Repair & Improve

Removing Pesky Pinic Stains

Picnics are great – but eating outdoors can be messy for your clothes, table cloths and outdoor furniture.  Here are some stain removal tips for the most common picnic stains from the folks at the Good Housekeeping Research Institute:

Barbeque sauce, ketchup or mustard - flush with cold water from the underside of the fabric. Blot with liquid laundry detergent, then sponge with vinegar.  Apply a stain treatment and launder. 

Blueberries and strawberries - mix a tablespoon of white vinegar with ½ a teaspoon of liquid laundry detergent and a quart of water, let the fabric soak for 15 minutes.  For tough stains, sponge with alcohol.  Launder as usual, using chlorine bleach but only if safe for the particular fabric.

Beer or Ice Cream – pretreat or soak using an enzyme laundry product.  Launde as directed.

Soft drinks – sponge the stain with cool water or soak for 30 minutes in cool water.  Pretreat with stain remover before laundering as usual.

Mayonnaise, suntan lotion or other oily stains – pretreat with stain remover and launder using the hottest water that’s safe for the fabric.
 

Source:  Good Housekeeping Stain Rescue!  The A-Z Guide to Removing Smudges, Spots and Other Spills

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