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Remove food stains naturally using home items

Coffee stains, ketchup, grease, and oil are some of the common stains which are almost impossible to avoid. Whether you are cooking or eating your food, there is a chance of unexpected spills. Stains are hard to remove but with some common home items, you can easily remove food stains naturally. There are many specific stain removers available in the market but the problem is they are expensive. And since every stain is different it becomes expensive to buy them every time. Do you know detergent soap can remove stains much easier than laundry soap?

Since this post is about removing stains using home items only. We will use Lemon, salt, baking soda, soft-bristled nylon toothbrush, and white vinegar. At the end of the post, you can see tips using dish soap for most stubborn stains.

To remove food stains naturally, use 3 parts of baking soda and 2 parts of vinegar. Mix them well and put them on the stained area. Wait 30 minutes and then gently blot with cleaning cloth. Rinse it after with warm water and white vinegar. This method removes hardest stubborn stains.

Common stain remover in kitchen

Some of the common items in the kitchen are an easy and inexpensive way to remove stains. Kitchen items such as lemon, white vinegar, baking soda have natural stain removing properties. Baking soda, salt, and soft-bristled nylon toothbrush can ease your job of removing stains and save money.

For harsher stains 3% hydrogen peroxide with a dab of non-gel toothpaste, dish soap can be your sure shot. Check out below which method works best for which kind of stain.

Check here to learn more details about food grade hydrogen peroxide from Amazon.

The most important step in stain removal is pre-treating as soon as possible. It is easier to remove the stain if you don’t let the spill to get absorbed in cloth fibers. The chances are bright to remove the stains if you take a simple action.

We understand complete stain will not be removed by just blotting but it will make your job easier later. Try to blot out excess liquid whether it is of red wine, coffee, tea or ink.

For solid stains, such as wax, mud, chocolate, gums, remove as much of the solid as possible with a table knife or brush before you apply your home stain remover.

How to remove stains of coffee, cola, and wine

Some of the most common stains are caused by coffee, tea, red wine, cola, and juice. Spills from these can leave stains, especially in light colored clothes. Thankfully there are some simple ways to remove them using natural removal items in the kitchen.

For this process, we will use the following:

  • 2-3 lemons
  • 1 cleaning cloth
  • Liquid dish soap and Water

Personally, I like this microfiber cleaning cloth from Amazon.

Image Source: pexels

Lemon is the natural cleaning agent. Lemon contains citric acid which cleans stains and grime. After using lemon you will get clean and pleasant aroma in the cloth.  Fresh lemon or lime juice has a natural bleaching action on fabrics due to the acetic acid.

Steps to clean using lemon

  • Cut the lemons and squeeze it into a bowl.
  • Place the stained area inside the bowl
  • Gently rub from the back surface of the stained part with cleaning cloth/sponge soaked in cold water.
  • Then put some fresh lemon juice on the point and a squirt of liquid dish soap.
  • Gently Rinse it. And again put some lemon juice on the spot and soak it in the detergent.
  • After a few minutes wash and you will get stain-free clothing back.

Note: You can use Distilled white vinegar (Amazon link) in place of fresh lemon juice.

How to remove stains of ketchup and Similar

We all agree on how hard it is to remove stains of ketchup, gravy. Chocolate and tomato paste. With help of baking soda and white vinegar, you can remove food stains naturally.

The baking soda of your kitchen cabinet is kind of nature’s best gifts to laundry. Baking soda is inexpensive to use. Baking soda also removes odor and gives the pleasant aroma to laundry. It is safe to use on all fabrics, including kids’ sleepwear. Baking soda is known as boosting detergent performance, softening fabrics and reducing soap suds for the quick wash.

Image Source: Pexels

For this process, we will use the following:

  • Distilled white vinegar
  • Cleaning cloth
  • Baking soda and water

Steps to clean using white vinegar

  • Remove as much of the solid as possible with a table knife or soft brush before you apply your home stain remover.
  • Take one cup Distilled White Vinegar in a bowl.
  • Mix in 2 tablespoons of baking soda and 1 tablespoon of dish soap.
  • Sponge the area with undiluted vinegar
  • Launder immediately afterward with baking soda and dish soap paste
  • Gently rub with the sponge over the paste and rinse it with warm water.
  • For severe stains, add 4 spoons of vinegar to the wash cycle as well.

Note: For large stains, you may soak the stains of the garment overnight in a solution of 3 parts vinegar to 1 part cold water before washing with detergent and baking soda.

You can buy baking soda from Amazon using this link.

How to remove sweat stains on collar and cuffs

Underarm perspiration is natural and can leave nasty yellow stains on light colored clothing. Excessive sweating is common nowadays but it is embarrassing and ruins your favorite clothing. In the end, you get to option either to remove sweat stains or get rid of cloth. Replacing cloth is not cheap and that’s why this hack can help you. It is easy to get rid of stain if you don’t let it dry for a long time. All you need it to rub with cold water. Rub then the fabric of cloths together and rinse it.

If the sweat stain is all set in, then do the following to remove it. Soak in your cloth in the mixture of cold water and white vinegar for 30 minutes. Then run cold water over the stained area and rub gently with the sponge. Let it fry and wash it again with your normal laundry.

If you have sweat stains in white clothing then use hydrogen peroxide.

  • Mix 1 cup of white vinegar in 2 cups of water.
  • Place the white clothing in the above solution for 30 minutes.
  • Mix 1 tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide and salt in 1/2 cup of baking soda. Mix them well until they form a consistent paste.
  • Remove the shirt from the water-vinegar solution and squeeze to remove water as much as you can
  • Put the paste you made above on the stained part.
  • Let the paste to dry for about 20 minutes and then rinse it with water.
  • Now wash the clothing as you normally do.

How to remove oil, grease or blood stains

Stains from oil and grease are hard to remove if you wait for a long time. Same as blood, rust or ink stains, they get absorbed by fabric very fast. To save time, efforts and certainly your clothing it’s better to remove stains as soon as possible using the following ways.

One easy way is by using liquid dish soap. Yeah, dish soap, not laundry detergent as they are more effective in breaking grease particle and eventually removing stains. Apply the dish soap on stain part and wait 5 minutes to get soaked inside the fabric. It will break down the grease and then wash the cloth with the highest temperature of water which is safe for fabric.

Check more details about dish soap from Amazon here.

Have you got cut in your finger with a sharp kitchen knife? Or nick yourself while shaving. Fresh Bloodstains are relatively easy to remove before they set. Permanent blood stains are difficult to remove once they set it. It is highly recommended to remove blood stain within 24 hours. For the removal of blood stains, you can use ammonia or vinegar.

Put undiluted white vinegar on the stained area. Wait for 10 minutes so the vinegar can be soaked by the fabric. Now use cleaning cloth or towel to gently blot the surface.

Rinse it with cold water and repeat the process if required.

How to remove unknown tough stains or dry grease

You are not aware what type of that hard stain it is but still to remove it. No problem you can use hydrogen peroxide to get rid of the stain.

Mix a teaspoon of 3% hydrogen peroxide with non-gel toothpaste. Gently rub the paste on the stained area with a cleaning cloth. Wait for some time until it dries. Now rinse it and wash it.

Hydrogen peroxide can bleach colored clothes. Try to dry the cloth in a dark place, since light breaks down hydrogen peroxide.

Tips for food stains

  • Baby food: Before washing put clothes in warm water for 10-15 minutes.
  • Beetroot: Soak the clothing in a mixture of warm water and vinegar for 15 minutes before washing
  • Fruit stain: Soak the clothing for 1 hour in cold water before washing.
  • Mayonnaise or milk: Soak in warm water with vinegar for 20 minutes

Conclusion

Distilled White Vinegar is an all-purpose cleaner. Lemon Juice, Distilled White Vinegar, Baking Soda are all natural stains remover. They can clean stains efficiently without the use of commercial stain cleaner which is expensive. You can also use vinegar to clean and disinfect countertops and microwave.