Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Tippin' Tuesday: stain removal

Both of our tip requests this week are from Kristen. First up, let's get down and dirty and tip on stain removal. Specifically, carpets, blood stains and wall stains.

Here's what I have for tips:

CARPETS: Folex cleaner rocks. Christy's sister-in-law used to manage apartments and Folex got all the yucky stains out. I gained my Floex-imony after my daughter spilled HOT PINK nail polish on my new carpet and Folex got every bit of it out! Besides the super effectiveness, Folex doesn't require rinsing and waiting like other cleaners. Find Folex on the bottom shelf of the carpet cleaner section at Target.

Bonus: I just found found excellent info on the Folex website about getting stains out of clothing, upholstery and other generally fantastic info.

BLOOD: I usually use OxiClean but have found that direct application to the stain instead of the water soak method works better. Be careful not to leave the OxiClean on too long though or it will bleach out the color. If OxiClean doesn't work, the bleach stick will!!

OxiClean has a very helpful website, where you can search based on the stain you want to treat and get directions.

WALLS: Abel constantly challenges my wall cleaning skills. I keep a stash of the Target Brand version of Mr Clean Erasers on hand for crayons, markers, dirt, scuffs, etc.

And of course, there is a website for this too!

Post your cleaning tips for Kristen too!

8 comments:

korie said...

I have a spray bottle with just regular old dish soap and water in it. I keep it in the laundry room and spray it on any dirt or spills so they don't stain the clothes. The best thing is if you don't get to the laundry for a while it doesn't bleach out the clothes or eat a whole in them like some harsh stain removers. It's not the best for set in stains like blood or red sauce.

kristenita said...

sweet! thanks for answering my questions!!

and here's another one: what's the best degreaser for clothes... I splashed olive oil all over a favorite shirt tonight cooking dinner... sad! (but just in time to get some stain-removing tips!!)

amy said...

the best blood remover is cold water. just soak and it should wash right out. it's best to soak as soon as possible, but it should work even if you don't get to it right away.
also, hairspray gets ink out of clothes. just spray it onto the ink spot and then wash as usual.
for olive oil, i have had success with shout! that's right, shout! it out. i always think it's best to get to stains as soon as possible.
also, martha stewart has great info on getting all kinds of stains out.

christy said...

to get out most oil, use murphy's oil soap, the stuff you use to clean wood floors and such. lizzy's mother-in-law uses that trick and has passed it along! it always works for me!

Lizzy @ The Tip Spot said...

Murphy's Wood Soap get oil stains out 100%!!!!

Lizzy @ The Tip Spot said...

oops, I didn't see Christy's comment!!

Unknown said...

are we talking cooking oil stains on clothing? Cause believe me I have some clothes that could use that tip. Does it work on old ones?

christy @ the tip spot said...

sometimes you have to use the murphy's and wash the item a couple of times. i have used it on stuff that sat around for a couple of weeks, but if you have dried the item, i don't think anything can help.