So in keeping with things to avoid for the holidays, I’ve talked about those tough holiday stains and how you can find some great solutions on my toll-free Holiday Stain Hotline: 1-877-STAIN-411 (877-782-4641). Then, I talked about avoiding cold and flu germs. Today, it’s another thought provoking item that came to my attention in an e-mail: the carry-all that is the HANDBAG.

Women carry handbags everywhere: from the office to public toilets to the floor of the car. Most women won't be caught without their handbags, but did you ever stop to think about where your handbag goes during the day? Have you ever noticed women who sit their handbags on public toilet floors, then go directly to their dining tables and set it on the table? Happens a lot! It's not always the “restaurant food” that causes stomach distress. Sometimes, what you don't know will hurt you! Mom got so upset when guests came in the door and plopped their handbags down on the counter where she was cooking or setting up food. She always said that handbags are really dirty, because of where they have been. It turns out handbags are so surprisingly dirty, even the microbiologist who tested them was shocked.

The microbiologist said nearly all of the handbags tested were not only high in bacteria, but high in harmful kinds of bacteria:

• Pseudomonas that can cause eye infections,


• Staphylococcus aurous that can cause serious skin infections,


• Salmonella and E.coli were also found on the handbags and these could make people very sick.

In one sampling, four of five handbags tested positive for salmonella.

Leather or vinyl handbags tended to be cleaner than cloth handbags, and lifestyle seemed to play a role. People with kids tended to have dirtier handbags than those without, with one exception. The handbag of one single woman who frequented nightclubs had one of the worst contaminations of all. Some type of feces, or possibly vomit was involved.

So the moral of this story - your handbag won't kill you, but it does have the potential to make you very sick if you keep it on places where you eat. Use hooks to hang your handbag at home and in toilets, and don't put it on your desk, a restaurant table, or on your kitchen countertop.

Experts say you should think of your handbag the same way you would a pair of shoes. If you think about putting a pair of shoes onto your countertops, that's the same thing, you're doing when you put your handbag on the countertops.

Finally, periodically consider cleaning your handbag using a washcloth, disinfectant wipe or use leather cleaner to clean the bottom of leather handbags for your peace of mind and everybody’s good health.

So, I talked about those tough holiday stains in my last blog and how you can find some great solutions on my toll-free Holiday Stain Hotline is 1-877-STAIN-411 (1-877-782-4641). Today I’d like for you to think a little about the other kind of giving that goes on during the holiday season.

From the elbow-to-elbow holiday mall crowds to home entertaining with family and friends, the bustling activities during the holidays and winter months leaves us all vulnerable to potential cold and flu exposure. Nothing can ruin a good holiday faster than sneezing and coughing your way through those gatherings.

So after getting your flu shot, (you have gotten yours, right?) here are some practical preventative tips from WebMD.com:

• Wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands!!!


• Don’t cover your mouth with your hands when sneezing and then touch other items or people


• Get fresh air, exercise regularly


• Drink plenty of fluids, eat dark green & yellow vegetables/fruits and yogurt


• Don’t smoke, don’t drink alcohol too heavily


• RELAX

Surely you know by now that cold and flu viruses are tough little critters. They are spread by direct contact from a contagious person and you. This ranges from being sneezed on to touched. It’s the indirect contact or calling cards they left on surfaces that the contagious person handled up to two hours or so ago that scare me most. I can avoid the wheezing and coughing person, but it’s really hard to know for sure whether Mr. /Ms. Virus person has been in the neighborhood. So here are some tips for those situations:

• Elevator or ATM buttons: use your knuckle instead of fingertip, or use a tissue


• Carry a personal size packet of Clorox® Disinfecting Wipes for wiping grocery carts and other public handles


• Carry and use your own pen when signing credit card statements in stores and restaurants


• At buffets, use your own spoon or utensils to take your food rather than the community spoon


• Carry a personal hand sanitizer to wipe your hands before eating or before getting back in your car


• Wash your hands; WASH YOUR HANDS!! 20 seconds of rubbing with soap and warm water is still your best defense

Following these tips and practices will reduce your risk of catching a cold or flu bug. Unfortunately, I can’t guarantee neither you nor I will catch one of those stray bugs and put a damper on our holiday season.

For tough holiday stains, that is. From elbow-to-elbow holiday party crowds to home entertaining with family and friends, the bustling activities during the holidays and winter months seem to be magnets for stain mishaps. And, wouldn’t luck have it you stained your favorite shirt. Bah Humbug!

Don’t let holiday spills and stains turn you into a Grinch this holiday season. I have provided solutions for treating some of the most common holiday stains like red wine and eggnog on my holiday hotline. I am also happy to entertain your questions here; just submit your question as a comment. My toll-free Holiday Stain Hotline is 1-877-STAIN-411 (1-877-782-4641).

Here are a couple examples from my Holiday Stain Hotline.

Red wine

Tannins help make great red wines, but really add difficulty to their removal. Quickly blot up excess red wine with a paper towel or cloth. Now use Club Soda to help bubble the wine off the fabric (pour on from back of the stain); blot away excess. If possible, wash any remaining stain before it has a chance to set/dry.

If your stained item is white, wet the stain with cool water then rub stain gently with Clorox® Bleach Pen™ Gel and let set for 3-5 minutes. Then wash immediately in hot water with detergent and ¾ cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach. Always inspect the item after washing. If the stain remains, repeat the steps above prior to drying.

If your stained item has color, wet the stain with cool water, then apply Liquid Clorox2® for Colors and rub into stain. Let it set 3-5 minutes immediately before washing, but do not allow it to dry. Wash immediately in warmest water recommended on the care label using detergent and the recommended amount of Liquid Clorox2® for Colors. Inspect the item. If stain remains, repeat steps above prior to drying item.

Eggnog

This has lots of dairy products, eggs and sugars that make eggnog stains complex to get out. First, blot away the excess. Submerge and pre-soak the item in cold water and good liquid detergent for about 30 minutes to help soften and loosen the stain. Eggnog is a protein based stain and hot water will "cook" the stain into the fabric fibers.

If your stained item is white, wash immediately in warm water using detergent and ¾ cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach. Always inspect the item after washing. If the stain remains, repeat the steps above prior to drying.

If your stained item has color, apply Liquid Clorox2® for Colors and rub into stain. Wash immediately in warm water using detergent and Clorox2® for Colors. Always inspect the item after washing. If the stain remains, repeat the steps above prior to drying.

I thought it might be a good time to quickly review some of the special properties of Clorox Bleaches. Some of you may have seen the Sunday insert/coupon and logged on to check out my blog. I try to provide a quick source of laundry and product knowledge and allow you to provide comments or ask questions.

Whitest Whites Patented Technology

You may have seen this banner on some of our bleach labels and wondered what this is all about. Clorox scientists have known for some time that the wash water contains a variety of minerals and metals like iron and manganese that are introduced by water supplies, stains and soils. Unfortunately, these can react with sodium hypochlorite, our bleach active, and form color bodies that deposit and discolor/yellow clothes. The good news is we also found a special polymer, polyacrylate, that acts like a sponge in the wash water to quickly complex or tie-up the metals so they can NOT react with the hypochlorite or deposit on your clothes. Being the smart guys that we are, we patented this discovery and started using the best polymer in Clorox Bleaches. That means no other bleach, private label, store, warehouse, etc. will have this material and be able to protect your clothes like Clorox does. Thus, Whitest Whites Patented Technology is your assurance that you’re getting the best liquid bleach performance when you buy Clorox bleaches.

A couple of other reasons:

• Over the years, Clorox has developed superior manufacturing techniques and quality control to insure that your bleach will be the best that we can make it. We are especially proud of our proprietary filtration process that removes impurities so your bleach won’t expire prematurely or produce oxygen in the bottle leading to bulging and bottles that can rock and tip over. We also manufacture in a variety of locations to help insure you will have fresh bleach on shelf to buy.


• Finally, we have been viewed as the gold standard for disinfecting and emergency usage. We were the first hypochlorite bleach to be EPA registered and people feel comfortable knowing that Clorox Regular-Bleach will be there to provide their disinfecting and emergency water purification needs.

Q: I have a 56-year-old hand crocheted ruffled doily I made. I washed it, and then stretched it to shape it on a piece of foam broad that I had drawn circles and straight lines on as a guide for stretching. I covered the board with waxed paper before pinning down the doily to shape. While shaping and pinning, I sprayed it with heavy starch that comes in an aerosol can. After getting the doily all shaped and pinned in place, I then took a Liquid Starch that come in a bottle, using it full strength and with a brush I brushed it all over the doily. Then let it to dry. Now here is my problem. When it dried it, I noticed in some areas on the ruffle section that it now has a yellowish stain color where the line drawing on the board some how bled through. My question is: can I safely use Clorox bleach on it to see if the stains will come out? If so, what solution amount would you suggest? By the way the doily is made with crochet cotton thread. Will be anxiously waiting for your reply.

A: That's a very OLD doily! The yellow transfer is a part of the ink outline and may be removed using a soak with Clorox Regular-Bleach (1/4 cup/gallon for 5 minutes) and then a hot water wash with detergent and Clorox Regular Bleach. Another option might be trying the Clorox Ultimate Care Bleach which is thicker and lower in bleach content. It can be poured directly on bleachable items, kind of like a pre-treat. Let it set ~5 minutes then a hot water wash with detergent and Clorox Ultimate Care. After either approach, check to be sure it is removed BEFORE you dry the doily. If not, repeat the treatment again.

Q: When I launder my whites with Clorox, they tend to smell like bleach afterwards. Is there any way to get rid of the bleach smell on my whites?

A: The bleach smell is one of those things that you either LOVE, because it means clean to many consumers... Or others, like you, may like the benefits of bleach but would like to not have the left behind bleach smell. Simple solution....Try our Clorox UltimateCare Bleach. It's thicker with lower bleach level and a TERRIFIC Soft Cotton scent. You'll notice the difference as soon as you take the garment from the washer.

Q: I have 26 - 85% polyester, 15% spandex little league football pants that are 75% white and 25% dark blue, and full of dirt, grime and grass stains. I put liquid Clorox 2 on the stains and let them sit a little too long, and the white went yellow. How do I get them back to white? Please help! I’m a coach in trouble with kids and parent organization.

A: The yellow is from allowing the Liquid Clorox 2 to dry out on the fabric. Unfortunately, once this occurs, the Clorox 2 brightening agent has become affixed to the garment and is slowly removed with repeated washing. You might try re-applying the Clorox 2 and then re-washing within 3-5 minutes in the warmest water recommended for the garment. It might re-solubilize some of the brightener, but doubtful for all of the brightener. It’s possible this will make it less obvious and usable while repeated washing will help slowly remove the problem over time.

Q: I wash my rags with the presoak cycle extra long cleaning cycle and use bleach. They still come out looking dirty. Thanks for getting back to me.

A: Great idea to use the bleach presoak for extra stain removal boost. Not sure what you are wiping up with those rags, but there are a lot of stains and soils that bleach alone can NOT remove. Greasy stains are an example. So try using a couple of things: Try rubbing the heavily spotted areas with some liquid detergent and add some powder detergent along with the bleach in you soak cycle. Powder has builders not found in liquid detergent and these are very helpful in getting dirt out of fabrics. If the rags are already pretty dirty, you may see some improvement with adding the detergent but not all the stains/soils will ever come out. Hope this helps!

I received this inquiry recently from Robert, who has been dealing with a tough stain!

Q: Can a small amount of Lestoil be added directly to a load of greasy restaurant clothing? I know it is used directly on a stain for pre-washing, but can I add a bit to the wash load when all clothing in the load is greasy? Thanks!

A: The simple answer is yes. You can add Lestoil to washer, but for greasy clothes, it is best to apply products full-strength to the grease. That way it can start dissolving it before it gets into the wash water. Grease and oil don't mix well together. So adding Lestoil or other grease cutters to wash simply dilutes them and then they must seek out the greasy stains in the wash water. Both very inefficient practices. Hope this helps!

Q: I have a question for you. I recently used the Clorox UltimateCare Bleach on a white cotton shirt. I poured it directly onto the stain and was going to leave it on for the 3 minutes as the instructions stated. But then was interrupted and it was on much longer. I finished washing it and also put it through the rinse cycle twice. Now there are gray and blue stains on it. Is there anyway to get the bleach stains out of the material?

A: I am a little puzzled by your description. A white cotton shirt and pre-treating with Clorox UltimateCare should not produce the gray/blue spots you reported. What type of stain were you trying to remove? Are these new "bleach stains" on the original stain area or in other areas of the shirt? Even with extended contact with the garment, I have not seen any blue/gray spots. Perhaps the spots are grease based; you might try pre-treating with a good liquid detergent and then rewashing in hot water.