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Natural Stain Treatment Reference Sheet [Printable]

January 4, 2012 By 7 Comments

small Wellness Mama Stain Treatment Laundry Guide small Natural Stain Treatment Reference Sheet [Printable]If your house is anything like mine, stains on laundry are a daily fact of life.

When you switch to natural cleaning, you can’t just spray it all with “Shout” and call it a day… so what to do?

Borrowing some wisdom from my grandma’s era, I compiled a helpful list of effective stain treatments for various types of stains. I keep this list handy when I’m doing laundry, and I’ve included a printable version in case it will be helpful to you too.

Here’s an overview:

- Always treat stains from the back, rather than the front, to avoid rubbing the stain in more.

-My Homemade Baby Wipes can be kept in a small Ziplock bag and make a great pre-treat spot remover on the go.

-For Ink or Paint Stains: Soak in rubbing alcohol for 30 minutes or (ink only) spray with hair spray and wash out.

-Tea or Coffee Stains: Immediately pour boiling water over the stain until it is gone, or if it is already set, scrub with a paste of borax and water and wash immediately.

-Grass stains: Scrub with liquid dish soap or treat with a 50/50 Hydrogen Peroxide and water mix

-Mud stains: Let dry and brush off what you can, then scrub with a borax/water paste and wash immediately

-Tomato Based Stains: Treat with white vinegar directly on the stain and wash immediately.

Dingy Whites or Underarm Deodorant Stains: Soak the stain directly in a mix of 50/50 hydrogen peroxide and water for 30 minutes and then add 1 cup of hydrogen peroxide to the wash water.

-Other Food Stains: Treat with a mix of 50/50 Hydrogen Peroxide and water and soak.

-Grease and Oil Stains: Sprinkle the stain with dry baking soda to remove any loose oil or grease and brush off. Then, soak in undiluted white vinegar for 15 minutes, rinse and scrub with liquid dish soap before washing

-Vomit, Urine, Poop, Blood, Egg, Gelatin, Glue or other protein based stains: DO NOT WASH IN WARM WATER!!!!! This will set in the smell. Soak in cool water and then wash with an added mixture of 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide and 1/2 cup baking soda in the washing machine.

Here is a printable version of the infographic above. Click to download.

What’s your best natural stain treating trick? Please share below! My kids could put it to the test….

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About Wellness Mama

Wellness Mama is a full-time housewife with a background in nutrition, journalism and communications. Her passion is helping others achieve optimal health through a “Wellness Lifestyle.” She has helped hundreds of clients lose weight, increase athletic performance, improve fertility, and overcome numerous health problems and diseases. Connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, & Pinterest.

  • Sandy Poster (Postermama)

    Rust stains on fabric, squeeze lemon or lime juice on stain and sprinkle with salt, lay garment in the sun, and presto! stain gone, works every time. ( In some cases a repeat treatment may be needed.)

  • beautyandthrift

    I was just talking to a good friend of mine last night about natural stain removers! She had asked what I used, since I use a homemade laundry detergent, and I told her I didn’t use anything (because I don’t!). But I’m weeks away from having my first child and I know stains are going to become a very regular part of my life. So this was 100% timely and you better believe I directed her to your blog! Now we’ll both have a wonderful resource for natural stain removers.

    And what a great gift it would be for a natural mom-to-be to wrap a cute basket containing all the products on the list and including a laminated sheet of the outline! Thank you so much for this!

  • Erin

    Peroxide, vinegar and baking soda. A complete laundry room stain fighting team!

  • Sarah H.

    Shucks, I really want to download and print your pdf, but for some reason when I click on the link it won’t load, it just shows me a blank screen. :(

  • Andrea Welte

    I am having that problem, too.  I am new to the home made cleaning stuff, and so would like very much to have this as a reference.  Thanks!

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