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Getting rid of fabric stains??

post #1 of 17
8/17/11 at 1:58pm
Thread Starter 
I just bought a skirt and a dress on clearance at Kohls, and I also had a 30% off coupon. Nice! When I got home, I noticed a few small faint yellow stains on the dress, which is an off-white with green and brown flowery stuff on it. The stains are on the off-white part. I tried rubbing the stains with Shout and washing in warm water, but it's still there. Any ideas? If it were WHITE, I'd simply try diluted bleach, but no, it's off-white.

If I can't get it out, I'll return it, and I think it was returned anyway, because I also noticed there's no tag on it that has washing instructions and all that, like it must've been cut off. I really want to get rid of the stains though, because it was a great price, and this dress fits really nicely, and I have a hard time finding dresses that fit, with a smaller top and bigger bottom... kinda pear-shaped, I suppose..

Thanks for any help or ideas!!
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post #2 of 17
8/17/11 at 2:30pm
Sounds like it is a used dress. Someone bought it, wore it, stained it and returned it.

Have you tried vinegar or club soda or something like oxyclean? Don't put the dress in a dryer to dry it because that will set whatever the stain is.....if it hasn't already been done by the other person who wore the dress before you bought it.
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post #3 of 17
8/17/11 at 2:45pm
Thread Starter 
Yeah, I am thinking they got it back as a return, especially with the one tag cut off. I didn't put it in the dryer, so it's still damp, draped over a chair. I know Kohl's will take ANYTHING back, no matter what the condition, which I guess is good if you really have a problem with something, but they shouldn't try to resell damaged merchandise!!

I didn't try vinegar, and don't have club soda. We just have regular detergent and that shout stain remover stuff. I will look up about what to do with vinegar.. I really really like this dress, so I will try to get it CLEAN!
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post #4 of 17
8/17/11 at 2:48pm
Thread Starter 
I would even try putting lemon juice on it and putting it out in the sun, but I don't want a bleached stain too.... Searching searching searching...
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post #5 of 17
8/17/11 at 5:13pm
Thread Starter 
Well I tried this method after the first wash was unsuccessful. I even went and bought some Oxyclean.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5158392_remove-set-stains.html

It almost worked, and I'm down to 1 small stain. ONE STAIN! I'm still not going to put it in the dryer, but I don't have time to try another round of stain fighting yet because I have class tonight. I am determined to be able to wear this dress stain-free! (until I splatter coffee or something on it. But that'll be my fault!)
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post #6 of 17
8/17/11 at 7:29pm
I have really good success with removing stains by first putting a small quirt (a couples maybe?) of dish soap on the stain, then wetting a toothbrush and rubbing the dish soap in really well, then spraying with resolve and letting it sit for a few minutes, then washing it. I can get almost any stain out that way. It works especially well for grease stains. Good luck!!
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post #7 of 17
8/17/11 at 9:29pm
When the dress is dry, use Shout Gel (with the brush at the top), rub it really well into the stain. Wait a couple of hours then rub in some more and give it another hour or two. Then wash in the warmest water you dare with detergent and OxyClean.

I've removed every kind of stain you can imagine this way - coffee, tea, tomato, cherry juice, even dried blood.

p.s. Don't use OxyClean all the time - it destroys fabric. But using it now and then to get out a stain is okay.
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post #8 of 17
8/18/11 at 2:58am
Regular Dawn dish soap is good for regular old stains. However when we moved into our house our carpet had very LARGE grease stains from shoes on it. I mixed baking soda and vinegar into a paste (add vinegar very slowly and small amounts at a time) and then with a toothbrush rubbed it into the stain let it set and dry and sure enough it took the grease stain right out. That has been my go to stain remover trick. I passed it on to someone looking to remove stains out of chair upholstery and it worked on that also.
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post #9 of 17
8/18/11 at 4:07am
Peroxide is also good for removing stains.
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post #10 of 17
8/18/11 at 4:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by 3CatsN1Dog View Post
Regular Dawn dish soap is good for regular old stains. However when we moved into our house our carpet had very LARGE grease stains from shoes on it. I mixed baking soda and vinegar into a paste (add vinegar very slowly and small amounts at a time) and then with a toothbrush rubbed it into the stain let it set and dry and sure enough it took the grease stain right out. That has been my go to stain remover trick. I passed it on to someone looking to remove stains out of chair upholstery and it worked on that also.
I was going to suggest baking soda and vinegar, too. (GMTA!) I've used it on clothing with good results.

I spilled coffee on a white t-shirt at work and my co-worker gave me her Tide stain stick. Worked beautifully.
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post #11 of 17
8/18/11 at 12:43pm
Thread Starter 
Well I soaked the dress overnight in Oxiclean, and washed it with regular detergent in warm water this morning. The stain is still there, but very faint. I think at this point I'm the only one who will know it's there, unless I wear the dress and meet you guys, then you'll know too. But you'd have to really look for it. I don't want to overdo it with whatever products, household or commercial, and wear a hole in the dress. So, I'm going to throw it in the dryer on low heat, and hopefully it will keep fading, and every once in a while try a stain remedy on it.
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post #12 of 17
8/18/11 at 3:19pm
I didn't have any suggestions, but am learning a lot LOL. I was checking in to see how it was going. I'm really glad you seem to have gotten the problem solved!!!!!!!!
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post #13 of 17
8/19/11 at 3:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Winchester View Post
I was going to suggest baking soda and vinegar, too. (GMTA!) I've used it on clothing with good results.

I spilled coffee on a white t-shirt at work and my co-worker gave me her Tide stain stick. Worked beautifully.
I love baking soda and vinegar. Both are items I HAVE to keep in the house in large quantitie between using the baking soda in the litter boxes plus sprinkling it on the floor for sweeping it gets used a ton. I also use vinegar to clean out my coffee pot (vinegar to 6 cups and water up to 12) after a second cycle with plain water its nice and cleaned out and the next coffee brew tastes AMAZING. LOL

I also use the vinegar in my mean green carpet shampooer because its gentle on my couch when I need to clean it and with a little lemon juice mixed in it doesnt smell like a giant vinegar pool.

I want to find a home remedy for deep conditioning in my hair. For some reason mayo keeps sticking in my head but Im not all about turning my head into a giant sandwich lol.
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post #14 of 17
8/19/11 at 3:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LDG View Post
I didn't have any suggestions, but am learning a lot LOL. I was checking in to see how it was going. I'm really glad you seem to have gotten the problem solved!!!!!!!!
I'm buying oxyclean. I can think of 10 items off the top of my head that have stains....and that's just MY closet!
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post #15 of 17
8/19/11 at 5:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by resqchick View Post
I'm buying oxyclean. I can think of 10 items off the top of my head that have stains....and that's just MY closet!
At Walmart and The Dollar Tree you can get Sun Oxygen, which is the exact same stuff, and it is MUCH cheaper. I use it instead of bleach with my whites, and I get a big tub of it at Walmart for $2. I'm not sure how big the container is at Dollar Tree, though.
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post #16 of 17
8/19/11 at 5:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kara_leigh View Post
At Walmart and The Dollar Tree you can get Sun Oxygen, which is the exact same stuff, and it is MUCH cheaper. I use it instead of bleach with my whites, and I get a big tub of it at Walmart for $2. I'm not sure how big the container is at Dollar Tree, though.
Thanks! How did you know it was shopping day? Just did my food shopping, soon I'm off to Walmart for my cleaning stuff and cat litter. I love Paycheck fridays! (Do you hear some Toby Keith? I do....)
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post #17 of 17
8/20/11 at 12:29am
I can't remember the name of it, but there's a great two-part stain remover... one side of the bottle is clear, the other is pink, and the two mix when you squirt them on the stain. That stuff has never failed me!

And while we're on the subject -- years ago, I made myself a lovely skirt of camel-colored faux suede, and the first time I wore it, I sat on a leaky ballpoint pen and ended up with a huge swath of the skirt completely saturated with blue ink. A friend told me to try hairspray, of all things! I sprayed it very heavily, scrubbed with an old toothbrush, and rinsed in cold water over and over again... and every last bit of ink came out. Amazing!
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