Search Results for: blog removing stubborn chocolate stains

Getting Out Lipstick Stains

One of my first memories of my childhood is being a little girl and watching my mother put on some red lipstick. With a quick twist of the lipstick, all of this color appeared from nowhere. As she looked in the mirror and applied it expertly, I suddenly longed to be a grown up lady. I asked her if I could try some, and she handed me a closed lipstick, fully intending, I believe, that I would use the closed lipstick and “pretend” to make myself up. As she glided from the room, I had other plans, and wanted to … Continue reading →

Getting Out Ketchup Stains

Good evening master stain fighters! Let’s talk about getting out those hard to handle ketchup stains. With summer comes a lot of hot dogs and hamburgers and fries, and as a result, ketchup stains! Okay, in my house, the ketchup stains usually come from my Thanksgiving Meatloaf, but I am sure you can relate anyway. By the way, have you seen that commercial that features the talking stain? In it, a man goes to a job interview and cannot be heard over the rattle of the stain that is on his shirt. I think it is the funniest commercial, while … Continue reading →

Removing a Cooking Oil Stain

Cooking oil can find its way into the strangest places. The most obvious place is clothing of course, but I recently had a run in with cooking oil on our playroom couch. A little imp got into the lazy susan where I keep all of our spices and oils for cooking and baking. He proceeded to open up a jar of olive oil, which inevitably spilled. With oily hands, he moved on to the couch. Yikes. I mentioned in an earlier blog that chalk can sometimes be used to help get out oily stains including cooking oil. Here are some … Continue reading →

Getting Out Stubborn Ink Stains

In my house, I have to hide all of the pens. This is because if I don’t, my two-year-old tends to create ink drawings all over himself and occasionally on a casual tan couch that we have in the play area. That isn’t all. Once school starts, my oldest son is bound to come home with stray pen marks on his clothes. it is just inevitable (sigh). Fortunately, I have a few tricks up my sleeve for getting out the stains. As with any new pretreatment or stain removal, you should test the fabric in an inconspicuous place, if you … Continue reading →

Getting Out Grass Stains

With summer in full swing, chances are that your family has been playing outdoors quite a bit. And with all of that outdoor play comes the grass stains, especially if you are running around on a fresh-cut lawn. You might be tempted to try every laundry detergent in the book or just give up and throw the garments away. But there is an easier solution to banning those grass stains. And the best news yet is that you probably already have everything you need to get those stains out for good! Grass stains can occur on two types of items. … Continue reading →

Removing Stubborn Chocolate Stains

If you spill something on a piece of clothing or the carpet, there is an instant sense of dread. You may rinse the stain and then hope it comes out in the wash, all of the time knowing that the garment is probably ruined and ready for the trash, or that you’ll have to rearrange your furniture to cover the spot on the rug. But don’t worry. There are some tried and true methods for removing some common and stubborn stains. Try these solutions first, before you think about giving up hope. Around here chocolate is equally likely to wind … Continue reading →

Give It Your ALL

My daughter contracted eczema when she was 16 months old. The doctor confirmed her condition the same week I planned to stop buying Dreft laundry detergent. For those of you who don’t know, Dreft has been around for nearly 80 years. What’s more, it has held the honor of being the most recommended baby laundry detergent in the world, for almost as long as it has been on store shelves. Dreft is gentler than traditional laundry soaps and is especially efficient in cleaning baby items. However, it is also more expensive than most traditional laundry detergents. Needless to say, with … Continue reading →

Teaching Kids about Maintaining the House

This week I have really been concentrating on teaching my oldest child how to do the laundry. We have gone over sorting, setting the washer and turning it on, adding detergent, transferring clothing to the dryer, setting the dryer and turning that on as well. When the laundry is done, he brings it up two flights of stairs to the master bedroom, where I will fold it (we will work on folding another time). You may be surprised to know that my son is only seven. At his tender age, he also knows how to vacuum his room, wipe down … Continue reading →