Tips, Tricks, and Answers

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Cleaning Crayon from Walls. It's nearly impossible to raise even one child without finding crayon marks on the wall. Crayon marks may be impossible to remove with regular cleaning fluids, but a little bit of innovation can turn items around your house into crayon-removal miracles. Baby wipes, lubricating oil, and the old standby, ammonia, can all help to remove crayon marks from walls.

Remove Food Stains and Old Stains. Food stains happen and sometimes those food stains are difficult to remove from your clothes and that's even harder when you allow the stain the set into the fabric. Avoid laundering frustration by following these simple tips!

Remove Mud and Soil Stains with a Potato. Mud and soil are gross and unfortunately just happen sometimes. Sometimes those stains seem impossible to remove and you find yourself at a laundry dead end. Don't lose hope, because you still have options.

Remove Soil or Mud Stains with Vinegar. Mud and soil are gross and unfortunately just happen sometimes. Sometimes those stains however are impossible to remove and you find yourself at a laundry dead end. Don't lose hope however because you still have options.

Removing Barbeque Sauce Stains. Foods with barbecue sauce are often messy and leave stains on your clothing. These sauce stains can be easily removed with detergent, a stain-remover, and water. Make sure not to put stained clothing into the dryer since drying the stain will set it into your clothing.

Removing Blood Stains. Any bloodstain, even a dried-on stain, can be removed by treating it before you put it in the wash. Run water through the back of the stain, brush off any dried blood, and use hydrogen peroxide to lift the stain out of the fabric. Pre-treatment with laundry detergent or dish detergent can loosen up bloodstains before you put them in the wash.

Removing Butter Stains. Butter and other grease stains can be removed easily with most any household cleaner. WD-40 and hairspray can also be helpful in loosening up grease. Even ammonia can remove stubborn grease marks from your clothing.

Removing Calcium Stains. When you have hard water, calcium and magnesium can build up and create stains on your sinks, tiles, and other fixtures. While commercial cleaners can remove these stains easily, try lemon juice or vinegar and baking soda for a natural method. If you clean your fixtures weekly, you can stop hard water stains from sinking into the surface of your tiles and becoming permanent.

Removing Chocolate Stains. Chocolate is a messy treat that sticks to carpets and clothing alike. To remove chocolate, make sure to scrape off as much chocolate as possible before treating it with detergent or ammonia. Be sure to blot the stains carefully and dry your carpet thoroughly after treating it.

Removing Coffee and Tea Stains from Cups. Tea and coffee often stain the cups and mugs you drink them in. To remove the stains, use some of the tips below. You can use these methods to clean your cups in a matter of minutes, or let your cups clean overnight with little effort on your part.

Removing Coffee Stains. Stains from coffee are some of the easiest food stains to obtain and often are the hardest to remove. These four simple methods can take the coffee out of your furniture, carpet, and clothing. Three of these tips use natural ingredients to remove the stains.

Removing Coffee Stains. Coffee easily stains both clothing and carpets. For clothing stains, pre-treat the stained area of your clothing with laundry detergent or a stain-removing product before you put your clothes in the wash. For carpet stains, use a vinegar solution followed by a detergent solution to rub the stain out.

Removing Deodorant Stains. To remove pesky deodorant stains, first try a stain-removal product and liquid laundry detergent along with regular washing. Baby wipes can be a quick fix for deodorant stains on clothing you want to wear that day. To take care of fresh deodorant stains, use a vinegar solution and a cloth dipped in rubbing alcohol.

Removing Egg Stains. Eggs can get everywhere, but you can remove them with many of the same techniques you'd use to remove other stains. Scrape or sponge away any excess egg, then scrub the stain with dish or laundry detergent. You can also freeze the egg and smash it off with the blunt end of a knife.

Removing Eyeliner Stains. A toothbrush is a handy scrubbing tool for getting rid of eyeliner marks. Use a toothbrush and dish soap, makeup remover, or bar soap to brush away stains. Baby wipes and other cleaners also work to break down eyeliner and other kinds of makeup stains.

Removing Grass Stains. Most stain-removing products work well on grass stains, but it's good to have several methods to get these common stains out of your clothes. Try using alcohol, bleach, or even an enzyme treatment. Peroxide and Fels Naptha soap also work.

Removing Grease Stains. Grease stains happen easily and may go unnoticed for some time. To treat an old grease stain, spray on WD-40 and then treat it as you would a fresh stain. Grease stains can be removed with many kinds of soaps and detergents, including dish detergent, household cleaners, and shampoo. Ammonia also works to remove grease stains.

Removing Hair Dye Stains. Hair dye can easily stain both skin and clothing. To prevent these stains, wear old clothing and spread petroleum jelly on your skin. To remove dye stains on your skin, rub toothpaste into the mark and rinse the stain away. To take hair dye out of clothing, treat the stains with alcohol followed by lighter fluid, turpentine, or hydrogen peroxide. If all else fails, use bleach.

Removing Ink Stains. To remove ink stains from pens or markers, saturate the stain with hairspray. You can also blot the ink away with rubbing alcohol, nail polish remover, or acetone. For stains that just won't come out, you may have to use bleach.

Removing Ketchup Stains. The most important part about removing a ketchup stain is to get as much of it out as possible as soon as you can. To fully remove the stain, rub it with soap, and alternate soap treatments with vinegar or peroxide treatments. If these methods don't work, attack the remnants of the stain with a stick or spray designed to remove stains.

Removing Lipstick Stains. Lipstick has a nasty habit of making its way onto shirts. To remove lipstick stains, you can treat them with normal stain-removing products. For a less expensive solution, rub the stain with alternating treatments of dish detergent and rubbing alcohol. Hairspray and water work for stains you catch immediately.

Removing Magic Marker Stains. Some permanent marker stains may never come out, but there are several methods you can use for marker stains that will come out. Hairspray, rubbing alcohol, and nail polish remover work on all kinds of ink stains. For marker stains, you may also try pushing toothpaste through the stain and rinsing thoroughly, or dabbing the stain with orange cleaner.

Removing Mildew Stains. Mold and mildew build up and create unpleasant odors in moist areas of your home. Bleach is the best tool to remove mold and mildew, so you'll want to wash your surfaces with a bleach solution and add bleach to your wash cycle when cleaning mildew-covered linens. Let all of your mildew-plagued items dry thoroughly and, if possible, outside in the sunlight.

Removing Mustard Stains. Mustard contains a yellow dye that stains clothing, often permanently. If possible, use bleach or a stain-removing product to remove the bleach stains. Dry cleaning solvents and enzyme solutions are also effective at removing these stains, and with repeated treatments, mustard stains can be removed.

Removing Nail Polish. Nail polish can be messy, but spills are not permanent. The simplest solution for nail polish spills is to use nail polish remover. If nail polish remover doesn't work, or if your clothing or carpet are too fragile for you to use it, this tip includes several combinations of hydrogen peroxide, hair spray, and rubbing alcohol that you can use on stubborn stains.

Removing Nicotine Stains. Nicotine stains can be difficult if not impossible to remove. If you have years of buildup, wash the walls with a mixture of water and trisodium phosphate. You can also use ammonia, either straight or mixed with vinegar and liquid detergent.

Removing Nicotine Stains - Video. If you have ever smoked, or lived with a smoker, then you know the pain of trying to remove nicotine stains. Here are some great ways to be able to remove those stains, and make your house—and you—look great.

Removing Paint Stains. Paint stains are best treated while still wet. For watercolors and latex paints, just pre-treat the stain with stain remover or laundry detergent, then stick the clothing in the wash. For oil-based paint, try pre-treating the stain with turpentine. Rubbing alcohol, hairspray, and WD-40 are also options if the paint has already set.

Removing Pet Stains. The smell of pet stains is usually worse than the mark. Start cleaning it by wiping up what you can with some water mixed with dish soap. Then spray the area with a mixture of vinegar, water, and rubbing alcohol. Cover the stain with paper towels and soak it up. Get rid of any remaining odor by sprinkling baking soda or club soda on the area.

Removing Port Wine Stains. A port wine stain is best cleaned off by dabbing a little white wine on the stain. Then blot the area again with a mixture of water and liquid detergent. For clothing, you should also pre-treat the stain with stain remover before putting the garment in the wash. For carpets, finish up by spraying some vinegar on the area and blotting it off.

Removing Red Wine Stains. Your guest drops their glass of red wine on your beige couch. Quick! What do you do? These tips will help you make quick work of that offending stain.

Removing Rust Stains. Small rust stains can be treated on clothing by boiling the clothing with cream of tartar. Garments that cannot tolerate heat can be treated with a mixture of lemon juice and salt. Carpet rust spots are best cleaned with oxalic acid. For any big stain, a professional cleaner will be needed.

Removing Soft Drink Stains. You can remove soft drinks stains on the carpet by blotting them with a white cloth and a couple drops of liquid detergent. Spray ammonia on the stain, and then rinse it with water. An alternative is to let salt sit on the stain, and the vacuum the salt up. For clothing, try either salt or liquid detergent on the stain.

Removing Soot Stains. Soot stains are best removed by first vacuuming off the excess soot. Next, dab the area with stain remover or liquid detergent. Let it dry, then blot the area again with a wet sponge or cloth. You can also rub some rubbing alcohol on the area. As an alternative, you can rent a steamer and steam the stain clean.

Removing Stains from Marble. Marble is a porous stone that attracts stains from all manner of liquids, including water. Make sure while cleaning marble to use neutral cleaning agents to not damage it. Examples of neutral agents to use are baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and cornstarch. Always blot at the stain rather than wiping it. If you want to make life easier in the future, use a sealant to keep the marble clean.

Removing Sweat Stains. When you discover a sweat stain on your shirt, turn the shirt inside out and rub plain white vinegar into the stain. You can also try baking soda, dish detergent, or hydrogen peroxide. If the stain has set, try rubbing in shampoo made for oily hair before washing out the stain.

Removing Tea Stains. Start removing a tea stain by blotting off any excess tea. Then treat the stain with either a spot remover or some laundry detergent. Wash the garment, and then let it air dry. If the stain persists, mix water with ammonia and dab the stain. Lemon juice can also work. If you spill tea on the carpet, cover with either lemon juice mix or salt, let it sit, then vacuum the stain away.

Removing Urine Stains. Urine stains on clothing are best treated by rubbing a paste of baking soda and water on the stain, then soaking the garment in a mixture of vinegar and water. For urine on the carpet, blot the stain with a mixture of water, vinegar, and rubbing alcohol. Then soak up the stain with paper towels.

Removing Watermelon Stains from Carpet. While watermelon may be mostly water, they can leave pretty nasty stains. Here are some ways you can go about removing watermelon stains from your carpet.

Removing Wax Stains. Most wax stains will have to be removed by freezing the wax then scraping it off. If you cannot remove some of the wax, try using a hair dryer set to high or placing a cloth over the wax and ironing the cloth. If all that is left is a residue, clean it up with some rubbing alcohol. Finally, if you have crayon marks on the wall, try a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.