3 Tips for Tricky Stain Removal

Image from Organizeit.com

Happy Friday everybody! Last week we shared a recipe for dishwashing soap, but today we want to share some tips or simple recipes for removing 3 common summertime stains: wine, grass, and mustard. Hopefully equipped with these three techniques you can attend summer BBQ’s without fear of ruining that new sundress of yours!

Removing Wine Stains:

Ingredients: Water, lemon slice, glycerin, corn starch, eucalyptus oil

1. Rinse with COOL water immediately.
2. Then rub the stain with a slice of lemon several times. If the stain has had time to sit apply glycerin to it and wait 30 minutes before rinsing.
3. If this doesn’t take care of that stain combine a heaping tbsp of cornstarch, 1 tsp of of glycerin, and 2 drops of eucalyptus essential oil with just enough water to form a paste.
4. Apply the paste to the stain and put the garment in the sun to dry. Repeat until the stain is removed then wash as usual.

Removing Grass Stains: 

Ingredients: Vinegar, baking soda, water

1. Soak the soiled garment in vinegar.
2. Then combine baking soda with water to form a paste and apply it to the stain.
3. Wash in hot water.

Removing Mustard Stains:

Ingredients: Glycerin, laundry soap

1. Apply glycerin to the stain and let it sit for 30 minutes. This helps break up the turmeric which gives mustard it’s yellow dye.
2. Gently massage laundry soap into the stain and launder as usual.

What stains plague your laundry during the summer months?

 

DIY Dryel Sheets

Laundry (Photo credit: Bilal Kamoon)

 

So we aren’t the first to write about making your own Dryel sheets, you know the at home “dry cleaning” or garment refreshing kit created by Proctor & Gamble. In fact, Jillee, from the popular blog One Good Thing By Jillee wrote an amazing post about her experiment with crafting a DIY Dryel recipe. We’ve seen similar recipes around the web, but none have recommended specific brands for the ingredients that are safer and more environmentally sound. Enter Perfect Shine’s role in this DIY experiment. We are always working to share recipes and cleaning tips that are safe for you, your family, and the planet. So here is the basic recipe for DIY Dryel sheets!

 

Ingredients:

 

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tsp. borax
• 1 tsp. oxygen bleach
• 3 drops of your favorite essential oil (lavender works well, so do citrus-scented oils)

 

We recommend using Nature Clean Oxygen Bleach which get’s an A rating from the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) Guide To Healthy Cleaning. This brand is much safer according to EWG than some of the other brands (even Eco-friendly ones like BioKleen) on the market. You can order it online from Grass Roots for just $7.99.

 

The debate is still up in the air about the safety of borax. For cleaning we think it is perfectly safe. Here is an article from Crunch Betty that debates both sides of the Borax coin. If you need to dry clean your clothes, then using borax is less toxic than the other chemicals most dry cleaners use. The other ingredients are pretty straightforward. No dangers unless you are pregnant. Then you want to limit your exposure to essential oils or fragrance.

 

To Use Your Homemade Dryel Solution:

 

1. Pre-treat any stains by spraying the stains directly with hydrogen peroxide (3%) and rubbing the spot with a clean, white cloth.
2. Then soak the same white cloth it in a solution of 1 cup warm water, 1 teaspoon borax, 1 teaspoon oxygen bleach and 3 drops of essential oil.
3. Squeeze out the excess liquid, add the cloth into the Dryel “steam bag” with your dry clean only clothing and put it in the dryer for 30 minutes.

 

Pretty simple huh? Four ingredients is all you need to refresh your dry clean only clothing! Do you use Dryel, or do you usually just take your clothes to the dry cleaners?

 

 

 

DIY: All Natural Wrinkle Removing Spray

English: Laundry hung out to dry in the Panier district of Marseille, France (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Sometimes life gets busy and you don’t always have time to iron. Instead of reaching for Downy’s wrinkle removing spray why not try out this simple and natural recipe?

 

Ingredients:

 

• 1 cup distilled water
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 8 drops of your favorite essential oils (we love lavender, vanilla, or orange)
• Empty spray bottle
• Funnel

 

Directions:

 

1. Combine all the ingredients in the spray bottle and shake well to mix it.

 

Before using the spray we recommend testing it on a small piece of fabric or clothing to make sure it doesn’t stain. It’s important to use colorless essential oils and white vinegar. You also don’t want to saturate your clothes with the spray, use just enough to release the wrinkles. To remove wrinkles you simply want to:

 

1. Spray the wrinkle remover on clothes using a sweeping motion.
2. Use your hands to tug and smooth out the wrinkles.
3. Hang the clothes and let dry.

 

Super simple right? Try it and let us know what you think.

 

DIY Repurposed Sachet

DIY Repurposed Sachets – Image by Jacqualyn Blizzard.

Happy Friday everyone! As you may have noticed we didn’t post on our usual Tuesday or Thursday this week. We are making some changes that we think will make it easier for you to tune in for green cleaning and homemaking tips/advice. We will keep our posts to once a week, and post on Fridays. That way the recipes and tips are fresh in your mind for you the weekend… when you might actually have time to try them!

Today we’ve got a super simple and eco-friendly tutorial to share with you! Ever wonder what you can do with old tights or stockings? Well there are a lot of different things you can create: headbands, hair ties, laundry bags, necklaces, bracelets. But this weekend with super simple supplies we created adorable and fresh smelling sachets!

All you need to do is gather some supplies…

Supplies:

• Old tights or stockings
• Scissors
• Ribbon or string (optional)
• Dried lavender or fragrant flower/herb of choice

Directions:

1. Take the tights or stockings and cut about 4-5 inches above the footie part (not stretched out just laying flat).
2. Take a couple of tablespoons of dried lavender/flower/herb and place inside the small footie you just made.
3. Stuff it down and form a little ball, then knot the footie closed so that none of the lavender can fall out.
4. If you are using ribbon or string to jazz it up, tie a bow around the knot.
5. Stuff your eco-friendly sachet in your sock or underwear drawer and feel calm every time you open it up!

It is such a simple project, but very rewarding to find a new life for old stuff. How do you try to repurpose in your home?

All Natural DIY Spot Stain Remover

Image from Our Best Bites

It happens to the best of us, sometimes we spill. Ketchup, coffee, soda, wine, sauce. On our favorite shirt, or a great pair of pants. We find ourselves frustrated with our kids when they come home covered in stains, but when we do it there is a surge of heat that washes over our faces and we get, well flustered. Fear not, whether you are treating the stains on your little one’s clothes or your own we’ve got a super simple and effective stain remover! It’s affordable and all natural unlike those tide-to-go pens! So here is the recipe!

Ingredients: 

• 2 tbsp. cream of tartar
• 2 drops of peppermint, eucalyptus, or lemon essential oil
• Water

Directions:

1. Combine the first two ingredients in a small cup. Add just enough water to form a paste.
2. Spread the paste over the stain and let the paste dry COMPLETELY before washing as usual.

So this spot treatment might not come in a handy stick, but if you made some up in a little travel jar or container you could treat on the go. Just remember the paste needs to dry before washing with water and soap. How do you spot treat stains?