Best Homemade Stain Remover

Ever been tempted to throw away a perfectly good article of clothing just because it has a stain?  There are times when clothes get grungy looking, or you find yellow armpit stains, or there is a ring-around-the-collar issue.  Maybe you dropped a dollop of tomato sauce on your favorite white shirt.  Or maybe you have a grease stain on that pretty turquoise blouse.  Rather than buying expensive stain removers, you might have everything you need right in your kitchen cabinets. 

I had seen this post at One Good Thing by Jillee for armpit stain remover.  It works great for whites and takes out more than yellowed armpit stains.  BUT, if you have colored clothing, hydrogen peroxide is not the ideal thing as peroxide can bleach colors.  Never fear!  There are alternative solutions.  

Here is the recipe for the original stain remover for white clothing:

• original blue Dawn dish soap
• hydrogen peroxide 
• baking soda

Mix the Dawn dish soap and baking soda to form a paste.  Using an old toothbrush or other type of brush, work the Dawn/baking soda mixture into the stain.  Let it sit for a bit.  Then saturate the area with hydrogen peroxide.  This will bubble like crazy.  Allow this to sit, again, for about 10-15 minutes.  Throw in the washing machine with other whites and launder on the hottest setting the fabric can tolerate.  Stains should be gone.  

I also keep a mixture of equal parts Dawn and peroxide in an opaque spray bottle to use as a pretreatment prior to washing.  An opaque bottle is important, as peroxide begins to break down or deteriorate if exposed to light.  That's why it comes in a dark brown bottle in the store.  

Now, for the color-fast stain remover!

Color-fast stain remover: 

• original blue Dawn dish soap
• white vinegar
• baking soda

Make a paste with the Dawn and baking soda.  Using a toothbrush or other bristled brush, work into the stain.  Allow to sit for about 10-15 minutes.  Once time is up, saturate stained area with white vinegar.  This will bubble considerably.  Once bubbling has stopped, launder clothing as directed.  

There you have it!  These are two inexpensive and easy ways to get stains out of clothing without resorting to expensive laundry pretreatments at the store! 

Scouring Powder Alternative

We all know there are things that just need a good scrubbing or scouring sometimes.  This is an alternative to the harsh scouring powders that contain bleach (Comet, Ajax, etc.).  It's simply blue Dawn dish soap and baking soda.  Honestly, there aren't too many things that I haven't used Dawn and baking soda to clean.  There will be more of those in later posts, but for now, we'll start with this.  

In order to make your own scouring alternative, using a damp sponge or soft cloth.  Squirt a little Dawn on the sponge or cloth, then sprinkle with baking soda and scrub the surface.  Scrub as you would with a scouring powder, then rinse thoroughly with water.

This works great for things like the bath tub, shower tiles, kitchen sink, counter tops, and I have even used it as cleaner to get bug splats off the front of my car without scratching the paint.  I have been told that it is also acceptable for cleaning flat-topped stoves, though I have not tried it myself, so use at your own risk. 

While it will not necessarily bleach stains, it will remove any substances that are stuck on and does a great job of dissolving oils and soap scum left behind in showers. I like to use it on my stovetop to get the tough, baked-on spills left after cooking.  

It leaves a fresh, clean scent.  It is nontoxic.  It's "green."  It won't hurt septic systems.  It's readily available whenever you need it, and it's economical.  It also cleans great, and is nowhere near as expensive as other scouring powders!