Good evening master stain fighters! Let’s talk about getting out those hard to handle ketchup stains. With summer comes a lot of hot dogs and hamburgers and fries, and as a result, ketchup stains! Okay, in my house, the ketchup stains usually come from my Thanksgiving Meatloaf, but I am sure you can relate anyway.
By the way, have you seen that commercial that features the talking stain? In it, a man goes to a job interview and cannot be heard over the rattle of the stain that is on his shirt. I think it is the funniest commercial, while my husband thinks it is scary.
Anyway, here are some tips for getting rid of those ketchup stains.
Clothing
Rinse the garment well in cold water. I find that using running water over the stain works better than soaking the garment. Sometimes just rinsing is all that you need to do, if you catch the stain early enough. If not, move on to the next step of soaking the garment in cold water to which you have added a little bit of laundry detergent. Agitate it slightly, and check back to see if the stain is gone. When all else fails, saturate the stain with white vinegar (which is also excellent for urine stains).
Upholstery and carpet
Make a thick paste by mixing household borax (find it in the laundry or cleaning aisle of your supermarket). Place the borax paste directly on top of the stain and let it sit there for at least 30 minutes. Take your white washcloth or towel and dampen it with tepid water. Then use the cloth to remove all of the borax paste. Make sure that you get it all up.
What is your biggest stain fighting success? Have you ever gotten out a stain you would have never thought possible to eradicate?
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog,, creating a home in the Home Blog and caring for little ones in the Baby Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
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