Day 85 | Wax, oil and dye combination stains

I've been covering stains on clothing for the past 2 days, covering oil, protein and dye stains. It's been really interesting for me as to how many possibilities there are for removing stains, but that not all methods work for all stains. A lot of the methods are the same in principle, with a slight variation in the theme. The most important thing to remember is that bleach and denim don't mix well, so it's better not to get a stain in the first place.

As I wrote on Day 84 and Day 83, to remove stains from clothing, you have to first determine what created the stain. Fortunately we usually know what we have spilled, dripped or dumped on our clothes, but it's the times when you get home with something on your clothing, that it gets a little more difficult. Reading the label of the product that created the stain, should help in narrowing down your cleaning methods. Below is a list of some common stains and general removal tips.

Wax/Oil/Dye Combination Stains

• Ball-point ink
• Candle wax
• Carbon paper
• Carbon typewriter ribbon
• Crayon
• Eye make-up (mascara, pencil, liner, shadow)
• Floor wax
• Furniture polish
• Lipstick
• Livestock paint
• Pine resin
• Shoe polish
• Tar

"Firstly, spray or sponge with dry cleaning solvent like perchloroethylene or trichloroethylene, then rub a heavy-duty liquid detergent into the stained fabric area and rinse thoroughly. Secondly, soak the stained garment in a dilute solution of all-fabric powdered bleach."

"If the above steps do not remove the stain you can try soaking the garment in a dilute solution of liquid chlorine bleach and water if the clothing is white or light coloured. Warning - bleach damage to coloured garments is irreversible. Since bleaching can alter the colour of the garment, bleach the whole garment and not just a spot. If the stain is not gone in 15 minutes, it cannot be removed by bleaching. More bleaching will only weaken the fabric."

Other common combination stains

• Barbecue sauce
• Calamine lotion
• Ketchup or tomato sauce
• Cocoa or chocolate
• Face make-up (powder, rouge, foundation)
• Gravy
• Hair spray

"First, rub a heavy-duty liquid detergent into the stain then rinse thoroughly. Second, soak the stained garment in a dilute solution of all-fabric powdered bleach."

"If the above steps do not remove the stain you can try soaking the garment in a dilute solution of liquid chlorine bleach and water if the clothing is white or light coloured. Warning - bleach damage to coloured garments is irreversible. Since bleaching can alter the colour of the garment, bleach the whole garment and not just a spot. If the stain is not gone in 15 minutes, it cannot be removed by bleaching. More bleaching will only weaken the fabric."

"Before any spot removal process you should test the product on a non-visible corner of the garment. No method is always one hundred percent successful. Success can be thwarted by length of time the stain has set, the material and dyes that make up the fabric and the make up of the stain itself."

Hope this has helped a little with regards to removing stains. It's sure given me some food for thought next time I grab the general "all purpose" stain remover.