The 11 most common stains and how to treat them

How do you remove stains from your clothes? What should you do and what shouldn’t you do if you have a stain in your clothes? Making a stain can happen to anyone. If you have a household with small children, chances are that your children come home with stains in their clothes almost every day like grass stains after playing football, mud stains from the playground or jam stains on their T-shirts after lunch.

What are the most common stains? This stain guide helps you to treat common stains the right way.

1. How to remove blood stains

Directly wash with cold water. If possible soak in water that is at room temperature for a minimum of 10-15 minutes. Treat the stain with a product with enzymes or with ammonia. Wash separately.

2. How to remove butter/fat/baking oil stains

Treat immediately with lukewarm water. If possible, immerse in warm water with some laundry detergent. Carefully take the garment out of the water and pat the stain with laundry detergent, place it upside down on kitchen paper and let it rest. Repeat if necessary. For difficult stains you can use bleach on the inside of the clothing. Then let it rest upside down on kitchen paper before washing the garment like shirts properly.

3. How to remove coffee stains

Immediately immerse in lukewarm water. Dab gently with laundry detergent or with diluted vinegar in water. Wash in the hottest water allowed for the material and repeat if necessary. Avoid soap bars or powdered soap; these can cause the stain to set permanently.

4. How to remove discolouration in the collar and sweat stains

Wash with warm water and a detergent. If the yellow discoloration remains, you can soak the garment in warm water with some salt, or you can use an enzyme-based agent. Bleach can be used on white clothes, but only as a last resort.

5. How to remove tomato sauce stains

Carefully remove the residual sauce with a knife or spoon. Pat some liquid detergent on the stain. Wash with cold water from the inside of the garment (turn the material over), as you do not want the stain to penetrate further into the clothing. Then follow the washing instructions on the label.

6. How to remove mud stains

Immerse and stir in lukewarm water in order to remove as much mud as possible. Add some laundry detergent and let soak for about 20-30 minutes. Rinse and repeat. Then wash the garment normally and optionally treat the remaining stain with bleach if possible and necessary.

7. How to remove wine stains

Treat immediately with warm water. Apply salt to the stain and let it rest for a while. Remove the salt with the use of some water, pat the stain with detergent or glycerine and let it rest upside down on kitchen paper. Rinse the garment and wash it normally according to the label. Do not use green soap; it can make the stain worse.

8. How to remove urine and faces stains

Remove the remains and immediately rinse the clothing in cold water. Do not use warm or hot water, as the stains will be even more absorbed by the activation of proteins. Soak gently and stir regularly in cold water with laundry detergent. Repeat this and allow the clothing to soak for approximately 20-30 minutes. Then wash immediately. You can bleach the garment if necessary but don’t do this when it comes to diapers, as bleach is too aggressive for baby skins.

9. How to remove bad smells

Not all stains are visible. If any bad smells remain after washing, you can apply calcium carbonate (lime) and let this sit for a few hours. You can shake the excess product off the clothing or you can use a hand vacuum cleaner for this.

10. How to remove chocolate stains

Mix one teaspoon of gentle liquid laundry detergent with some water. Gently rub this into the stain to clean it. Chocolate is brown but especially very FAT! So you choose a substance that dissolves fat, which detergent is the best at. Clean the stain with a sponge with clean water.

11. How to remove lipstick stains

You should never rub a lipstick stain, for the lipstick will then only sink deeper into the fabric. Lipstick is greasy but also contains an adhesive so that it adheres well (normally to your skin). Gasoline is the product that you will want to use with this type of stains. Use a new wad of cotton every time you dab the stain with gasoline. Do this until you see no more colour pigment on the cotton wad. Then wash normally. You can afterwards remove the (fatty) leftovers with dish soap.

Hopefully we have been able to help you tackle all types of stains from now on. One last tip: make sure you always have a bottle of water in your car. This way, if you are not at home and get a stain in your clothes, you always have a first resort right at hand. Smart right?