ANY parent knows that summer equals stains.
Whether it’s sun cream from a day at the beach or grass stains after a picnic they can be stubborn and tricky to remove.
Luckily, the team at Dobell collaborated with cleaning experts – Sarah Dempsey and Henry Paterso – to reveal how to remove even the trickiest marks.
Firstly, Henry mentioned that you should “always check the care labels on your products before deciding how they should be washed.
“It’s well worth familiarising yourself with the care labelling system, so you can understand what labels mean at a glance”.
Here they share their top tips…
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Sun cream
Henry advises to “start by removing excess suncream using a blunt item (a spoon or old credit card is perfect)”.
Sarah shared that “suncream is oily, so make a paste using your laundry detergent and water. Rub the paste gently into the garment and lift it back off with a soft cloth before washing as normal. If you don’t have any detergent handy, then clear and gentle washing-up liquid works just as well to lift the oils.
"After washing stained whites, check for yellowing. If it’s visible, sprinkle on a few drops of lemon juice and hang the clothing outside on the line.
"This acts as a natural bleach, so it should hopefully bring the whiteness back. Alternatively, prewash with an oxygen bleach stain remover. These methods are suitable for most machine-washable fabrics.
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"For wool, treat the suncream stain with rubbing alcohol first and use a mild or Woolmark-approved detergent for washing. Suede is a bit trickier, but by blotting the area with kitchen roll first, you can remove most of the oil.
"Then foam up some mild washing-up liquid and apply this to the stain. Use a soft brush to lift the rest off. Be careful not to soak the suede as you do this”.
Grass
To get grass stains out of wool clothes, Sarah advises to “dab over with a cloth soaked in rubbing alcohol before washing with a suitable detergent”.
Henry suggested mixing “an equal part solution of white vinegar and cold water. Apply the solution to the grass stain using a clean cloth and let it soak for a few minutes. Gently scrub the grass stain with an old toothbrush (or any other soft brush you have to hand). Rinse the fabric with cold water and repeat the process until the stains are fully removed”.
For machine-washable fabrics, such as cotton, denim, and polyester, Sarah says to “rub liquid laundry detergent into the offending patch and wash as normal”. For suede, “a clean pencil eraser rubbed over the stain works quite well”.
Pollen
For pollen on any fabric, Sarah shared that “you need to be very careful as it’s mostly loose powder and it spreads very easily.
“So, shaking or vacuuming it off is the best way to remove it without spreading and pressing in stains. For any marks that remain, dab with a small amount of rubbing alcohol”.
After this step, Henry then recommends “placing the clothing straight into the wash, without rinsing, at the hottest temperature recommended on the label”.
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Sweat
For sweat stains on clothes, Sarah noted to “add a cup of white vinegar or lemon juice to warm water and leave the items to soak.
“For yellow stains that persist on whites such as cotton blouses and shirts, add oxygen bleach to your normal wash”.
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