Removing Laundry Stains the Environmentally Conscious Way

If you have kids, or a spouse, or you yourself are a stain magnet, you know that some stains are almost impossible to get out. Following are some solutions to help get stains out of clothing, the green way, using no harsh or toxic chemicals that can actually make clothing stains worse. Instead of spending money on "miracle" stain removers at the supermarket, try these simple and environment friendly solutions.

Catching stains early is the most surefire way to be able to get them out. If you wash an article of clothing in the wash, and then dry it before seeing the stain, be prepared to live with it. Summer barbeques bring about lots of clothing stains - from barbeque sauce and salsa to chocolate ice cream or syrup. If these stains aren't caught early, before the wash, they'll be set in the fabric.

One of the most effective tools to removing stains that is environment friendly is a bar of Ivory soap. Coupled with a scrub brush or a little soaking, Ivory soap is sure to get almost any stain out, given that the piece of clothing hasn't been washed and dried.

For stains, first wet the garment with cool water. Rub the bar of soap over the stain for a minute, and then rinse. If this doesn't lift the stain, rub the soap over the spot again, scrub gently with a brush, and then soak the clothing in cold water and a small amount of detergent for thirty minutes. After thirty minutes, rinse the garment. If the stain still hasn't lifted, try once more to rub soap over the stain, scrub gently with a brush and rinse. If after these attempts you can't get the stain removed, you may have to be prepared to live with it.

Some stains are harder to remove, like coffee and tea. For these stains, there are exceptions to using a bar of Ivory soap as a stain remover.

For coffee stains, you can use Ivory soap as a stain remover, but the stain is likely to come out only if you attack it immediately. If the stain sets and dries, it is possible that the stain may not be able to be removed.

For fruit stains, apply a fresh lemon slice to the stain first, and then use the above Ivory soap method.