OK, we're having our annual Super Bowl party on Sunday. The menu is planned, the RSVPs are in and most of the items are bought and ready to go.

What a day! I always look forward to seeing old friends, eating, drinking and yelling our way through 4 quarters of hopefully good pigskin. If not, there is always the other crowd favorite activity of reacting and rating each Super Bowl commercial.

With that many people there is sure to be an opportunity to provide some stain removal advice. While I may not be able to remove it all at the party, these tips will help you tackle the problem when you get home or after the guests leave.

General Stain Treatment Rules

1. Remove as much as possible as quickly as possible. Quickly blot or wipe away the excess.


2. If the stain has a greasy/oily component, always treat that first and don't run water over the stain. Try rubbing some liquid dishwashing or laundry detergent into the stain from the back if possible. Wait 1-3 minutes then rinse away with warm water.


3. Consider washing items when you get home or if they are dry clean only try to get them to the cleaners within 48 hours.

So here are some remedies for a few of the expected party favorites.

Beverages

• Adult beverages come in a variety of potential colors. We need to remove it.




• A cool water rinse from the back will help make the stain easier to pretreat.


• If white or bleachable, try pretreating with Clorox® Bleach Pen gel™ before washing


• If colored, try pretreating with Liquid Clorox2® Bleach for Colors before washing


• Wash in warmest water recommended on fabric care label using detergent and




• Clorox® Regular-Bleach, if white or bleachable item or


• Clorox2® Bleach for Colors if colored item.




• Check before drying. Retreat item if needed.

Appetizers

• BBQ sauces, soy sauces, baked beans, salsa.




• A cool water rinse from the back will help make the stain easier to pretreat.


• If white or bleachable, try pretreating with Clorox® Bleach Pen gel™ before washing.


• If colored, try pretreating with Liquid Clorox2® Bleach for Colors before washing.


• Wash in warmest water recommended on fabric care label using detergent and




• Clorox® Regular-Bleach, if white or bleachable item or


• Clorox2® Bleach for Colors if colored item.




• Check before drying. Retreat item if needed.






• Buffalo wings, meatballs, Bagel Bits. Beware of greasy spots.




• Pretreat with liquid detergent and wait 3-5 minutes.


• Wash in hottest water recommended on fabric care label using detergent and




• Clorox® Regular-Bleach, if white or bleachable item or


• Clorox2® Bleach for Colors if colored item.




• Check before drying. Retreat item if needed.

Main Course

• Chili, hamburgers, steaks. Again, beware of greasy spots.




• Pretreat with liquid detergent and wait 3-5 minutes.


• Wash in hottest water recommended on fabric care label using detergent and




• Clorox® Regular-Bleach, if white or bleachable item or


• Clorox2® Bleach for Colors if colored item.




• Check before drying. Retreat item if needed.

Good luck and have a great time on Sunday!!

Another reader question - this one about lip gloss left in a pocket during the wash.

"I washed a load of jeans with some cargo pants at the laundromat. Everything was fine with the pants after I looked at them when they finished washing, so I put them into the dryer. When my clothes were finished drying I took them out and noticed that grease stains were on every pair of pants that were in there. Then I noticed that I left lip gloss in one of the pants, and they all were ruined."

I have some good news and some bad news.

The good news: you did this at a laundromat, so the grease is not inside your dryer to transfer to later loads.

The bad news: after drying the "grease spots" are probably set and are going to be super difficult to remove, if at all. You might try using a good solvent (like Goo Gone) on the grease spots and then re-washing in the hottest water possible. Other than that, a small amount may be removed in the next wash, so consider air drying for the next 3-4 washes and see if you notice a difference. Otherwise, these pants will probably be relegated to home weekend wearing.

Sorry I couldn't be more optimistic.

Give these suggestions a try and let me know if they work.

Good luck!

Turn out the lights… the party’s over!
Great, now the cleanup begins!!
Tell me again why having that party was such a GREAT idea.

Now that the guests are gone and the flurry of holiday activities have officially concluded, hosts and hostesses are often left wondering what hit them. There are mounds of linens, tablecloths, sheets and towels to wash, along with cleanup of other leftovers from the good times.

Often, people run into a little trouble with the sheer volume of work to be done. In the interest of preserving your sanity and keeping as light a load as possible (pun intended!), I suggest you break up the laundry task into several days. Trust me, it doesn’t have to be all done in one night/day. Avoid the temptation to do everything in one huge load, especially when you have such a high volume of similar items. Like any other laundry day, follow a few simple rules to success:

• Sort and separate out items with obvious stains. Tackle these first. The fresher the stain, the better the chances for removal. Need help? Don’t forget to try the Holiday Stainline (1-877-STAIN 411).
• Ask "what items will I need next" and "what is just going to get folded and put away"? This helps decide the order for washing everything.
• Check the care labels for proper laundering techniques.
• Try starting some loads later in the day. They can dry overnight while you sleep.
• It’s best to not overload the washing machine—separate heavy and lightweight items. (This also helps cut down on drying time.) Also use the recommended amount of product for the load size.
• Finally, check stained items thoroughly before you put them into the dryer, because stains will “cook” into fabrics if heated/dried.

With “delicate” care items, it’s best to always do a product compatibility or bleachability test to determine whether you can use the product without harming the item. Some tablecloths and garments especially will be marked as delicate care or hand wash. Again, remember to check the care label if you have any doubt about the type of washing/drying conditions or products that are appropriate to use.

Step 2: Products

You wouldn’t try to bake a cake or fix a car without the proper tools – laundry should be seen in the same way. A lot of us just use the products our mom or last roommate used for doing our laundry. However, there are many options out there for detergents and additives – do you know what you’re putting in that washer?  

Detergent – Two types; liquid and powder. 

• Liquids are easier to use, cost slightly more and can be used to pretreat problems.


• Powders clean soils/dirt better but you need to make sure the powder gets dissolved.  If not, you will find the leftovers stuck to the dried clothes, usually most visible on the darker colors. 


• Make sure the detergent contains enzymes which help get out stains.  If you’re sensitive to fragrances, try the Free (no dyes or fragrance) version.

Bleach – Oh boy, there are several options here. I’ll get more into the other kinds of bleach in detail on another post – it could take awhile to get all the information out. Of course I am partial to the old reliable - Clorox Regular-Bleach. 

• Clorox Regular-Bleach for white and bleachable items only.  The easiest way to use bleach is to add it to the bleach dispenser that adds the bleach at the bottom of your washer.  Always add the bleach and detergent as the washer is filling and BEFORE you add the clothes. 


• Consider the Clorox Bleach Pen Gel for treating mostly whites (stripes or prints).  With the Bleach Pen you control where you want the bleach to go.  Use the scrubber tip to jump-start stain removal then toss in the washer with your white or mostly-white load. 


• For colors, there are color-safe bleaches that are available in liquid or powder forms. Use these products, like Clorox 2 Bleach for Colors, to help remove stains/soils and brighten colors.

Fabric Softener – Two options (liquid or sheets) are available to leave clothes feeling softer, help eliminate static cling and leave a lingering scent in your clothes.  Add the liquid to the fabric softener dispenser.  It will be added in the final rinse after the cleaning has been completed.  The dryer sheets will give less softening than the rinse-added version.

Step 3: Deal with problem stains & soils ASAP

Tackle stains with a pretreater or stain remover before laundering. This allows you to use concentrated product and jumpstart the removal.  Pretreat problems with liquid detergent (apply, rub in, let set 3-5 minutes) or special pretreater products.  If unsure whether product is safe to use on item, do a quick pretest (check label) or apply drop in hidden spot (like inside seam), wait 1-2 minutes, then blot with damp cloth/towel.  Air dry and check for discoloration. If none, then product should be safe to use on item.

Step 4: Ahh…to wash with hot or not to wash with hot

Choosing the right setting is key.  Check care labels on clothes before putting them into the washing machine. Use the warmest water recommended for the fabric to wash. Always use HOT for whites; light and dark colors should be warm or Permanent Press; delicates if not hand washed should only be done on DELICATE.  Add the proper amount of detergent to the dispenser or to bottom of washer as the water is filling and BEFORE you add the clothes. If using bleach, it’s best to pour it into the machine’s bleach dispenser, which adds it at the bottom of the machine, while water is filling, and helps to dilute it and disperse it more thoroughly. If you don’t have a bleach dispenser, let the water fill ¼ to 1/3 in the machine; add the detergent and bleach; swish the agitator to help mix and disperse then drop in your clothes.

An Ick Tip:

Do you know who used that washer before you at the Laundromat?  I know, gross, right? Always do the white load with disinfecting bleach first.  It will disinfect your white laundry, take care of anything the last person left behind, and keep from adding germs to the rest of your loads.

Step 5: DryCheck all stained fabrics as you transfer them into the dryer for successful removal. Once a garment has been dried, the stain may be permanent, because a dryer can “cook” stains into fabric. 

Want to save some energy and improve the way your fabrics look when dried?

For best results try and keep similar weight materials in the same load and do not overload the dryer. 

And don’t forget the hangers!  To get the most from those wrinkle-free and permanent press finishes, items should be removed while slightly damp and place on hangers to dry. 

Step 6: Fold and Put AwayStart folding IMMEDIATELY.  You will get fewer wrinkles and things are ready to be put away when you’re finished. Do I sound like your mom yet?

I’ll get into more details on bleach insights in my future postings! Stay tuned for more information and in the meantime, I look forward to hearing your questions and thoughts.

I know - you do laundry two, three times a week. But sometimes we don’t even realize that we could be making little changes to our technique that might extend the life of our items, or make the process smoother.

Step 1: Sorting

Everyone is a different kind of sorter. Do you still try to cram it all in one washload?  Or are you a lights/darks person? Sorting really is the first key to obtaining the best results. How shall I sort thee?A) First, group clothes by colors:

White items, light colors, dark colors and delicates.

B) Then by texture

It's great if you can keep the lightweight and the heavy items separate, especially when you get ready to dry them. 

C) Third, separate lint producers (like towels) from lint attracters (like corduroy).  They can start transferring little fuzzies in the wash and look kind of dull by the time you pull them from the dryer.

LOOK OUTS:

• Sorting is the time to consider pretreating or presoaking any problem spots


• Close zippers and snaps on all clothing


• Unroll cuffs on sleeves and pants


• Turn those polo shirts and workout clothes inside out to reduce pilling


• Empty pockets of all items, especially tissues, lipstick, candy and lost money