How to make a stain remover with your own hands at home
No one is safe from accidental soiling: a drop of coffee on a blouse, a trace of grass on the knees, a strip of lipstick on the collar. There are many reasons for the appearance of wear marks on clothing. Each spot has its specificities. You either need to have a set of tools at hand, like in a dry cleaner, or you need to be able to solve the problem quickly, using the tools available. How to make a homemade stain remover, no less effective than the factory one?
Varieties and methods of replacement
The choice of stain remover depends on the composition of the stain. The principle of operation is the destruction of organic or inorganic compounds and their removal from the tissues.
Chlorine
Chlorine compounds such as Whiteness are used to bleach white cotton and linen products. At home, it can be replaced with a bleach solution. Enough 30 grams per 1000 milliliters.
Using a homemade stain remover has the same limitations and disadvantages as the professional method:
- premature fabric wear;
- yellow on white background;
- toxicity of odors and solutions;
- use on fabrics with a dense and natural structure.
The use of chlorine compounds requires skin protection and ventilation.
Peroxide
Special stain removers contain oxygen, which oxidizes the organic components of the pollution. At home, alternatives to store-bought stain removers are hydrogen peroxide and sodium carbonate. A pharmaceutical disinfectant will also replace chlorine-based bleach.
Perhydrol, when interacting with water, breaks down into oxygen and carbon dioxide. The sodium carbonate softens the water, making it easier to clean the fabric. For greater effect, the water temperature should be 70-80 degrees. For silk, wool, the temperature is reduced to 30-50 degrees. Do not use household stain remover on colored fabrics. Chemicals require careful handling, excluding contact with the mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract.
Acid
Professional stain removers contain oxalic and hydrofluoric acids. They are used to remove iron oxides from cotton items. High toxicity and aggressiveness limit their use.
Table vinegar, artificial citric acid, lemon juice have similar properties in terms of interaction with inorganic substances.
Effective do-it-yourself recipes for working with colored and white things
To achieve the result, multi-component stain removers are used. Thanks to the selected elements, the effect is enhanced and the effect on the fibers is softened.
First of all
The cleaning solution is prepared from dish detergent and 3% hydrogen peroxide. Ratio: 1:2. Stain-removing properties: oxygenated, with a degreasing effect and a water-softening effect.
Second
To obtain a mixture of 3% hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, dishwashing detergent, take the proportions: 8: 1: 4. Soda is used as a catalyst to enhance the oxidizing effect. It is safe for the skin and eliminates organic odors.
All components of the home stain remover are mixed in a glass container, applied to the stain for 15-20 minutes.
Third
Homemade stain remover based on coarse table salt and detergent. Salt is highly hygroscopic and abrasive. Mixed with a degreaser, it removes all types of stains well: from wine to rust. With excess salt on colored clothes, salt stains remain.
The concentration and amount of stain remover should be adjusted to the size of the stain. After cleaning, things are thoroughly rinsed with warm and cold water.
Fourth
Table vinegar (9%) (citric acid / fresh lemon juice) is mixed with table salt, baking soda and wiped. Ratio: 1 tablespoon acid, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt. Oxygen is released as a result of a chemical reaction. The effect of homemade stain remover is short-lived: while acetic acid and NaHCO3 react. The clothes are well washed and rinsed so that the smell of vinegar disappears.
Fifth
A borax and ammonia laundry solution will replace a special stain remover for colored and children's products. To obtain a liquid soap base, laundry soap is grated and boiled until the shavings disappear. For 0.5 liters of boiling water - 1 bar of soap. The resulting emulsion is cooled to 40 degrees. The entire volume is not used. The shelf life of the emulsion is 7 days.
For a homemade stain remover, mix 1 part ammonia, borax and 5 parts soap solution.
Stain remover selection
Each stain has its own composition, which requires finding the best homemade stain remover.
Grass Marks
Vegetable juice on items made from natural fabrics is removed using a mixture of 70% ethyl and 10% ammonia.
Yellow spots
The reason for the appearance of yellow spots on clothes can be:
- sweat;
- oil (animal or vegetable).
In each case, you need your own stain remover to remove them:
- Sweat is 99% water and 1% organic components, including lipids, urea, ammonia and sulfuric acid. They are absorbed by the fibers and change color. The neutralization/bleaching reaction is carried out with vinegar and soda. Minor contaminants are removed by rinsing in an automatic machine, if you add 100 milliliters of vinegar. Stubborn stains are treated before washing by rubbing the mixture into sweat marks. Yellow sweat stains are removed from silk products with ethyl alcohol. A mixture of hydrogen peroxide and dish soap will help remove underarm yellowness without vinegar or alcohol.
- Traces of oil are removed using glycerine or dishwasher degreaser and talc or starch to create a buffer zone. Another method is to apply a 2:2:2 mixture of baking soda, ammonia, and dishwashing degreaser. Home stain removers are applied to dirt and washed off after 20-30 minutes.
From fruit juice
Until the stain is dry, it should be covered with table salt, allowed to dry and shaken off. If traces remain, moisten the contamination with a composition of table vinegar and citric acid (1: 1).
Ink
Pour glycerin on the stain and let it sit for 1 hour. Then it is rinsed in warm salt water and washed in an emulsion based on laundry soap. Lines drawn with a ballpoint pen are removed with nail polish remover.
Tea and coffee
A composition of ammonia and dishwashing detergent (3:1 ratio) is suitable. The stain is soaked for 10 minutes in the solution, then rinsed and powder washed. Fresh tea stains will disappear if treated with a slurry of heated glycerin and salt. For black coffee, ammonia is added to the salt. Traces of coffee with milk are dissolved with gasoline from a lighter.
Toning cream
Traces of foundation can be removed by wiping the cervix with an ammonia cotton swab.
Red wine
Splashes of wine are removed with salt, lemon juice.
Deodorant
Antiperspirants can leave marks on clothes. On light-colored objects, they are removed with an aqueous solution of soda (1: 1). On dark - salty ammonia. The homemade composition is applied to the stains, kept for 15 minutes and washed off.
Rust
Remove fresh rust marks and stains with lemon juice and a hot iron. Contamination is moistened with squeezed juice and steam cleaned with a hot iron. The procedure is repeated several times without allowing the juice to dry completely. Lemon juice is not used on colored fabrics due to fading.
Concealer
The method of moving home depends on the composition:
- Water based. Use a wash with laundry soap or foam emulsion.
- For alcohol. Similar solvents are used:
- alcohol;
- acetone;
- Vodka.
An old stain is wiped off with gasoline, white spirit.
iron marks
You can get rid of a fresh spot with a home remedy by pouring milk, yogurt on it and leaving it for 1 hour. Dried streak is removed with onions. Grated onion is applied to the fabric, rubbing it well into the fibers. After 2-3 hours, the product is washed off.
Stain removal rules
The main condition for removing dirt is to prevent the stain from spreading over a large area.
To do this, use the following household techniques:
- Create a protective roll. The edges of the stain are moistened with water and a hygroscopic substance (talc, starch) is poured.
- Stripping is done from the edges towards the center.
- The tool should match the size of the stain (do not exceed it).
The fabric is treated on the sewn side by placing white paper towels or several layers of gauze on the other side. Before removing with acid formulations at home, you should check the stability of the dye layer of the fabric on an inconspicuous area. Before processing, the thing must be well shaken from dust.
How to improve the effect of a home remedy
Adding baking soda and borax to your household stain remover will make the composition more effective. Soda not only softens water, making it easier to clean, but also dissolves organic salts. Borax is a mineral containing, in addition to boron, oxygen and sodium. Its action is similar to that of baking soda.
Tips & Tricks
It is advisable to remove stains before they dry and penetrate the fibers.Most fresh marks are removed with laundry soap, salt, and baking soda. Old dirt cannot be removed with home remedies.Delicate synthetic fabrics require gentle handling.They do not use agents containing chlorine and acetic acid, replacing them with alcohol, vodka.