I have had good luck with a product called Oil Eater that I bought at Costco. I think it is in their automotive section because it has multiple uses depending on the dilution level. If you read the instructions it can be safely used on clothes if diluted properly.

Shout Action Gel Advanced is a good product for gettng out stains. I bought a bottle to see if it worked and it does a pretty good job on a lot of stains. I did have problems getting blood out of the sheets though. You might want to soak that area really good with peroxide. I have heard that other products out there are also good. I think you just have to try and see what works.

Zout!!!!!!!!!! Takes EVERYTHING OUT, EVEN OLD STUFF...

TRISH

grease and oil are tough to get out once they are set.unfortunately i have no magic solutins there. when fresh, pouring boiling water through the stain and then spraying with shout then soaking it in hot water works wonderfully

for blood cold water... first i use hydrogen peroxide on the stain ...let it sit and rub it out.. then rise with cold water... do it again if any blood stain is left.. then shout. and cold water wash.

I am not sure how to get the grease/oil stain out but for the blood if you use hydrogen peroxife and dab the blood with it you will see it start to fizz. After teh fizzing is done wipe with a damp cloth and it should come rught out. You can also put an Oxiclean paste on it and than wash it in the washer. The oxiclean may also work for the grease stain. You just take some powder oxiclean adn mix it with water till it becomes a paste and than smear it over the stain. Hope this helps. Good Luck.

For grease stains,put powder on the stain and let sit overnight then wash. The powder will take out the oil. I read that then using dish soap on the stain will also help to remove the stain.

Peroxide gets blood out!

Usually pretreating the clothes with Shout or one of those products does the trick. I recently found a product that has three different types of removers for different types of stains, it's pretty good -- it's called Motsenbockers.

You will probably never get the mattress stain out completely, even if you can get the worst off it leaves a ring. I used Shout and rags with cold water (cold water, not hot, for blood) when my daughter got blood on her mattress recently. You need mattress pads for sure.

I think some people didn't read the part about the blood being on the mattress. Obviously can't be pouring tons of liquid (hydrogen peroxide) on that or wash it in the washer! =o)
Liquid Oxyclean is pretty much hydrogen peroxide and allows you to spray a very small amount of actual liquid on the stain. I used this on my car seats when my daughter had a crazy bloody nose in the back seat (it looked like a crime scene!) Just spray a little on, then dab off with a paper towel and keep repeating until it's clean.

As for grease and oil, I use Dawn ("takes grease out of your way!") and the hottest water I can stand. That works most of the time.

Good luck!! With two little boys you will be an expert in stains in no time!

My six year old daughter is very active at school. She comes home with clothes completely filthy. We use Spray & Wash with Resolve (make certain it has resolve). She just had a dress that got blackberry stains on the front and it came out beautifully. It takes out just about everything. As far as teh mattress, I'm not sure what to tell you. If you hear about anything, I would love to know.

Happy Summer.

Murphy's Oil Soap works well on grease stains

M.
For you son's clothes, I would suggest SA8 Premium Detergent with bioquest and SA8 Prewash,for the stain on the mattress you might purchase SA8 Solution Tri-zyme and make a paste, let it dry and brush or vaccuum off. These products are available only online from Amway Global also known as Quixtar in North America. I am an Amway/Global Independent Business Owner and I would be happy to help you. These are very concentrated products so a small amount goes a very long way.

Let me know if I can help you.

Good luck.

S.

Hydrogen peroxide works the best for me. Or use a stain remover specifically designed for nurses. You can buy those at medical supply stores, uniform stores, etc.

Hi M.,

The best thing I have found for grease/oil stains is the automotive hand cleaner called
"GOOP" . Harbor Freight Tools also carries it if you can't find it at the automotive stores. Goop feels and smells a lot like cold cream. Take a blob of it in your hand and rug it into the soiled area of your clothes. Let it sit for 15-20 minutes, then launder the item like you always do.

This stuff works great to clean stove tops and wood cabinets too. Spread the goop over the greasy surfaces, let it sit for 15-20 minutes then use a nylon scrub cloth to srub any stubborn spots. Wipe the goop (which will get a little runny) off with clean cloths or paper towels. DO NOT get any water on it before you get it clean. For some reason, the stuff doesn't work if you get water on it too soon. After the surface is clean you can use a damp cloth to wipe it.

For blood stains use hydogen peroxide which you buy at the drug store. Use a small pad to blot it onto your mattress. Then use a clean absorbent cottom cloth to wick it off. You may have to do this several times. In the future, the sooner you use the h.peroxide, the the more efficiently it will neutralize the blood.

Merylyn (aka M.)

To get rid of grease stains soak clothes overnight in coca cola. For the blood on the mattress put some peroxide in a spray bottle, spray and blot untill the stain comes out. I've also heard that vinegar works great for getting stains out but I have never tried it as the smell makes me sick.

Hope this helps.
T.

Definately will be watching these answers as I have the same issue with my son having had a bloody nose while sleeping :/

For really tough greasy stains, I mix a little dawn dish soap with shout oxyclean on the stain. It usually does the trick. Not sure what to do about the mattress.

Hydrogen Peroxide works wonders on Blood stains, particularly fresh ones. A second resort would be a bleach solution (has to be rinsed thoroughly) - only if the fabric is white. Hope this helps on the blood stains.

we steam cleaned out mattress with tide, don't know if it will take the whole stain out, but got most of it out. It was great for pet odors also. Be sure to get a matress pad that is water proof, they are definetly worth the extra money.
W.

I'm not sure what to do about the grease stains. Maybe somebody on here will have a suggestion.

As for the mattress...put some hydrogen peroxide on the stains and let it sit. It will bubble up, then try and clean it with a Tide pen.

Good luck!