How to remove the most difficult stains on clothes?
The key to dealing with them is to act immediately and apply the right products
Every family has their tricks to remove the most difficult stains from clothes, carpets or towels. However, they are not always effective. That white blouse on which red wine accidentally spilled ends up in the trash or that pants that got stained with the grass after a game in the park becomes a good rag to clean the dust. Treating those dreaded stains more efficiently is possible if we take into account that the most important aspect to remove them is the pre-treatment: act as quickly as possible before washing.
“The sooner you can absorb or pre-treat a stain, the better the chances of removing it,” explains Fabio Cahen, manager of BASF's Home Care business for Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela. Here are some tips to treat the main types of stains:
Wine: the red wine stain is perhaps one of the most feared and difficult to remove, especially when it falls on a piece of white clothing. The best alternative is to remove the wine from the fibers as much as possible using highly absorbent paper or tissue, applying table salt on the stain immediately after it occurs, it also contributes to its absorption, as well as to neutralize the wine preventing it from oxidizing, fixing on the garment (transforming into vinegar). Then, all you have to do is apply a solution such as liquid laundry detergent to the stain, preferably one that contains bleaching agents, and leave it to act and then wash the piece as you normally would. It is important to avoid scrubbing wine stains, as it can permanently mark the fibers of the fabric.
Grass/Grass: Watching the kids play outside is great fun. But it comes to an end when we have to remove the green stains on clothes. Because they are chlorophyll dyes, they are very complex to treat. Due to the proteins and dyes present, and the consequent intense green coloration, these stains can be very challenging and frustrating when trying to remove them. The best alternative is to use a stain remover that contains hydrogen peroxide, let it act for a few minutes on the stained area, and wash with a laundry detergent, together with the other pieces.
Chocolate: Chocolate contains a large amount of fat and cocoa. This can cause irreparable damage to clothing or fabrics. To remove this complex mixture, it is important to remove the excess as quickly as possible and apply a little concentrated dish soap directly to the affected area, along with a little hot water. This step will make it easier to remove the stain during the regular wash cycle. Of course, it is preferable that the dishwasher used contains a blue pigment, because when red or green dyes are used, for example, they can stain clothes.
Sweat and deodorant: Yellowish underarm sweat and deodorant stains are probably the most undesirable, making clothing look dirty and unsanitary. This yellowish color is caused by the interaction of the antiperspirant active ingredients in the deodorant, mainly aluminum chlorohydrate, with fats, salts and water resulting from the skin's sweating process. Removing them is not an easy task. You can use a stain remover that contains high-performance chelators, such as MGDA in its formulation, and leave it to soak for several minutes. Then wash the clothes with a detergent that contains active oxygen scavengers and a good anti-redepositing agent. To remove perspiration odors, especially sportswear, always choose to wash it with a detergent with antibacterial properties, as they are formulated to provide bacteriostatic protection.
