I ran my child’s clothes through the dryer without realizing there was a crayon in there too. How can I remove the stain?

It doesn’t matter whether the crayon melted in the pocket of a sweatshirt left in the hot car or accidentally went through a hot dryer—you have quite a problem to deal with! Crayons have a waxy component that doesn't break up in a detergent and water solution--that's why these stains are such a pain. Below are some tips for getting out wax stains which should hopefully help you:

1. Scrape away as much of the wax as possible with a dull knife.


2. Cut open a brown paper grocery (light weight) or lunch bag. Be sure the bag does NOT have any wax coating on it!


3. Place the bag over the wax spot, and then gently press with a dry iron on its lowest heat setting. You should see dark brown splotches appear on the bag as the wax transfers from the clothing to the bag and is absorbed.


4. Reposition a fresh part of the bag over the wax spot and gently press again with the iron. Repeat until no more wax absorbs onto the bag.


5. Finally, pretreat any remaining stain before washing. For white items, apply Clorox^® Bleach Pen Gel directly to the stain and rub in, and then wash immediately in the hottest water recommended on the care label with detergent + ½ cup Concentrated Clorox^® Regular-Bleach. For colored items (or white items that contain spandex) apply Clorox2^® Stain Fighter and Color Booster directly to the stain. Wait 5 minutes, and then wash in the hottest water recommended on the care label with detergent and more Clorox2^®. Air dry and check for success—repeat if necessary.

A few more thoughts on wax removal: brown paper bags are nice to work with here because it is very easy to see the wax absorb onto the bag. It’s also important to work with the iron on its lowest heat setting so you don’t melt the wax too quickly and cause it to absorb into the fabric, or melt the fabric if it is synthetic. You can check your progress and possibly increase the temperature depending on how hot your iron is--they do vary.

I spilled some salsa in some khaki shorts. I tried Oil Soap and that helped a bit, but did not completely treat the stain. How do I get the rest out?

I’m guessing you have a salsa stain on khaki shorts, which are either tan or olive green in color. I don’t think using Oil Soap to pretreat the stain will have made the residual stain permanent. The bigger issue is whether or not the shorts were tumble dried in a hot dryer following your first attempt to pretreat the stain. If the shorts air dried after you washed them, then you have a pretty good chance you will be able to get the stain all the way out. If, however, the shorts did go through a hot dryer, then the stain is probably heat-set and likely permanent. If the shorts haven’t been tumble dried, you can try the following:

For salsa stains on most colored fabrics, first rinse the stained area with a little cool water. Next, pretreat the stain—which product you use depends on the color and fabric content of the item. Your shorts sound like they have color, so you would want to pretreat with a little liquid Clorox2^® Stain Fighter and Color Booster. Apply a little directly to the stain, gently rub it in, and wait 3-5 minutes before washing in the hottest water recommended on the garment care label using detergent and more Clorox2^®. Air dry the shorts and then check for success—if any stain remains, repeat the treatment.

For salsa stains on bleachable white items (always avoid bleaching wool, silk, mohair, leather, and spandex), after rinsing the stain with cool water, you can pretreat with Clorox^® Bleach Pen Gel. Apply a little of the gel directly to the stain and gently rub it in using the soft scrubber tip. Immediately wash the item in the hottest water recommended on the care label using detergent and Clorox^® Regular-Bleach. Let the item air dry and then check to see if the stain is all the way out—repeat if necessary.

After taking down our Christmas tree, our clothes have little drops of pine sap in multiple places. Is this considered a stain, or can I simply wash them with detergent?

Christmas trees are a wonderful Christmas tradition, but unfortunately pine sap is a very difficult stain to remove with typical laundry treatments. I would recommend trying to treat the stains directly with De-Solv-it® or Goo Gone®, which you can find at hardware stores. I would not expect a problem with using these products on the items, but I would first check for colorfastness by applying a drop of the products to a hidden part of the garments, rinse, and blot dry. If there is no color change, spray or rub a little into the sap and then wash with detergent in the hottest water temperature allowed on the care label. Allow to air dry and check for success. Air drying is very important since the heat from the dryer can permanently set sap stains. In order to do everything you can to increase your chances of success, you may need to repeat the treatment to fully remove the stains. This may include increasing the length of time you pretreat the stains.

Christmas wasn’t meant to be stressful, but with so much to do—get the shopping done (find the lowest price!), plan the menu, deliver beautifully wrapped homemade gifts, write and send a family greeting, and hurry!!—it often ends up that way.  And now it’s finally here!  Hopefully you can relax a little and enjoy the day.  Everyone has different traditions for how to spend Christmas--whether you find yourself surrounded by a crowd of little cousins running around bursting with excitement, curled up by the fire watching “White Christmas”, or going out for a winter’s hike or bike ride, I hope this day finds you happy and healthy, with many blessings to count!

And if you have found your way to the blog because Uncle Bill just knocked over a glass of red wine and you need some stain removal advice right away, expert help is as close as your phone.  You can either call the Clorox Holiday Stain Hotline at (800) Stain-411 for tips on how to remove a variety of common holiday stains, including red wine.  Or, smart phone users can download the free Clorox MyStain App for both at-home and on-the-go stain removal advice.  That way you can get back to the party, or the movie, or thinking of new lyrics for “White Christmas”, or whatever you were doing, and not have to worry about getting that stain out.

Speaking of “White Christmas”, it’s always hard to update a classic, but changing the ending to “And may all your bleachables be white” would be quite an improvement, if you ask me!  Merry Christmas, everyone!

During the winter I walk through that messy mixture of slush, mud, salt and road sand that leaves your clothes covered with splash spots. I just cannot get the stains out of my beige and khaki pants, no matter what stain treating products I use or how much I bleach them. What is there that I can use to get the stains out?

Since I haven't had to deal with this problem in California, I'll give you some suggestions to try based on similar problems:

It would seem that the removal difficulty should be tied to the type of fiber/color and composition of the slush. My guess is that all the salt should wash out and any remaining problem is probably due to the dirt, mud, and sand. These generally are small, fine particles that can "seep" into porous fibers like cotton and when dried become very difficult to extract. Synthetic fibers like polyester tend to be easier to clean since they are round and don't have open spaces for the particles to get trapped. The lighter the garment color, the more obvious any remaining soil/stain becomes.

So a couple of things you may want to try;

• After exposure and before they dry out, try a presoak using a good powder detergent (add 1/3 cup to a couple of gallons of warm water—and make sure to get all the powder dissolved before adding the clothes. Soak the items for 30 minutes to 1 hour, then wash in the warmest water recommended on the care label). Powder detergents have ingredients called builders that are useful in softening water and can help "pull" small particles out of the fibers, thus keeping them suspended so they don't redeposit back onto the clothes. You might also make a paste of the powder and water and rub it into the soiled spot(s) before soaking. Always check a hidden area like cuff or seam with the paste before using to insure it won't damage the color (apply paste; let sit 2-3 minutes; rinse and look for any change in appearance).


• If the items have dried, try re-wetting them with cool water before they are washed. You might try using a soft bristle brush to work in some liquid detergent into the spots before washing. Again the warmer the wash water the better the overall cleaning/removal.


• Consider using the appropriate bleach along with the detergent. I would need to find out if these items can safely be bleached. I recommend consumers do the quick Bleachability Test (2 tspn Clorox^® Regular-Bleach in 1/4 cup water; apply a drop on a hidden area like an inside seam, hemline or cuff; wait 1 minute and then blot with towel); no color change means it is safe to use bleach on the item. Any color change could also show you the amount of change in color that likely will occur if you proceed with the liquid bleach usage. Wash immediately in hot water using detergent and 3/4 cup Clorox^® Regular-Bleach (or ½ cup Concentrated Clorox Bleach). Check before drying to insure complete removal. It might require multiple treatments to get the desired result.

If you can't bleach the items, then try washing in the hottest water recommended on the care labels using detergent and an oxygen bleach like our Clorox2^® Stain Fighter and Color Booster. Finally, always check for success before drying. Especially in this case, it might require multiple treatments to get the desired result. Also, a simple procedure and homemade antidote often rids vehicle carpeting of road-salt stains:

1. Brush away snow and slush. Vacuum remaining residue.


2. If stains remain, remove with a carefully applied saltwater solution: 1 cup of table salt to 1 quart of water.


3. Use a soft bristle brush or cloth to work the salt solution into the stained area. Brush outward from the stain's center to avoid leaving a ring in the carpeting.


4. With stain removed, shampoo the stain area and adjacent carpeting.

Happy Black Friday! Between fueling up for midnight shopping and cleaning up Thanksgiving dinner, I bet there were some gravy spills in the last 24 hours. To help you tackle this tricky stain, I wanted to provide my favorite treatment for gravy stains. Gravy is a complex stain with grease, starch and colorant that requires lots of attention. To start. scrape off excess gravy with a dull knife; blot gently with a paper towel or cloth; cover with cornstarch to help absorb the grease; brush off. Blot with cold water and liquid dish detergent then rinse.

FROM HERE, IF YOUR STAINED ITEM IS WHITE:

1. Rub any residual stain gently with Clorox^® Bleach Pen^® Gel prior to laundering


2. Wash immediately in the hottest water recommended using detergent and ¾ cup Clorox^® Regular-Bleach


3. Air dry the item and check to make sure the stain is completely removed. If stain remains, repeat steps above.

IF YOUR STAINED ITEM HAS COLOR:

1. Again, start by scraping off excess gravy with a dull knife; blot gently with a paper towel or cloth; sprinkle with cornstarch to help absorb excess grease, then brush the cornstarch off


2. Next apply liquid dish detergent to the stain, and then rinse


3. Then apply good liquid laundry detergent and rub into stain.  Wash immediately in hottest water recommended using detergent and Clorox^®2 Stain Fighter & Color Booster


4. Air dry the item and check to make sure the stain is completely removed. If stain remains, repeat steps above.

I just noticed foundation all over my white dress. It has been there for more than a month. Can I still remove it?

Make-up stains typically have both a color and an oily component, and it’s good to work on the oily component first by pretreating stains with a little liquid dishwashing detergent (like Dawn). Apply a little directly to the stain and rub it in. Wait 5 minutes, and then wash the dress depending on the fiber content (check the care label) using one of the following methods:

1. For white bleachable fabric (avoid bleaching wool, silk, mohair, leather, and spandex), wash in hot water with detergent and  ¾ cup Clorox^® Regular-Bleach. Air dry the dress and check for success—you want to keep the dress out of the dryer so you don’t heat set heavy make-up stains that would come all the way out with a second treatment.


2. If your dress contains any spandex:  wash in hot water with detergent and Clorox2 Stain Fighter and Color Booster. Air dry and check for success—repeat the treatment if necessary for complete removal.

It’s hard to give generic advice without knowing more about the dress. I would hate to find out the white dress you are asking about is a silk wedding dress—for that I would recommend dry cleaning. If this is the case, when you take the dress to the cleaners show them the makeup stain so they can pretreat it.

How do I remove cranberry sauce stains from my clothing?

Cranberries and cranberry sauce are holiday staples. Cranberries are festive fruits, but their juice and sauce stains have an intense color with skins, seeds and sugars to be concerned about. Rinse the stained area with cold water. Do NOT use bar soap as it may set the stain.

FROM HERE, IF YOUR STAINED ITEM IS WHITE:

1. Apply Clorox^® Bleach Pen^® Gel to the stained area immediately before laundering.


2. Wash in the hottest water recommended on the care label using detergent and 3/4 cup Clorox^® Regular-Bleach.


3. Air dry the item and check to make sure the stain is completely removed. If stain remains, repeat steps above.

IF YOUR STAINED ITEM HAS COLOR:

1. Again, rinse the stained area with cold water. Do not use bar soap as it may set the stain.


2. Apply Liquid Clorox2 Stain Fighter & Color Booster directly to the stain and rub in.


3. Wait 3-5 minutes, then wash immediately in hottest water recommended using detergent and Clorox2 Stain Fighter & Color Booster.


4. Air dry the item and check to make sure the stain is completely removed. If stain remains, repeat steps above.

Is there a good way to get rid of underarm yellowing or do I just need to throw the shirt away? Is there any way to prevent that?

Underarm stains are highly individualized. Each person’s body chemistry, combined with her choice of deodorant, make for a truly unique stain. Pre-treating the stain by applying a little liquid laundry detergent directly to the arm pit area every time you wash a shirt is a great way to keep these stains under control. Applying Clorox^® Bleach Pen Gel immediately before washing in detergent + ¾ cup Clorox^® Regular-Bleach is also a great way to get the stains out. For some men and women, switching to a different brand of antiperspirant and starting over with new t-shirts, may be what it takes to get these stains under control. It really does vary from person to person!

What causes "ring around the collar"? How does one prevent/get rid of it?

Ring around the collar is a combination of sweat and body soil that rubs off the neck and onto the inside collar of a shirt, leaving that telltale dark line. On a white dress shirt, pre-treating is key, and we have a great product that makes this easy and convenient—Clorox^® Bleach Pen Gel. It has the same active as Clorox^® Regular-Bleach, but at a lower level, so it’s safe to apply directly to bleachable white fabrics. Apply a little gel directly to the stain, gently rub it in with the soft scrubber tip, and then wash the shirt immediately in hot water using detergent + ¾ cup Clorox^® Regular-Bleach. You can prevent the stain from building up by treating it each time you wash the shirt, and it is also good to only wear a shirt once before washing.