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	Earth Saving Tips Household Hints Stain Removal Guide

No Strain Stain Removal General Rules Most IMPORTANT Rule: Give your product time to work. Rubbing alcohol removes ink off most surfaces but not the minute you blot it on. Dab on your cleaner then allow a 30 minute wait. This gives the product time to dissolve the residue eliminating all the rubbing and scrubbing. Always get to a spill immediately. The longer a spill sets the worse the stain. Blot using a damp towel. Form a knuckle with your index finger and push into the towel. Rock you finger back and forth, move the towel then rock your finger left to right. Repeat. Reapply the cleaner if needed. After the second application of cleaner, again make a knuckle with your index finger. Push your knuckle and the towel into the carpet then twist your wrist clockwise. Carpet fibers are twisted clockwise. This removes the stain from between the fibers without leaving them fuzzy. Do NOT use heat of any kind even hot water. Heat sets stains. Dryer heat particularly means certain death for easy removal. Most stains land in 4 categories: Food Grease Dirt And who knows?? Throw in easy solutions for wax and gum and most perplexing problems tuck their tails and run.
	Candle Wax & Chewing Gum	Candle wax and chewing gum can be effectively removed by placing the object that has been stained into a freezer until the staining agent is quite hard, and brittle, then the material can be literally shattered off the object that has been stained. ...then treat any residue as follows: place the stain between clean, white blotters and press with a warm iron, changing the blotter as it becomes soiled. Then sponge with dry cleaning fluid or a laundry pre-soak (spot stain remover). In the case of coloured wax there may still be a colour stain. Sponge with a liquid made by adding ½ c of methylated spirits (wood alcohol) to ½ c water.
	Coffee & Tea	You can get a good cleaning from these products if you have them on hand when you need them. When using them, make sure to pre treat them right way. That is, you need to follow the directions of the products provided. Saturate the item with the stain remover and allow it to sit for at least five minutes. Then, you can wash as you normally would.
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	Fruit Juice & Berries	Fresh stains are easy to remove, but once dry, they are very obstinate. Treat with cool water first and follow up, if necessary, by soaking in a chlorinated laundry bleach or a diaper wash/sanitiser container sodium percarbonate. Rinse. White cottons and linens may be stretched over a basin and boiling water poured through from a height. Any remaining stain may be removed with chlorinated laundry bleach. Coloured fabrics or washable silk, etc., may be soaked in a diaper wash/sanitiser container sodium percarbonate or a warm borax solution (1 Tbsp. : 1 c water), or covered with a paste of cream of tartar and warm water. Leave half and hour or until stain goes, then rinse well. For persistent stains apply equal quantities of methylated spirits (wood alcohol) and ammonia. Rinse well after treatment. This method is safe for all fabrics, except triacetate (e.g. Tricel). Dilute mixture with an equal quantity of water for fabrics with fugitive dyes. Old stains may be softened in glycerine before treatment. Damp stain, apply glycerine, leave 1 - 2 hours, then add a few drops of vinegar, leave 5 - 10 minutes and rinse well.
	Grass & Other Garden Foliage	Soak in a solution of a chlorinated laundry bleach or a diaper wash/sanitiser container sodium percarbonate. OR sponge with methylated spirits (wood alcohol). Remove this with warm water and where possible wash the article using Laundry powder or Liquid.
	Grease & Oil	Grease and oil: In the driveway or garage: Kitty litter will absorb most of the oil and grease. Apply and use a brush to work it into the concrete. In the evening, pour on concentrated orange cleaner letting it set overnight. It pulls any oil or grease to the surface. Use old towels to absorb what you can and hose down. Oil or grease on fabrics or other surfaces: Dab on a bit of a natural orange cleaner and let that set at least an hour. Then blot with a clean cloth. It may take a treatment or two, but it works.
	Ink	Ballpoint Pen Ink: First, saturate material with an alcohol-based hair spray (this seems to be a very popular method). The alcohol content in the hair spray will break up the ink. Be sure to place an absorbent paper towel or rag under the stain to catch the excess. You then need to blot the stain with a rag. Repeat the process until the stain is removed, then launder as usual. A word of caution before trying this method: some fabrics may be damaged by the hair spray solution. If in doubt, test on an inconspicuous area first, or consult with a professional dry cleaner. Water Based Inks: Try an all-purpose cleaner instead of hair spray. Be sure to place an absorbent paper towel or rag under the stain to catch the excess. You then need to blot the stain with a rag. Repeat the process until the stain is removed, then launder as usual. A word of caution before trying this method: some fabrics may be damaged by the cleaning solution. If in doubt, test on an inconspicuous area first, or consult with a professional dry cleaner.
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	Paint	Modern paints vary greatly in composition and it is not possible to give one treatment for all types. As a guide, use the solvent suggested on the paint tin label for thinning paint and cleaning brushes. Treat promptly, as set stains are very difficult to remove. If paint has dried, soften with glycerine before applying treatment. For oil paint, enamels and alkyd type paints, scrape off as much as possible and soak remaining stain in turpentine, or kerosene. Then wash in usual way. Latex or plastic water-base paints, e.g. Acrylic and P.V.A. will wash out easily with cold water when fresh. Remove any remaining stain with methylated spirits (wood alcohol) (test first to see that acetate fabrics are not affected). Once dry, these paints are virtually impossible to remove.
	Tubs & Shower Stalls	Alkaline deposits in the water cause those not so pretty spots on your glass doors and shower walls. Apply a car wax to the walls and doors, but not the floor or it gets real slick. Both fiberglass and glass are porous. The car wax seals those pores, which makes cleaning easier and keeps water spots away. Reapply twice yearly. Squeegee or wipe down your shower after each use to further prevent buildup. If you're tired of fighting the soap scum buildup, switch to liquid soap, natural soap or Dove. It's the talc in most bar soaps that causes the buildup. Changing soap can eliminate the buildup. You still need to clean the shower once a week, but the job is easier. Clean the showers once a week with an orange based citrus cleaner Spray on and give it ten minutes to dissolve the dirt. Why do all that scrubbing when your product does it for you?
	Soft Drinks	Pre-treat dry fabric with a laundry pre-soak (spot stain remover) prior to washing with a quality laundry product in the usual way. Alternative treatment: sponge with equal quantities of methylated spirits (wood alcohol) and water. Old or obstinate stains may be softened in glycerine before treatment as above.
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