fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2403 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2403 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.

__________________________________________________

02.

__________________________________________________

03.

__________________________________________________

04.

__________________________________________________

05.

__________________________________________________

06.

__________________________________________________

07.

__________________________________________________

08.

__________________________________________________

09.

__________________________________________________

10.

__________________________________________________

11.

__________________________________________________

12.

__________________________________________________

13.

__________________________________________________

14.

__________________________________________________

15.

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 016 secrets from Secret Submission Post #343.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 1 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I'm really good at getting stains out of clothes and also reviving older clothes that have faded or yellowed. I'm not as good at determining which clothes are worth doing those things for, though.

The clothes worth doing that for are the clothes you like. And I wish I had your talent.

Well you have talent for pointing out the obvious to the oblivious like me :)

Seriously, it really does seem obvious that the clothes worth doing that for are the one I like but somehow that has just never occurred to me.

Teach us your ways, O Laundry Sensei.

(Serious here. I hate ruining clothes.)

It depends on the fabric and what you're trying to do. What in particular would you like to know?

Here are a couple of general tips:
Most stains in cotton can be removed by dissolving Oxi-Clean in cold water and soaking the garment in it overnight.

Yellowing of white cotton is defeated by soaking in water with some bluing or sometimes even just a few washes with bluing added.

Blood stains (again, cotton) are best treated by immediately soaking it in cold water with Oxi-Clean for a couple hours, then put the garment in the washing machine and add detergent as usual. If it's a top-load washer, start the permanent press cycle using cold wash and cold rinse. While the washtub is filling, add bluing to the soak water and then dump that in before the tub finishes filling so your machine can adjust to the change in water level and won't overfill. The garment should come out stain-free after the wash cycle finishes, but white garments may require a second cycle with just a bit of Oxi-Clean and half as much laundry detergent as usual.

TMI about menstruation below.

Do you have any advice for removing menstrual stains? I use a cup and it won't sit right all day today. I've gone though a cycle's worth of reusable pantyliners and underwear today. Yeah, the pantyliners are all messed up because they keep moving around so the stains are getting on the wings instead of just the pad part. I'd really appreciate any help you can give!

I copied and pasted this from my reply above. It applies to all blood stains but menstrual stains often require longer soaking. Instead of two or three hours, let it soak at least four hours but never more than six because that can damage the garment.

Blood stains (again, cotton) are best treated by immediately soaking it in cold water with Oxi-Clean for a couple hours, then put the garment in the washing machine and add detergent as usual. If it's a top-load washer, start the permanent press cycle using cold wash and cold rinse. While the washtub is filling, add bluing to the soak water and then dump that in before the tub finishes filling so your machine can adjust to the change in water level and won't overfill. The garment should come out stain-free after the wash cycle finishes, but white garments may require a second cycle with just a bit of Oxi-Clean and half as much laundry detergent as usual.

Bluing can be hard to find but I've had pretty good luck finding it at Target in the various places I've lived in the last 10 years, just not always. I like Mrs. Stewart's Bluing and you can order that from Amazon if you want it for future use. If you can't get any right now, you will probably still be able to get the stains out if you wash the garments an extra time or two, but maybe not if any of your garments are white.

I'm sorry you're have so much trouble today, nonnie. I hope this helps!

What do you do for a front load washer?

da

I've had pretty good luck just soaking in hot water and oxi clean for a good long time - like overnight if it's really bad - and then washing as normal with a front loader. If I hit it with the oxi clean before anything else, the stain usually lifts out completely.

sa

I reread anon's post above and realize they said cold water - if I don't have oxi clean right away I'll rinse with cold water and scrub at it a little, but my mom taught me that it's hot water that activates the oxi clean, so that's what we've always used. Not the supreme authority, however.

The above is good, i've also found that if you *immediately* put the item into cold water and soap (hand soap, bath soap, dish soap) and let it soak for a little, and then *scrub*, pretty much every bit of the blood will come out.

Scrub with a brush or just bunch it up and scrub the fabric against itself, but unless it's been sitting for hours/has dried out, cold water+soap+scrubbing will get it all out every time.

Scrubbing it against itself is the best way to go if it's old/worn fabric; a brush will usually do more harm than good.

if u don't have a particular detergent, most people have some...oh shit I forget the name. Hydrochloride? It starts with an H and it's often in first aid kits because you can use it as a disinfectant. As soon as I notice stains, I put some of that on--it bubbles and froths for a bit, then rince in cold water and scrub at it and it comes right off.

It's hydrogen peroxide and you're right, it works very well!

[ SECRET POST #2403 ]

Re: What's something you're really good at?

Re: What's something you're really good at?

Re: What's something you're really good at?

Re: What's something you're really good at?

Re: What's something you're really good at?

Warning for TMI

Re: Warning for TMI

Re: Warning for TMI

Re: Warning for TMI

Re: Warning for TMI

Re: Warning for TMI

Re: Warning for TMI

Re: Warning for TMI

Re: Warning for TMI