A few of you who read my previous post asked about which stain remover Melanie discovered worked best. Well, here's the skinny. And just so you know - the stain remover didn't really matter much in the end.
Melanie had four squares of white fabric - an old T-shirt she had cut up to use for her project. She then "spilled" approximately 1/4 tsp of ketchup on each, scraped as much off as she normally would if she had spilled on herself, which she does all the time, and then applied different stain removers. I use Shout remover and that is the store-bought remover she used against her homemade removers. She also used a combination of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda, a combination of lemon juice and salt, and diluted bleach. She let each treatment sit on the stain for about 15 minutes. The bleach did the best, but of course it was white fabric. The Shout did really well, too - she could barely see the stain.
Anyway, we laundered all the pieces of fabric like I normally would after applying a stain remover - I through them all in the wash with some HE Tide with Bleach. After the wash cycle, all the squares were equally clean. So the Tide is actually what turned out to be the best stain remover. I would have to spill ketchup on four squares of white fabric again, and then launder them without the stain removers to see if the Tide works fine by itself, which I think it does.
On a side note that doesn't pertain to Mel's project, but to laundry...The other day Riley decided to eat a chocolate pudding. I use the word "eat" loosely, as it was more like he was slurping the pudding. You know the part on A Christmas Story where the mom tells the little boy to show her how the piggies eat? Yeah, it was kind of like that - only with chocolate pudding, and I was NOT prompting him to eat that way. Anyway, he got pudding all over the shoulder of his orange polo shirt. I sprayed some Shout on that the next day before throwing it in the laundry, and it came out nicely. No sign of pudding anywhere.
Best wishes to you and your laundry.
12 comments:
Ok Now I can finally move on from this. I also use Tide HE and Shout. I figure I am on the"up and up." I am always looking for the best solution and this was the science project for me. I am very impressed with the results, as well as Tide. If it weren't for Riley I wouldn't know about chocolate pudding results, so his was an accidental science experiment! Thanks for the information. Now that i have this information, it still doesn't mean I will actually keep up on my laundry!!!
I'm lucky if I remember to treat the stain before the washing machine has been going for 10 minutes. It's usually then that I remember there's a serious stain in there. But the Tide has me sold, because it almost always gets out stains with or without pretreating them. I love you, my laundry lady!
So good to know. I have been using the generic of Tide from cotsco and it actually has worked great too. Tate blew spit bubbles of sweet potatoes all over his white shirt. I put the detergent on there and let it sit a few hours and washed it..no sign of it anywhere!! so amazing yet funny we as moms get excited about laundry coming out clean:)
Kiersten - It is funny how laundry can be exciting. It never was when I was a teenager, but then again, my mom did my laundry then. I haven't tried the generic from Costco, because I am really particular about scents, and that brand rubs my nose funny, so to speak. :)
we should use some of that stuff, stains never come out of our clothes!
Oh The Joys! I'm the same about Costco. I really did like it, butthe scent got me. I swear that plays about 50 percent in the choice. OK, maybe 70. But it did work great and it's HE. Thanks for the laundry talk gals! Let's do this again!!!!
Tearese - I'm a connoisseur of laundry agents - it's a slight obsession of mine. I really like the Shout. Almost all of the other stain removers say not to let the product dry on the clothes. Well, I'm not going to sit around and make sure it doesn't dry before I chuck it in the washing machine. Sometimes I leave it for several days, and the Shout never harms the fabric, but does a great job with the stains.
Lori A. - I should just suck it up and use the kind from Costco, but my darn nose fights me on it. No kidding, 70%! It's sad that laundry talk is so enjoyable. No one warned me this is what would consume my brain once I had kids.
I hate laundry. Maybe it's something you learn to enjoy after having kids??? If not, I'm toast.
I have to use a dye- and color-free detergent due to my sensitive skin (stupid sensitive skin!). I broke out into a huge rash when I lived in NY and used my employer's detergent. Not fun. So, I use ALL Free.
Is the Shout good for stains on colors, too? I use a bleach stick for my white shirts (they tend to get more stains on them than anything else), but obviously that isn't a good solution for colors. I really like that you say you can leave it on for several days before putting it in the wash. That's handy.
Julie - The thing I enjoy most about laundry is the smell. :) Other than that, I could have someone else do it for me.
The Shout is good for colors. I've never had a problem with it doing anything to fabric or colors. Like I said, the pudding shirt was orange, and it came out great.
Sorry about your sensitive skin. What a pain. Do you have to be careful with lotions, too?
Yes, I can't use scented lotions on a regular basis or they kill my hands. I use Cetaphil, which is great for people with sensitive skin and eczema - I have both. It's kind of greasy, but has no scents or colors to mess up my skin. It's also pricey. Sigh.
It was fun to see you yesterday! I wish we were in the same ward; I'd love to be in your choir. We'd have to be in a different ward, with a different bishop, though. :)
I love the new background!
Julie - I don't have sensitive skin like you do, but fragranced lotions kill my skin because they do nothing to relieve the dryness.
I would love for us to be in the same ward, and I understand that it would be tough to have your boss for your bishop and vice versa. It was great to see you, too.
Lori A. - I can never make up my mind about the background. I switch around all the time.
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