| Laundry for Foodies: The Dining Room Meets the Laundry Room
When you have a lapful of spaghetti sauce or wine, together with thinking about the stain agent, also consider the garment -- silk, wool, and leather are far more delicate than cotton and will require a professional cleaning. Red wine (and purple grape juice) are best treated immediately, as they have a tendency to set swiftly. Tomato Stains Pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce, salsa, bruschetta--they seem like our friends when they are on the plate. Like red wine, these can be a few of the most stubborn stains to remove, and like red wine, they ought to be treated rapidly with a cold water rinse and a detergent treatment. Mustard Mustard stains even faster than ketchup, but the removal method is largely the same: remove excess from the fabric by scraping (not rubbing) and then rinse well in cold water. Wash the garment in cold or cool water, but do not dry the garment until the stain has been completely removed. Oil/Grease/Fat Who among us has not had an errant piece of lettuce fling oily vinaigrette upon our clothing? These are frequently my toughest enemy, and I will admit my oil-removal success rate is not as high as say, red wine. As much as I love my stain stick, I find that a spray stain gel works best in a tomato sauce situation. Even when removed, red wine can leave a shadowy stain, so if possible remove the garment and rinse it thoroughly under very cold water, and then treat with detergent and wash. Out on the town? Blot the stain with cold water until it is as light as is possible. The options are be vigilant or switch to creamy dressings, I guess. Ink Ink is definitely a foodie stain. (If you do not ask waiters where their favorite places to eat and drink are, you are missing out on an invaluable resource. ) I suppose I could stop taking notes and do it all on my phone, but I'm old and I still like to write things longhand sometimes. Red Wine The more red wine I enjoy, the more likely I am to get it on my clothes. That blouse is now a beautiful nightshirt, and looks incredible with my hot-pink flannel pajama pants. These days, silk goes straight to the dry cleaner. If the initial spill has left a lot of excess food on top of the fabric, try to scrape it off without spreading the stain. If the stained garment's instructions indicate that bleach is appropriate, by all means wash it in bleach, but if not, use a color-safe bleach or oxygen-based detergent to continue removing the stain. Your Kit ps To fight stains on the go, I keep a TSA-approved one-quart Ziploc bag in my purse, which contains the following tools in my stain-fighting arsenal: • Tide (or your favorite brand) Stain Stick • Travel tissues for blotting • Travel-size hairspray • Travel-size cornstarch baby powder A few general rules to follow when removing any stain (I learned these from my Mommy):. |
Friday, 30 March 2012
Laundry for Foodies: The Dining Room Meets the Laundry Room
