Q: My daughter has a grease stain on her new ski coat. The grease stain came from the ski’s chair lift. The shell of the coat is 100% nylon. Any suggestions?

A: The best bet for grease on nylon jacket include: Pre-treating using good liquid detergent or stain and soil remover like Shout; rub into stain and let it set for 5-10 minutes before washing in hottest water recommended for the jacket. Make sure you check for total stain removal before drying in dryer. The extra heat from the dryer can spread the stain and make subsequent removal more difficult. If you aren't successful, then repeat the process again.

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.

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: 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.

Q: Help! I have tried, in vain, to remove sweat stains that have yellowed my beautiful white sheets. Do you have any recommendations or should I just buy yellow sheets?

A: The yellowing is most likely from body soil that has not been totally removed and is building up over time. Check out the posts I did earlier on body soil including some real close-ups of what the stuff looks like. The best solution is each time the sheets are washed:

• Wash in the hottest water


• Use a good detergent and ¾ cup of Clorox Regular-Bleach

On old, set-in stains, you might try a bleach soak (¼ cup per gallon of Clorox Regular-Bleach for 5-10 minutes) followed by a hot wash using detergent and Clorox Regular-Bleach. Not sure if this will remove it all, but repeating this process 2-3 times may get you back on track. If not, your yellow sheet idea is a good one if the rest of the family can be OK with the color. If you get new sheets, remember to follow the washing instructions above to avoid the stain problem in the future. Good luck and let me know if this works for you.

I received the following question from a reader—check it out if you’ve had a similar problem.

Q: I SAT ON A BENCH AT A FAVORITE RESTAURANT WEARING WHITE SLACKS. WHEN I GOT UP, I SORT OF STUCK TO THE BENCH. WHEN I WENT TO WASH THE SLACKS, THERE WAS WHAT APPARENTLY IS POLYURETHANE. I BELIEVE THEY WERE STAINING THE BENCH. I DID NOT SEE A SIGN NOR DID ANYONE TELL ME NOT TO SIT DOWN AND WAIT FOR MY FRIEND. ANY SUGGESTIONS? I' HAVE TRIED NUMEROUS THINGS AND IT IS FADING BUT IT IS STILL VISIBLE IF IT CANNOT BE REMOVED, CAN I DYE THE SLACKS?

A: Bad situation. If it was polyurethane on the white slacks and it has dried, you're probably out of luck. I might suggest trying a good solvent like Goo Gone to try and coax it off the fabric. Try a small out-of-the-way spot and follow label instructions. Good ventilation should be followed as you use any of these products. If it works then you can try on bigger area/all the remaining surface.

As for dying over the spot, my main concern would be the dye absorbing differently in the stained area. Most likely a splotchy appearance would occur.

Sorry I couldn't be more positive and sorry for the delay in responding. Way too many things going on in my lab these days keeping me from answering more quickly.

Let me know if this helps or if you have some follow-up questions.