Summertime Laundry Tips

Ahhh, summertime!! Time for fun and outdoor activities by the pool or beach or out in the backyard. All of that outdoor activity can lead to some seriously dirty clothes though! What to do when you a scoop of ice cream falls from your cone and onto your favorite t-shirt? Or how should you treat grass stains that end up on your child's shorts after an afternoon of backyard football?
Here are a few tips that may help with those pesky messes you may encounter!

• In a well ventilated room, dab some mineral spirits on grass stains (of course, test for color-fastness of the clothing before doing this). Scrub with an old toothbrush and then launder. The stain should come right out!
• To remove mustard, ketchup or BBQ sauce from fabric, soak the item in white vinegar for 10-15 minutes and then toss in the washer on cold. *Poof*! No more stain!
• Did you eat some greasy BBQ along with that sauce and get grease on your shirt? Never fear, cornstarch is here!! Immediately pat cornstarch onto the grease stain to absorb the offending oil. Let it sit then wash it with the rest of your clothing as usual. The stain will come right out (learned that little trick from my Mom!).
• If you happened to get ice cream on your shirt, soak the item in warm water for approximately 15 minutes, apply a stain pre-treater and wash as usual. Launder as you normally would!
• Gum can be removed from clothing by putting it in the freezer. Leave it in the freezer for at least 6 hours and then chip away the hardened bits with a butter knife.
  
• Lemon juice works wonders for removing berry stains from clothing. Now, be careful because the acid from the juice may bleach the clothing. Always best to test in an inconspicuous area before treating the stain.
• Hydrogen peroxide is very good for removing blood stains from clothing. Soak the spot in HP and watch the stain magically disappear!!
• Salt and baking soda make EXCELLENT laundry boosters. On a side note, they (along with white vinegar) are also really good for cleaning your home if you are concerned about using noxious chemicals.

Hope these tips help you and get you and your clothing through a wonderful summer!!! Until next time, keep it clean!