Skip to main content

Stain Removal 101

As much as we like to think of ourselves as grown ups, we do "on occasion" (read: frequently) spill. And we write on ourselves. And we drop things. Which has lead us to learn a few tricks when it comes to removing stains from our clothes. Because if you're going to spend your entire budget on a killer dress you can't live without, you want to make sure that it lasts more than one wear. Am I right?

Ink
The fastest way to get ink out of a piece of clothing (hello, carrying a pen without a cap) is to use alcohol. Don't waste your Kirkland vodka (seriously, that stuff is legit)- instead, try hand sanitizer or hairspray. Seriously. Lay the item flat and add the alcohol-based product. Be careful, as it works so well that sometimes the ink can pull out of the fabric and spread to a wider area if you're not on top of it. If the stain is particularly troublesome (and the fabric isn't too delicate), use the tip of the sanitizer bottle/hairspray to rub the alcohol into the fabric and get out the entire stain. (This is a tried and true method.) Alcohol based phone wipes (like the cheap-o ones) work too. 

Deodorant
If you didn't already know, a balled up pair of nylons or tights will get rid of most white marks left behind from when you don't carefully put on your shirt after taking care of your underarms. A few quick rubs and you're ready to go. Didn't notice it until you got to work? A damp paper towel works. Just rub the spot a bit then rub the two sides of the spot together to get rid of any residue. Be careful with the paper towel though- balled up bits of wet paper towel can look worse than a little deodorant mark. 

Make-up
Little known fact - Katie 1's favorite class in high school was AP Chemistry and she almost went into engineering rather than law. One of her favorite pieces of trivia stemming from this knowledge - plain old rubbing alcohol will break down most organic compounds. Make-up is an organic compound. Alcohol also drys quickly so there's no "ring around the former stain". Thus, rubbing alcohol is one of the legit best items for removing make-up stains. The cheapo alcohol based phone wipes referenced above work well as does a bit of rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball. 

 Red Wine
So we've never tried it ourselves, but a recent article singing the praises of a certain stain-remover is what gave us the idea for this post. If you are ordering from Amazon soon, pick up a bottle and let us know how it works, would ya?

What Doesn't Work
In Katie 2's experience, Tide Pens suck. Shout wipes leave a ring. HOWEVER, if the stain doesn't budge with any of the products we've recommended above - a Tide Pen or a Shout Wipe followed by a bit of rubbing alcohol (to speed the drying process) can work wonders. 

Cleaning Other Things
Spills happen on things other than your work clothes. In the unfortunately instance where you get something unwanted on your walls, the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is an amazing product. Keep them on hand for when the dog rubs against the wall and scuffs, of if you're throwing a PJ in your PJs party and someone knocks a table full of PJ-Pong cups into the white wall (ohhhh undergrad). Also, if you're a homeowner or can otherwise repaint your humble abode, use eggshell paint rather than flat. You get a similar look but you can easily wipe scuffs off of eggshell painted walls. 

If you get a stain on carpet or upholstery, try Awesome. You can find it at your local Dollar Tree (no joke), or it's still available from door-to-door salespeople (also no joke) for about $20 a bottle. This stuff is legit. I've seen it clean up pet messes and kid messes. They also have a line of laundry products that I've never tried, but if they work anything like the upholstery/carpet cleaner, it's well worth the $1 price.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Workout Wednesday: Let's Discuss that NYT Article

By know we've all read (or read about) that New York Times  opinion piece shaming women for wearing anything other than sweatpants to the gym. We're not going to link to it here because we don't want to send additional traffic to the website; however, THIS article from Jezebel  sums the article up quite nicely (make sure to check out the comments, they're gold). In short, the author of the opinion piece wears sweatpants to the gym, doesn't see anyone else wearing them and then proceeds to shame women for (1) wanting to look nice in their workout clothing; and (2) wearing anything other than baggy sweats to the gym. The article also cultivates the very thing that the author claims the proliferation of the yoga pants culture seems to cultivate: it shames women for dressing how they want, when they want.  The overarching theme of women shaming aside (because we don't have the time to go into that), most of the points that the author makes in the article are jus...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mad for Plaid: An entire post dedicated to Black Watch Tartan

Confession: Katie 1 has a slight obsession w/ Black Watch Tartan. Why? First, because it’s a combination of her favorite colors.  Second, the Duchess of Cambridge.  Third, it has a pretty cool history which makes it even more fun to wear.  It’s fairly common knowledge that Black Watch tartan is named for the 43rd Royal Regiment, commonly known as the Black Watch.  Did you know that Black Watch tartan actually pre-dates the formation of the 43rd Royal Regiment?  In fact, one of the theories behind why the 43rd is called the Black Watch is because of the very dark appearance of their uniform tartan (which we now know as Black Watch tartan).  So how deep does Katie 1’s obsession go?  She could wear a different item of Black Watch tartan every day for more than a week obsessed.  Want proof? Here’s a list of all of the Black Watch items in her wardrobe. Blazer Work Dress Casual Dress Side Zip Ankle Pants Front Zip Ankle Pants Trousers Ski...
3 comments
Read more

Back to Basics: The Sheath Dress

We're back with the second post in our series of basic pieces that working women should have in their wardrobes. If you missed our first, go back and check it out . The goal is to show you those items we come back to time and time again and show you a few ways to wear them so you 1) get some mileage out of the pieces and 2) you don't look (or feel) as though you're wearing the same thing every day. The capsule wardrobe. Be honest- how many times have you pinned it? (Katie 1 would like you to know she's has NEVER pinned it. She has no desire whatsoever to create a capsule wardrobe thankyouverymuch.) Whether it's for vacation or every day, we search for those elusive few pieces that we can mix-and-match in a million different ways to create an entire month's worth of outfits with just seven pieces! We here at Not a Corporate Fashun Blog have no mastered the capsule wardrobe. We, just like you, wake up in the morning with a closet packed full of stuff and ...
Post a Comment
Read more