Kitchen and everyday life · Easy · about 15 minutes, plus soaking and washing

Remove Common Stains

Most stains come out if you act quickly and use the right method. The trick is knowing what kind of stain you have. This guide covers the basic rules and a few common stains.

When to teach it: Watch from about 6, help blot and rinse from about 8, and treat everyday stains alone from about 12. Handle anything with bleach together with an adult.

You'll need

Clean white cloths or paper towels for blotting
Liquid laundry detergent
Enzyme pretreatment or presoak product
A bowl or sink of cold water
Rubber gloves if you use bleach

Before you start

Read the care label and the stain remover's label before you start.
Test any stain remover on a hidden spot, like a hem or seam allowance, to make sure it doesn't change the color.
When you use bleach or other strong products, open windows or work in a spot with plenty of fresh air.

Step by step

Tick each step as you go if you like; ticks stay on this device.

Act fastTreat stains as soon as you can. Fresh stains come out much more easily than old ones.
Blot, don't rubPress a clean cloth on a wet spill to soak it up. Rubbing can spread the stain and damage the fibers. Work from the back of the fabric to push the stain out.
Name the stain typeProtein stains include blood, egg and grass. Oily stains include grease and cooking oil. Some, like chocolate, are both.
Protein stains: cold waterSoak blood, egg or grass stains in cold water; hot water can set them. For dried stains, scrape off what you can, then soak in cold water with detergent or an enzyme presoak. Don't use enzyme presoaks on silk or wool.
Oily stains: detergentRub full-strength liquid laundry detergent into the grease. Then wash in the hottest water the care label allows.
Leftover color: gentle bleach firstIf some color remains, an all-fabric (oxygen) bleach is the gentler choice. Use chlorine bleach only if the fabric can take it, and never on silk, wool or spandex.
WashRinse out the stain remover, then wash the item following its care label.
Check before dryingLook closely before anything goes in the dryer. Dryer heat can make a stain permanent. If it's still there, treat it and wash again, or let it air dry.

Chemistry

How it works: Three ways to break up a stain

Stain removers work in three main ways. Enzymes are proteins that break big molecules into small pieces. Enzyme pretreatments break down protein stains like blood and grass so water can wash them away.

Detergents and solvents go after oily stains. Oil doesn't mix with water, so you need something that grabs onto oil, like the detergent molecules in the laundry guide.

Bleach is an oxidizer. Color comes from parts of molecules called chromophores. Bleach breaks chemical bonds in those parts, so the molecule stops absorbing visible light and the color disappears. That's why bleach can lift a stain, and also why it can fade your shirt.

Heat matters too. Hot water can set protein stains, a bit like the way heat sets an egg white. That's why blood goes in cold water.

Try it: Rub a little grass onto two scraps of old white cotton. Rinse one in cold water right away. Leave the other for a day. Then wash both the same way and compare. Which one came cleaner?

Keep learning: Science

Teaching it to your kids

Keep a small stain kit (cloths, liquid detergent, enzyme pretreatment) where kids can reach it.
Teach the short rule: blot, cold water, check before drying.
Store bleach and other cleaners up high and out of sight of young children, and use bleach together until your child is older.

Tips

If you can't tell what a stain is, skip hot water.
For chocolate, rub in liquid detergent first for the oily part, then treat any color that's left.
Rinse stain remover out before washing so it can't react with other products.
Never iron a stained spot. Heat sets stains.

Common mistakes

Mistake	Instead
Scrubbing hard at a fresh spill.	Blot gently, working from the back of the fabric.
Rinsing blood in hot water.	Use cold water. Heat sets protein stains.
Drying a shirt before the stain is gone.	Check first. Treat and rewash if needed.
Using chlorine bleach on wool, silk or spandex.	Check the label and use only what it allows.
Mixing cleaners to make them 'stronger.'	Never mix bleach with ammonia, acids like vinegar, or any other cleaner.

Safe habits

Never mix bleach with ammonia or any other cleaner. Bleach plus ammonia makes chloramine gas. Bleach plus acids, including vinegar and some toilet bowl cleaners, makes chlorine gas.
Read and follow the safety instructions on every product you use.
Wear gloves and keep fresh air flowing when you use bleach.
Store bleach up, away and out of sight of children.

Where to get help

For 'Dryclean only' clothes, take the stain to a dry cleaner. Home dry-cleaning solvents can be highly toxic.

Sources

Free how-to guides for families, with nothing to earn, pass or send in. They follow U.S. rules and sources; your owner's manual, product labels and state and local rules come first.