If we had a dollar every time we were asked…
*Drum roll*
‘Buuuut, how do they work on stains?
We would be living on an island in the Maldives, in one of those little huts on the water, sipping cocktails in our bikinis, getting our feet rubbed and hand fed grapes by Sven the Swedish backpacker.
Alas… we don’t.
So here goes…
Soapberries work as well as chemical detergents. So if you would normally treat a stain before you popped it in the wash with a chemical detergent, you will still need to treat a stain when you use soapberries. Like chemical detergents, they are great at what they do, but they are not a ‘stain remover’.
We have some chemical free stain removing options, from stuff already in your cupboard. If you use these in conjunction with your soapberries you will keep your washing 100% natural and sparkly… even on those curdled milk vomit stains or mustardy surprises from your baby.
White vinegar
Sounds basic, but a mixture of half water/half vinegar can do the trick - keep in a spray bottle and spray on stains before washing. Doesn’t get much easier than that – even your teenager should be able to manage it!
Vinegar works well for the following disasters:
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Coffee/tea: You’ve had an embarrassing accident over a skinny de-caff almond milk latte with your mother in-law! Soak the denim harem pants you just paid $200 bucks for in a solution of 1/3 cup of vinegar to 2/3 cup of water, then hang in the sun to dry. Pray.
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Grass: So your little dude thinks he is Tex Walker and his white shorty shorts have come home a lovely shade of grass. Soak shorts in full-strength vinegar for a half-hour before washing. Encourage Tex to play chess.
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Chewing Gum: While you run into the shops, Johnny raids your chewy stash in the centre console. On your return, you see it is firmly adhered to his mustard chinos and his blonde locks. Remove as much of the offending chewy as you can, soak chinos in vinegar for 10 to 15 minutes, then wash as usual.
Slap Johnny.
N.b - Use eucalyptus oil on his blonde locks. Pray you don’t have to perform a haircut.
White vinegar & bi carb
Mix vinegar and bi carb into a paste and rub onto the offending stain. This stain removal is NEXT LEVEL for cloth nappies, grease and humming pit stains! Bi-carb can also be added to your washing load to put the sparkle back into your whites! Bi-carb is the BOMB.
Lemon Juice
Lemon juice is a natural bleaching agent as its acidic properties help to remove stains. If only your mother in laws acidic properties were as effective! Combine lemon juice with salt and rub on the stain for some extra grunt. Hang clothes in direct sunlight to dry, then wash in cool water. For tough stains you might need to repeat.
Salt
Salt? Funnily enough, It’s not just for tequila shots. Who knew?
Salt has great absorption so can do a lot of the hard work before your very eyes!
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Blood: A fresh blood stain should disappear easily. So plan the killing and the cleaning in one hit. It could save you a lot of heartache later. If it is immediately covered with salt and blotted with cold water, it will lift quite easily. Keep adding fresh water and blotting until the stain is gone. Hide the body.
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Gravy: Old Uncle Reg has been around for Sunday lunch and the table cloth reflects the fact he is shaky as all sh*t and can’t find a direct route to his mouth. Cover the fresh gravy stain with salt and let it lift as much as possible. Treat with bi-carb and vinegar paste to remove what the salt could not lift.
Next time Reg gets toast.
- Grease: That 4am yiros seemed like a good idea at the time, but now you regretting the calories, the greasy garlic sauce stain on your slacks and your breath! If you can manage this at 4am; cover the fresh grease spot with salt, wait for the salt to absorb the grease, then brush away. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat… until the stain is gone and so is your hangover, wash as usual. Now 50 burpees for the calories fatty mcfatty!
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Ink: One of your treasured little turds has done some Pro-Hart work on the sofa with your best work pen. Rub salt onto the ink stain and soak the fabric overnight in milk (yes milk – meow!). Wash the fabric as usual. Pray no one has to die tonight
(refer to number one for bloodstain removal if they do).