Tips&TricksOutsmart stubborn stains. Discover grandma's secret weapons!

Outsmart stubborn stains. Discover grandma's secret weapons!

How to remove stubborn stains?
How to remove stubborn stains?
Images source: © Adobe Stock | Pormezz

5:43 PM EDT, April 28, 2024

Stains that are difficult to remove can be highly troublesome. They don't just mar the appearance but often bring an unpleasant odor. Stains from coffee, tea, and blood are particularly challenging to eliminate. Luckily, there are home remedies available. Discover how to tackle these stubborn stains!

Stains that persist on clothes or furniture can significantly dampen your spirits. It's not surprising, given that we frequently face the choice of discarding items or investing heavily in various cleaning solutions and detergents. These chemical solutions are intended to help us combat these stains, but they often fall short, especially with stains from coffee, tea, or blood.

It's important to note that washing, soaking, and scrubbing with various products can sometimes exacerbate the problem, particularly with coffee stains. Thankfully, effective home remedies for these stubborn stains are well-known. Here’s what you can use!

How to effectively remove stains from coffee and tea?

Coffee or tea stains are common nuisances. Clothes and tablecloths are usually the most affected. Unfortunately, regular washing doesn't always eliminate them, especially if the stained item wasn't washed beforehand. However, our grandmothers and mothers had a reliable method for dealing with this issue.

They drew their knowledge from the then household bible. It's the '200 practical tips and household advice' from 1937. According to this guide, glycerin is the most effective solution for removing coffee stains, working exceptionally well on silk, wool, and couch upholstery.

How to use glycerin on coffee stains?

It’s very straightforward. Apply the glycerin to the stains, then rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water and let them dry. You can eliminate persistent tea stains using boiling water. Simply pouring boiling water directly from the kettle over the stain often does the trick. However, exercise caution with this method, particularly with delicate fabrics.

How to remove stains from dried blood?

As many know, soaking the fabric in cold water is reliable for removing blood stains. The guide from 1937 also recommends this technique. However, cold water alone won't suffice once blood stains have dried. In such instances, sprinkle the stain with baking soda and wash it in cold water. Alternatively, applying moistened starch to the stain can also be effective. Remember, after treating the stained fabric, it should still be thoroughly cleaned post-drying.

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