Stains!

This morning was not good. I overslept, so I got to work late and hung up my coat next to everyone else's. Now, you have to understand that I really LOVE this coat and I spent way too much money on it because I fell in love with it, so I treat it like it's a darling pet. I should have put it in a desk drawer to protect it, but I didn't want it to get wrinkled. When I walked past the coat rack just minutes later, my coat had big spots of something black (ink?) all over the front of it. I frantically dabbed it with water, which did nothing, and then tried to used someone's stain stick on it, which also did nothing. Terror! I immediately ran off to the dry cleaner and left my coat there, meaning I had to walk back in near-freezing weather.

I was scared all day that the stain wouldn't come out, but when I went to pick up my coat in the afternoon they had been able to get out about 95% of the stain and they charged $6, which is a deal compared to the cost of the coat. Still, when I got home I got to thinking that I should brush up on ways to remove stains without having to pay a dry cleaner.

By far, the best resource I've found on the subject is a printer-friendly booklet prepared by the Iowa State University Extension, and it is also presented in a different format by the Ohio State University Information Extension. This is really an exhaustive exploration of the fine art of stain removal, and it gives great instructions, but I think I actually learned the most valuable tips from its section on what NOT to do. For instance:

* As much as I want to believe that white vinegar is the cure for every household problem under the sun, vinegar can damage certain delicate fabrics. Test it in an inconspicuous area before you try to use it as a stain remover.

* Don't use dish detergent to try to remove stains in your clothes! It's too harsh.

* Bar soap can actually make a stain permanent instead of helping to remove it.

I'll leave you with one additional tip, this time for carpeting. I figured this out several years ago because I had a pet who was obsessed with finding people's drinks and flipping them over. When you have a lot of liquid like that, grab three or four paper towel sheets in a stack and just press down lightly on the wet spot. Don't rub! Just press. Use the dry areas of the towels until the whole wad is saturated, and then change that out for a fresh handful of sheets. Keep doing this until you can't get out any more moisture. If you got to it quickly and the liquid wasn't too dark, you may have gotten the whole stain out already. I was often able to do this with tea. If you spilled a dark liquid like red wine or if you spilled something sticky, you should then follow the instructions at the links above for cleaning that specific type of stain.