Tips & Tricks:
Stain removing tricks posted from our Moms:
For crayon,
marker, or pen on the wall: Mr. Clean Magic Eraser works great! The Mr.
Clean Magic eraser works wonders on anything white, walls, TV monitors, etc. Be
careful because it does remove paint and needs to be kept out of children's
reach.
Hairspray also works. Spray on crayon and wipe off while spray is wet. May
require a little scrub but will work even on flat paints without the abrasives
or chemicals. You can also try the Mr. Clean Eraser but it only works on satin
or gloss finish paints, it will strip flat paints.
Stains on clothes: Oxyclean stain remover or baby Oxyclean stain remover works wonders. I got blackberry out of a white t-shirt with this stuff! Just saturate the stained area, agitate and let sit for a few minutes to let it soak in. Wash in washer. It sometimes will take 2-3 washes back to back to get the stain out, but it will work! The trick is to catch it right away. It may be harder to get the stain out if it has had a couple of hours to soak in.
Creative Wall Art: One time I've seen a family that actually nailed a frame around their son's creative crayon artwork on their dining room wall. For me personally, I'll probably have to repaint over the green markings on mine.
Scrubbing Bubbles: I use scrubbing bubbles in my kitchen and high chair. It dissolves or at least loosens all the baby food and other stuff that is hard to scrub off. It says it is anti-bacterial too!
Awesome: We buy the cheapest stain remover out there....its for a dollar and it is only sold at the dollar store. It’s called AWESOME....it gets all of our stains out. My WHOLE FAMILY uses it....from my brothers and sisters to my great grandparents.
Hair spray and a bar of soap usually takes permanent marker out of clothes.
Straight rubbing alcohol takes out grass stains and usually a solution of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda with cold water will take out most stains, especially tomato based stains. You may just need to soak it for a day or two.
Sticky residue: Tea tree oil. A little goes
a long way. Put on cotton
ball and scrub gently on surface with sticky residue. Works with paint too.
(I got paint off of slate tile and wood floors) Remember to wipe clean if
using on porous surfaces.
Stickers on wall or ceiling: Baby Oil or
WD-40. The oil will help release
the sticker and if you use a plastic spatula (hardware isle for spackle or
what not) and scrape off gently.
Marker/Pen in carpets/fabric: Tea tree oil.
dampen stain and with clean
dry cloth dab to pull up stain. May need repeat treatment for stubborn
stains. For set in stains, try rubbing or scrubbing the stain too. With
washable fabric, wash after the stain starts to lift. May also use baking
soda or lemon if stain is in white fabric (lemon will bleach). For carpet,
dab with clean water. May use baking soda with or without tea tree oil as
well to scrub stubborn stains. Tea tree oil will help deter pets if using
on pet stains. They do not like the smell and since it is an antiseptic and
deodorizer as well as cleaner, it kills the bacteria in the fabric.
Candle Wax in carpets/fabric: Use clean
cloth and lay on top of stain then
paper bag (works to absorb oils from the wax) and another cloth on top of
that. Use iron on med setting and gently iron over. Should soak up wax
into cloth. Do not use steam setting.
Burnt on residue on stove top or oven:
Baking soda and white vinegar. It
foams up initially and then with gloves because of the vinegar, coat the
stains and let sit from 10 min to 1 hour. If you don't like the vinegar,
just use baking soda and water to form a paste and some elbow grease too
boot. Don't forget that if you use the vinegar route that you need to rinse
off with water since vinegar is acidic and will corrode over time if left
alone. Same method works well with toilets too. Found that baking soda is
great for rust stains too.
Scuffs on vinyl or tile floors: a Little
baking soda and water to form a
paste goes a long way. Scrub gently on scuff and wipe with clean cloth and
clean water.
