Red Wine
Red wine carries tannins and deep pigments that bond with fabric quickly, and heat from hot water or a dryer locks them in. Treat it while it is still wet:
- Blot, never rub, with a clean white cloth or paper towel
- Cover the spot with table salt to draw the wine out, then rinse from the back with cold water
- Pour a little club soda over what is left and blot again
- Keep it away from hot water and the dryer until it is gone
For what remains, mix equal parts hydrogen peroxide and blue dish soap, work it in and leave it 30 minutes before washing. Test it on a hidden seam first, because peroxide can lighten colored fabric. On silk and wool, use cold water and a mild enzyme stain remover only.
Rather hand it off? We pick up, wash, fold and deliver in 24 to 48 hours. Priced per pound at $2.45/lb, with a $45 order minimum, and no pickup or delivery fee.
Grass
Grass stains are part protein and part chlorophyll, so one treatment rarely clears both. The Bermuda and ryegrass on Arizona lawns and sports fields leave particularly stubborn marks.
- Brush off dried grass and dirt
- Rinse from the back with cold water; hot water sets the protein
- Apply an enzyme pre-treatment spray and leave it 15 minutes
- Follow with an oxygen bleach paste for 30 minutes, then wash cool
Silk and rayon get the enzyme soak only, with no scrubbing. If grass stains are a weekly event in your house, a pickup gets them treated sooner than a pile waiting for the weekend. Book one pickup, or book one every week. You pay per order either way.
Grease and Oil
Oil repels water, so a plain wash moves it around rather than lifting it out. It needs a surfactant, and dish soap is made for exactly this job.
- Cover the spot with cornstarch or baby powder for 15 minutes to soak up the excess
- Brush it off and work in blue dish soap
- Leave it 30 minutes, then rinse with warm water
- Wash on the warmest setting the care label allows
Motor oil and mechanical grease are heavier: scrape off the excess with a dull knife, apply a degreaser for 10 minutes, then dish soap and hot water. Work uniforms come through our commercial accounts every week, and the ones that survive longest are pre-treated before every wash, not after. Collar rings from sunscreen and body oil lift with an enzyme spray or a little shampoo.
When home treatment has not worked, point the stain out in the special instructions box when you book a pickup and it gets pre-treated before the wash.
Blood
Blood is a protein, and heat cooks protein into fabric the same way it turns egg white opaque. Use cold water from the first rinse to the final wash.
- Rinse under cold running water from the back of the fabric
- Dab hydrogen peroxide on what is left and repeat until it lifts (test colors first)
- Wash cold with an enzyme detergent
Dried blood needs a soak: cold water with a tablespoon of salt for a few hours or overnight, then an enzyme stain remover worked in with a soft brush. A paste of unseasoned meat tenderizer and cold water also works, because its enzymes break down protein.
Ink
Match the solvent to the ink. Ballpoint ink is oil-based and lifts with rubbing alcohol: lay the stain face down on a white cloth and dab alcohol through the back so the ink transfers out. Hand sanitizer works in a pinch. Permanent marker usually needs acetone nail polish remover, but never on acetate, which acetone dissolves, and always tested on a hidden spot first.
Inkjet ink is water-based, so flush it with cold water and wash. Laser toner is a dry powder: shake or vacuum it off before any liquid touches it, or the water turns it into a stain.
Not sure? Book a pickup and write 'ink stain, left sleeve' in special instructions. It's pre-treated before the wash.
Candle Wax
Wax comes out with cold and then heat, in that order:
- Let the wax harden completely; an ice cube speeds it up
- Scrape off as much as you can with a dull knife
- Lay the spot between two paper towels or brown paper bags
- Press a warm iron over the paper so the wax melts into it
- Move to a fresh section of paper and repeat until nothing transfers
- Treat any color left behind with rubbing alcohol, then wash
Makeup
Oil-based foundation lifts with dish soap and warm water. Lipstick responds to rubbing alcohol dabbed on with a cotton ball. Waterproof mascara needs an oil-based makeup remover before the wash, because water alone just spreads it.
Gravy, Cranberry and Chocolate
Scrape gravy and other fatty food first, then treat it like grease with dish soap. Cranberry sauce is acidic and deeply colored: flush it with cold water straight away and apply white vinegar. Let chocolate dry, scrape off the excess, then treat what is left with an enzyme detergent. On a holiday tablecloth, treat each stain on its own before washing the whole cloth, and keep it out of the dryer until every mark is gone.
When to Send It to Us
A stain that has set is still worth one more try in a commercial machine, after an enzyme pre-treatment: it runs a longer, hotter cycle than a home washer. Ordinary washable clothes, table linens and towels can go out with a pickup at our standard 24 to 48 hour turnaround. Name each stain in the special instructions box and it is pre-treated before the wash.
We are a wash and fold laundry, so we do not dry clean. A wedding dress, a structured suit, leather, suede or anything labelled dry clean only needs a specialist.