This blog was inspired by our Kitchen Salt and Spice Bar, which has been known to work all kinds of miracles! This is a soap that can remove beet juice stains. This is a soap that can remove the strong smell of onion and garlic from your hands. This soap also makes a great dish washing soap for camping! Having methods for removing stains is extremely helpful. Here are some natural methods to remove different kinds of stains.

How to remove blood stains naturally

Little cuts and scrapes happen all the time! While our first priority is to find a band-aid, what will we do about the bloodstain on the couch cushion?! Hydrogen peroxide might be all you need! Method taken from The Maids, “How to Remove Blood Stains Naturally”

• Immediately soak the clothing in cold water or run cold water over the stain until it fades.
• Soak a microfiber cloth in 3% hydrogen peroxide and lightly scrub the stain.
• Apply a pre-treatment of a few drops of liquid laundry detergent to the blood stain.
• Wash the stained clothing in cold water with a natural bleaching agent like hydrogen peroxide, distilled white vinegar, or baking soda.
• Let the clothing air dry and then see if the stain is gone. Don’t dry your clothing after the wash; the heat could set any remaining stain.
• If the stain is gone, wash and dry your clothing like you usually would.
• If you still see the blood stain, scrub it again with hydrogen peroxide and repeat the washing instructions above.

How to remove juice stains naturally

Drinks spill all of the time, and fruit juice stains are some of the most difficult to clean…especially grape juice! These stains can still be removed though!

Method taken from Stain Solutions

1. Soak for 15 minutes in mixture of one quart lukewarm water, one-half teaspoon liquid hand dishwashing detergent and one tablespoon white vinegar. Rinse.
2. Sponge with rubbing alcohol, using light motions from center to edge of stain.
3. Soak for 30 minutes in one quart warm water with one tablespoon enzyme presoak products.
4. If color stain remains, launder in chlorine bleach if safe for the fabric, or in oxygen bleach.

How to remove butter stains naturally

Greasy foods make for some messy times and messy means spills! Now worries, butter stains aren’t as hard to remove as you thought!

Method taken from The Maids

• Blot or scrape away as much of the butter as you can from the surface you are trying to remove the stain from.
• Pour baking soda onto the stain and gently rub it into the stain. Let the baking soda sit for 15 minutes to absorb the oils from the butter.
• Scrape away the baking soda and repeat the step above until no more oil is being absorbed.
• Pat the stained area dry with a clean white cloth and then vacuum up the remaining baking soda.

Helpful hints on removing stains from different kinds of fabrics

The porosity and structure of different fabrics can alter the way they stain and influence what you use to remove stains! Here are some interesting tidbits from Art of Manliness.

Cotton: can endure soaking, drying, and heat (though you want to avoid the latter for most stains — warm water is fine, but dry heat just sets the stain). It’s easy to bleach white cotton, but very hard on the fabric, so use chlorine bleaches as a last resort, and dilute them well. The best stain treatments for cotton are detergents and light acids (lemon juice, vinegar, etc.).

Wool: is much more heat-sensitive than cotton, and needs to be treated gently. You can soak it, but you have to lay it flat as it dries to prevent distortion. Use only wool-safe detergents and lukewarm (not hot) water — bleaches and acidic treatments will damage the wool permanently. Treat with water or a wool detergent as soon as possible, and then get the garment to the dry cleaner at the first opportunity.

Synthetics: vary depending on the material. Rayon and polyester can be washed and scrubbed more harshly than cotton, but will be destroyed by oxidizing bleaches like hydrogen peroxide. It’s usually best to clean them with a standard laundry detergent, or with dish soap for grease-heavy stains.

Silk: is exceedingly temperamental. You can treat stains on silk with water, but rather than letting the wet spot dry on its own, rinse the whole garment thoroughly — otherwise you’ll get water spotting, nearly as bad as the original stain. Glycerin stain remover is also effective and neutral.

Of course, if none of these methods work you can always just give our Kitchen Salt and Spice Bar a try!

Much love,

Nora