dropps spin cycle

Stain Guru: BBQ Sauce

Hmmmm....Pulled pork and bbq chicken on the 4th of July. What could be tastier? Not much, but certainly a bbq stain couldn't be nastier. Here is the stain-fighting remedy!

1. Remove as much excess BBQ sauce as possible with a dull knife or spoon.

2. Flush with cold water from the back of the garment to force out as much of the stain as possible.

3. Pre-treat with dropps. Let sit for several minutes. Rinse well in cold water.

5. Apply lemon juice if you have a white garment, otherwise don't! Rinse well.

4. Sprinkle some baking soda on the stain, and pour on some white vinegar. (This will cause a lava-like eruption - don't be scared. Reminisce about that volcano science project you made in elementary school). Rinse well with hot water.

5. Check the stain before you put the garment in the dryer - drying causes the stain to set.

Stain Guru: Watermelon

Watermelons are incredibly delicious and thirst quenching during the hot summer months because they are 92% water. Despite that fact, many people have trouble getting rid of the stains that come from that remaining 8% of the watermelon. Here's the secret trick:

1. Boil some distilled water*. Pour directly on the stain.  (This may do the trick and be the only step you need.)

2. If the stain persists, apply an enzyme-rich pre-treat product and soak for one hour. Wash as usual with dropps.

*CAUTION: Make sure the stain contains no sugars. If it contains sugars and you pour the hot water on the stain the sugar will caramelize and the stain will set.

You can apply this method for most fruit juice stains - the perfect summer stain trick!

Stain Guru: Mustard

4th of July is coming up next week and we wanted to get you stain-fighter ready for the holiday weekend. Keep that napkin on your lap as you'll want to avoid some of these tough to get out stains. Check back every few days for more tips from our resident Stain Guru.

Mustard is such a fierce stain because it contains turmeric. Turmeric is a yellow dye that’s present in both mustard seeds and commercially produced mustard to enhance the yellow color of the mustard. Since mustard contains this tough dye it must be treated as quickly as possible to get it out - otherwise you may be out of luck!

Give it a shot! Here's how:

*DO NOT use ammonia - ammonia reacts with the turmeric and will permanently set the stain. Instead....

1. Scrape off as much mustard as you can using a dull knife or spoon.

2. Blot the stain - don't rub. You don't want to rub the mustard deep into the fibers.

3. Sponge the stain with cool water from the back of the garment.

4. Mix approximately a half-teaspoon of dish soap, a half-cup of water, and a few drops of white vinegar. Apply the solution to the mustard stain (again using an absorbent material underneath) and allow soaking. Rinse well with hot water and wash as usual with dropps.

Mustard is notorious for being one of the most difficult stains to remove - Good luck!

Stain Guru: Ketchup

We're all looking forward to the upcoming holiday weekend. Some of us will be lucky enough to escape the city, while others will be hanging in the urban jungle that we call Philadelphia. One thing is for sure, when the weather is nice everyone wants to throw a cookout. The only downside? That ketchup stain that suddenly appears on your sparkling white jeans (it is Memorial Day Weekend after all).

Stain Guru to the rescue!

How to remove: Ketchup

1. Use a dull knife or spoon to remove as much excess ketchup as possible.

2. Flip the fabric over and run cold water through the back of the stain.

3. Pour a small amount of white vinegar on the stain. Rinse well.

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 to remove as much of the ketchup as possible.

5. If stain persists, apply a stainfighter and soak in warm water for 30 minutes.

6. Wash as usual.

Keep an eye out for more Summer Stain Guru Tips coming up! Mustard, BBQ sauce, Watermelon and more...

How Green Is Your Laundry?

The Sierra Club posted a fun little quiz called, "How Green Is My Laundry?" We took the quiz here and some of us scored much better than others. Well, there's always room for improvement! We did feel they could have included a question or two about laundry detergent. It is an important factor in the greening of your laundry. Take the quiz and see how you pile up:

http://www.sierraclub.org/howgreen/laundry/

One of our favorites - Project Laundry List

Project Laundry List is one of our favorites and for good reason. It is a non-profit organization whose goal is to demonstrate through art, education and advocacy how personal choices can make a difference on the environment and on its people. Their main tool - clothes lines. Hanging out clothes on a drying rack or clothes line is one easy way to reduce energy consumption at home. It cuts down on energy use and saves money. What better combo? The average household will save $100 per year by hanging clothes out to dry. Plus, hanging out your clothes leaves them feeling soft and smelling fresh. 

Think about the energy and financial savings if you hung your clothes out to dry and washed your clothes in cold water. Cold water washings use 75% less energy than hot water washings and save the average household $65 in energy bills. Now, all these savings are starting to stack up! The weather is nice everywhere at this time of year, so give it a shot.

Here are two places that offer a wide variety of drying racks and clothes lines for any household type:

www.gaiam.com or www.ikea.com

To learn more about Project Laundry List, visit www.laundrylist.org

Out, damn'd spot! - Food Coloring

St. Patrick's Day has come and gone, but that green food coloring you used to celebrate the day may have left its mark on your clothes. So much for luck o' the Irish!

If you survived St. Patty's spotless, watch out for Easter. If you're dying your own Easter eggs, there is a big possibility that your clothes may become just as colorful! No one wants to be mistaken for a giant walking easter egg...

Have no fear - the Spin Cycle Stain Guru is here to provide you with easy at-home tips for the toughest of stains.

How to remove: Food Coloring Stains

1. Run the garment under cold water as quickly as possible to remove as much food coloring as possible.

2. Treat with a stain fighter to attack any lingering spots.

3. Rinse under cold water again.

4. If the stain persists, soak in a solution of 1 quart warm water, 1 dropps, and 1 tablespoon white vinegar. Soak for 15-20 minutes. Wash as usual using dropps, of course.

5. Be sure the stain has been removed before drying. 

Check back for more stain-fighting tips from the Stain Guru!