The holidays are here – and unfortunately stains are inevitable! Whether it is on your tablecloth, carpet or clothing there are ways to get those stains out!
Follow these simple tips to fight stains with common household.
- Check laundry for stains before washing. Many stains need pretreatment.
- Take care of stains promptly. Fresh stains are much easier to remove than those over 24 hours old.
- Blot up any excess liquid with a clean white cloth or paper towel.
- Avoid rubbing. Blot gently to avoid damaging the fabric, taking the color out, spreading the stain.
- Check colorfastness. Test stain treatment in an inconspicuous spot to ensure it won’t remove the color.
- Inspect wet laundry before drying to be sure a stain has been removed. If a stain is still evident, do not dryer dry. The heat of drying sets the stain making it more permanent.
- Be patient! Give any product or procedure used time to work. Further, some stains may require multiple treatments to remove.
- Appropriately treat the stain based on its type. Different stains require different treatment to remove and prevent setting.
Stain Types
- Protein Stains. This includes blood, milk, mud, baby formula, vomit, feces.
Use COLD water! Never use hot water first since it will make the stain more difficult to remove or may set the stain. Fresh stains can be removed by soaking or agitating in cold water. After soaking in cold water, the item can then be washed in warm water with detergent. If the stain is not removed try soaking again
2. Oil Based Stains. This includes butter, bacon fat, mayonnaise, automotive oil, collar stains.
Pretreat the stain with a commercial stain removal product, liquid laundry detergent or liquid dish soap. Wash in water as hot as the item will tolerate, with detergent.
3. Tannin Stains. This includes berries, coffee, tea, fruit juice, alcoholic beverages.
Do not use natural soap (usually found in bar and flake form or detergents containing natural soap). Natural soaps make tannin stains more difficult to remove. Fresh stain can be washed with detergent in hot water, if safe for the fabric.
4. Dye Stains. This includes Kool-Aid, mustard, dye transfer (from bleeding in the washer), grass, felt tip pens.
These can be difficult to remove. First pretreat the stain with detergent and then rinse thoroughly. Try soaking in a dilute solution of all-fabric powdered color safe bleach. Try fresh bleach if the garment is white. If using bleach on a white item the stain should come out within 15 minutes if the bleach is fresh. Bleaching for a longer time may weaken the fabric. Then wash in water as hot as the item will tolerate with detergent.
5. Combination Stains. This includes gravy, ketchup, makeup, candle wax, ballpoint ink.
Remove the oily/waxy portion first by treating with a dry cleaning solvent or stain stick and rinsing the spot in hot water in your sink. Then rub in liquid laundry detergent on the spot before washing.
If you don’t know what the stain is, treat with cold water first. Then follow up with a commercial stain remover and wash as directed on the fabric label. Always follow the label directions on any commercial stain remover used. Give the product time to work ; if directions say to leave on no longer than 10 minutes, be ready to rinse or wash it within that time frame.
Don’t be discouraged if you have a spill over the holidays. Use the above tips to help you remove unwanted stains. For additional stain removal help, use our Quick and Easy Stain Removal Guide or Stain Solutions from the University of Illinois Extension which were both used to provide these great stain removal tips.
And as always, if you need additional help, give us a call at AnswerLine! We are here to help!
The temperature is so cold today that it is a perfect day to stay inside. I like to take advantage of these kind of days to mix up some spice blends that I will use year round. One of my favorites is a fajita seasoning mix from a recipe that I found on the internet years ago. I have been making it ever since. The combination of spices and the addition of cornstarch make great flavor and it thickens up sauces when used on both meats and vegetables. I now provide jars of this seasoning to my extended family as well! You can be assured that they let me know when their jars are getting empty! There are many combinations of spices that can be put together, but here is the 
This is a big month for our family. In addition to expecting a new grand baby, we are also celebrating a birthday for the baby’s older brother! Since both events are happening within a few weeks, the grandma’s have gotten involved to help plan a birthday party. One of our favorite books to read to our grandson is The Little Blue Truck series of books. Therefore, what could be better than to plan a Little Blue Truck birthday party!
Grate butter into the flour mixture and blend into flour with your fingers. Be sure that your butter is very cold!
Grating the butter makes it blend into the four much easier than cutting it into small pieces.
Mix wet ingredients together in another bowl. This includes milk, sour cream, egg and vanilla. Add the liquid ingredients and the frozen berries (I used frozen blueberries, raspberries and blackberries). Don’t let the berries thaw or they will color the dough and you will not have any whole fruit pieces in your baked scone.
Mix until just combined. Do not overmix or the scone will be tough.
Shape into a square on a floured cutting board. I then cut it into 16 pieces (four squares with four triangle shapes). If you wanted larger scones you could cut them into 8 instead of 16.
After putting the pieces in the pan I sprinkle with a course sugar before baking.
Bake at 400° F. for about 18 minutes until the scones are just starting to turn light brown. I cook mine in my convection oven at 375° F. for approximately 15 minutes.
If using a pan, allow to cool for 10 minutes then remove from pan and place on a cooking rack.
Last year we were at a professional golf tournament and I felt something land in my hair. As I was trying to brush it away I got stung on my hand. I quickly removed my ring and watch as my hand started to swell! Fortunately it was not in a spot where it could be life threatening like in the mouth or throat. My natural instinct is to wave my arms and run away but I know that is not what I should do!
