Hacks

8 Household Items You Can Actually Use to Clean Stubborn Stains

2016-04-13 , 6:26 pm

Last Updated on 2023-04-08 , 6:00 pm

If there’s one thing years of watching crappy TV advertisements have taught me, it is that stubborn stains are extremely hard to remove unless you have Dynamo or Mr Muscle.

Fret not, for there are far more practical and easy-to-obtain items that you can use to clean up those pesky stains.

Lemon for sweat stains

Now this is something I wish I knew earlier. Lemon is a natural bleaching agent, and we all know many of our light-coloured shirts often have sweat stains at the armpits after wearing them for a long time, even if you wash them.

Squeeze on some lemon juice and leave it for an hour or two before washing.

Wet wipes for lipstick

This one’s for the ladies. Getting lipstick on your teeth is bad enough, but get it on your dress and you have a hell of a smudge to clean up.

The alcohol and cleaning agents on baby wet wipes will make short work of it though.

Denim for deodorant stains

The next worse thing to sweat stains are the white, patchy deodorant stains. This one is easier to deal with though; just get a pair of jeans and rub the stains off; the rough texture will take it away.

Baby powder for oil

We’ve all been there before – getting our shirts and blouses stained by oil while we slurp and much away at our food. If you caught it early, get some baby powder and rub it onto the stain so that the oil gets absorbed, which makes it easier to remove.

Shaving cream for makeup

If you get makeup all over your face towel, it can be easily removed if you apply some shaving cream to the stains; watch the cream cut through the stains like a knife through butter.

Baking soda for coffee stains

Coffee stains are one of the worst things to deal with. Be it on your unfortunate clothes or your dining table, dampen the stain with some water and apply baking soda, and let it set before you wash it away.

Soda water for grease

If you cook often or are simply a sloppy eater, the grease from cooking or oil from cheese and meat is quite a nightmare to remove. Soak the stain in soda water and scrub it away – this can be used together with baby powder for oil.

White vinegar for grass

Here’s one for parents with outgoing kids, which is somewhat of a rarity nowadays. If your kid likes to roll around on the grass and/or climb trees like the good old days, you’ll inevitably find all sorts of grass and leaf stains on their clothes; use white vinegar to remove them easily.