It is the season of the great outdoors — barbecues, beaches, baseball fields. For those who are left to clean up in the aftermath, we offer five common summer stains and their antidotes. They come from Norma Keyes and Judy Holden, stain gurus at Cotton Inc., a North Carolina-based research and marketing company funded by U.S. cotton growers.
Karen Klages, [email protected]
1. Barbecue sauce: Degree of difficulty? Good chance for removal. Pretreat the stain with a spot remover (such as Shout) or with liquid detergent. Follow with your usual laundering procedure according to garment directions, but stay away from hot water — and especially stay away from a hot dryer. The heat will set the stain. Air dry and repeat the procedure if necessary.
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2. Grass: Good chance for removal. Soak the garment for 30 minutes in a bucket with a solution of 1/2 the amount of detergent for a regular load of laundry (powder detergents work best here) mixed with 1 gallon warm water. Weight the garment with a white cotton towel to make sure the whole thing stays submerged. Then machine wash as usual following the detergent-maker’s instructions. Air dry and repeat if necessary. Don’t machine dry until the stain is out.
3. Mud: Very possible to get out with some elbow grease. Remove as much mud as possible with a soft bristle brush. Rinse garment in cold water to dilute remaining stain. Then wash garment in warm water using a powder or concentrated liquid detergent. If the stain is not completely removed, rub glycerin (find it at a drugstore) or white shortening (solid Crisco) onto the dry stain and leave for several hours or overnight. Then rinse in cold water. Apply detergent (powder would be better; make a paste) right on the stain and launder as usual, adding the regular amount of detergent into the water. Again, don’t use your dryer until the stain is out.
4. Sunscreen: This is a pretty easy one to remove. Apply a spot remover (such as Shout) directly on the stain and follow the spot remover’s instructions. Then pretreat the garment with liquid detergent and machine wash in warm water as you normally would. Do not machine dry until the stain is removed.
5. Sweat. Relatively easy to get out. For new stains, pretreat the stain with liquid detergent and wash as you normally would. If the stain remains on the shirt, sponge the area with a solution of 1 tablespoon ammonia and 1/2 cup water. Then wash the shirt with a bleach-free detergent in the hottest water safe for the fabric. Don’t use the dryer until the stain is out. For older stains, sponge area with 1 tablespoon white vinegar and 1/2 cup water. Again, wash shirts with a bleach-free detergent, in the hottest water safe for the fabric and don’t put the garments in the dryer until the stains are out.