Those of you who read the first Blog, Clean with These Pantry Items, I hope you had the opportunity to try a few of them. I tried the countertop cleaner using lemon juice, baking soda and cream of tartar. My countertops sparkled and smelled great too! Before you get stuck with a stain you can’t get rid of, there are certain things to know.

First, take action to get the stain out as soon as you notice it, this decreases the chance of not getting the stain out. You should blot the stain instead of scrubbing or rubbing it. Be sure to look at the label care instructions and follow them. Make sure the stain is out before applying heat or drying the garment. Now let’s move on to more pantry item stain removers.

Deodorant blotches are visible to everyone! A quick remedy for deodorant marks is to rub them with a pair of pantyhose. Ever wait too long to clean up after dinner? If so, you may end up with stains on your silverware. To make the stains disappear, rub the forks, spoons, and knives with salt or a salt and water paste. Then rinse well.

To get rid of egg stains, crush some aspirin and mix into a paste made of water and cream of tartar. Spread the paste over the stain, after thirty minutes, rinse with warm water. On the other hand, to remove coffee stains from your carpet or clothing, beat an egg yolk. Then dip a white cloth into it and rub the yolk into the stain. After a few minutes, rinse with water.

Ink stains on clothing? Get rid of them with lemon juice. You can squeeze lemon juice on the stain, soak the stained garment in lemon juice or rub a paste of lemon juice and salt on white garments. The stain will disappear. Another pantry solution to ink stains is to rub some milk into the stain or soak the garment in milk. Then wash the garment. The milk solution works better with buttermilk or sour milk.

Have you ever gotten ketchup stains on carpet while eating a hamburger or hot dog? Head to your bathroom cabinet and take out the shaving cream. Cover the stain with foamy shaving cream and rub it in with a sponge, then rinse. To remove ketchup stains from clothing, sponge the stain with cold water, then pour some glycerin onto the stain. Rub it in and leave for 30 minutes. Then wash the garment, this works for tomato stains as well.

I belong to a few fraternal organizations, I can’t tell you the number of times, I have come home with lipstick stains on my clothing. Greeting my Sisters always involve a hug and kiss on the cheek, which sometimes winds up with lipstick stains on your clothes. No worries, toothpaste will get rid of lipstick stains. Rub some toothpaste into the garment, then wash as usual, stain gone. Use plain white toothpaste, not the gel.

At times, with the same scenario described in the previous paragraph, I wind up with makeup marks on my clothes. Hairspray to the rescue! Spray the stain with hairspray and blot. You may have to do this a few times before the stain is removed, then wash the garment as usual. Another remedy to remove makeup stains is to soak the spot in a mixture of ammonia and water. 1 tablespoon of ammonia to 2 cups of water, then wash as usual.

I recall the sleeve of my dress landing in the salad dressing as I reached for it. For greasy stains from salad dressing, or gravy rub cornstarch into the stain and let it sit for a while, it will absorb the grease. When you brush off the cornstarch, the stain will be brushed off. Note, you may have to do this a few times, but it will get rid of the stain. I didn’t have any cornstarch with me, lol, but I immediately went to the restroom and rubbed the area with hand soap and water, it worked!

Wallpaper in your kitchen may wind up having grease spots from cooking. When you see them blot them with a paper towel Then hold a paper bag or a few paper towels over the spot and press with a warm iron. Repeat until the paper bag or paper towels absorb the grease. Make sure to use a warm iron. not a hot one. You can remove grease spots on carpet using this same process.

Water marks and rings on wood furniture are difficult to remove, but there are a couple of ways to get rid of them. To remove water rings, mix vinegar and olive oil. Blend equal parts of vinegar and olive oil and rub away the stain. Rub with the grain and polish the wood surface. You may just want to simply rub the water marks and rings with mayonnaise. Leave the mayo there for a while, even overnight. Then wipe with a soft cloth. The watermarks will disappear.

Prepare yourself by keeping these stain fighters on hand:

• ammonia
• baking soda
• bleach
• borax
• club soda
• cornstarch
• cream of tartar
• glycerin
• hydrogen peroxide
• laundry detergent
• lemons
• mayonnaise
• meat tenderizer
• nail polish remover
• rubbing alcohol
• salt
• shaving cream
• talcum powder
• toothpaste
• turpentine
• vinegar

There are multiple effective store-bought stain removers for those of you who don’t mind spending the money. Laundry detergents can be used to pretreat oily stains. Use heavy duty for most items, but choose a light duty detergent for hand wash items.

Bleach both chlorine and oxygen can wipe out stains. Use chlorine bleach for whites, and or all fabric bleach for colored clothes. Check the care label before using bleach as all garments can be bleached.

Enzyme presoaks break up protein stains caused by baby formula, blood, milk, eggs, urine, feces, vomit, and grass. Soak the stained garment in the enzyme presoak before washing.

Prewash soil and stain removers come in various forms, including liquid, sprays, and sticks. Use these all-prewash stain removers prior to washing.

In these days and times many of us need to save money anyway we can, I hope parts one and two of cleaners from your pantry will help you to do just that!

Until next time,

Peace, Love, and Blessings ❤️