Clothe Stains Treatment 101

Your initial response to removing stains determines if you will restore your clothes.

I regularly encounter the following stains in customers’ laundry:

• Palm oil and stew
• Mucous
• Colour stains transferred from other clothes (aka bleeding stains)
• Mud Stains
• Rust Stains

Palm oil and Stew

You should take extra care when you are around stew and oils. Apply kerosene to clothes’ stained spot. Wash with powerful detergent and spread in the sun.

Mucous

Airborne fungi that feed and grow on damp organic and inorganic materials cause mucous stains. Moreover, because mucous is photosensitive, avoid storing clothes in humid and dark environments.

Apply sanitizers or bleach to remove mucous from plain white clothes. However, you should contact your dry-cleaner to remove mucous from coloured clothes because of the special treatment and chemicals required.

Colour Stains Transferred from Other Clothes

You should separate clothes in similar shades and colours before washing. You should separate and soak stained clothes in hot water for 12 hours if a cloth’s colour transfers to another. Wash clothes with detergent and spread in the sun.

Mud Stains

You should always soak clothes with mud stains in warm water for between three and six hours. Wash with detergent and spread in the sun.

Rust Stains

Many clothes get rust stains from metal buttons i.e., press stud, hook and eye, and zippers. Water reacts with iron to create rust or Iron oxide. When metal buttons start to rust, change them to plastic buttons or Velcro fasteners.

If your clothes get rust-stained, you should apply acid-based substances like diluted Hydrochloric acid (HCL) or lemon to remove the stain.

By following the procedures above, you would preserve your clothes and achieve a crisp, sharp look that is a part of your natural grooming.

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Rotimi MUDE is the Head of Support, Wire 2.0 Enterprise (a company that eases the stress of domestic tasks and personal activities).