I just returned from my second trip to Canada to help promote the Ultra Javex® Bleach by Clorox introduction. I made several appearances in Ottawa and Kingston this trip and in Toronto before. I really enjoyed the friendly people North of the Border.

I found that as the laundry category has been changing there is a lot of consumer confusion regarding shrinking products and usage. Those are much smaller bottles and those measuring caps seem so small. Manufacturers have removed water and made the new formulas more concentrated. To get the same results you will be using 25-50% LESS product.

It is more important than ever to follow directions; use the measuring cap and do NOT just pour your usual amount into the washer. If you are glugger and splasher, doing your usual pour will now mean you could be adding twice as much product as before. It may seem that you are using up that new bottle much faster than before because you are. Actually if you are continuing your old habits, you may find your clothes do look cleaner but that is an expensive price to pay.

There is also some potentially good news with the new liquid detergents being more concentrated makes them even better pretreaters. So now when you find those grease/oil stains, rub a little into the stain and let it sit 3-5 minutes before washing.

Same holds true for bleaches whose usage volumes have also been decreased. Be sure to look at the recommended usage amounts and try to follow them to maintain your satisfaction with your laundry products.

Q: Help! We have a dress that we were trying to get mud stains out of... we mistakenly let the clorox 2 dry on it and now have yellow stains all over it. It is an orange and white searsucker dress...can it be saved?

A: I don't have any good news for you here. Unfortunately, once the Clorox2® for Colors has dried one of the ingredients, the brightening agent which helps make the item look brighter, is "set" in that spot. I have tried retreating the area, rewashing and have never had any luck totally removing it. It just does not want to be re-solubilized. Sorry I don't have any better news for you.

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.

As I mentioned in my previous posting, we have a new laundry product on the market, called Clorox 2® for Colors Free & Clear. The great thing about this product is that helps keep your colors as bright as your whites are white, without the use of perfumes or dyes. Just like Clorox2® Bleach for Colors you can pretreat stains and soils and/or add it to your wash.

Clorox2 Free & Clear is made with no fragrance or perfumes added. This product fits the theme of other perfume and color free laundry detergents such as Tide® Free, Dreft®, and all® Free Clear to name a few. Many people are ultra sensitive and are looking for products without scents or dyes. Clorox2 Free & Clear is a good laundry additive compliment to these detergents. It’s also great for use in the laundry when you don’t want the scent of your laundry additives to interfere with a detergent or fabric softener scent.

Keep an eye out for Clorox 2® for Colors Free & Clear the next time you’re in the laundry aisle!

Here at Clorox, we always have a number of new products in the pipeline! We’ve launched another new laundry product this spring, building our line of color safe bleach products.

We all know how great Clorox® Regular-Bleach is for getting your whites clean and stain free. I’m always asked, “But what do you do for colored clothes?” My recommendation is Clorox2® Bleach for Colors. I have talked about Clorox2® Bleach for Colors several times in my previous posts. Clorox 2 contains a milder, oxygen bleach which makes it color-safe. So on your colored clothes, you can pretreat stains and soils and/or add it to your wash. It cleans better than detergent alone, brightens colors and removes tough stains.

Clorox2® Bleach for Colors is a specially formulated to be safe on washable colors and fabrics. It comes in both liquid and powder forms. Typically, I recommend the liquid for its’ ease of pretreating, but the powder form is great when you have really tough problems like outdoor stains and soils.

Finally, just like regular bleach, sometimes you’re not sure if it’s ok to use the product on a specific item. We have a quick bleachability test, so you know it’s safe to add Clorox2. Simply add a drop in a hidden area; Rinse after ~ 5 minutes and air dry. No color change means that it’s OK to use Clorox2.

More details on the new product in my next posting!

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.