Oh my giddy aunt, IT WORKS!

[Nohomemadecandles]

The sunlight bleaching out tomato pasta sauce stains thing!

Hung out some washing (thanks previous thread) about 7pm to dry overnight.

Noticed a white polo with orange stains. I was about to put it in the bin then I thought,

NO, HANG ON. LET'S SEE IF IT WORKS!

Just been out to retrieve my laundry and IT'S GONE! The stain, not the laundry

How could I have doubted you, MN?

Wow, really? Thanks! I wouldn't expect it to work THAT well. Very useful to know.

For very stubborn, long-standing stains I’ve folded the item (dry) so the stain is on the top and left it on the windowsill for as long as I can stand looking at it. It might take a week or two but it will go eventually!

@Nohomemadecandles

I'm unreasonably excited

Heatwave this week, everyone get all your stained laundry out on the line!

It is amazing. Our school polos have been out on the line for a few days catching rays. Do the same every summer.

In the winter I put DD's and DH's spaghetti sauce stained tops on a coat hanger in a south facing window to dry. It still works, even with the winter sun. Just takes a bit longer.

@Forestdweller11

Okay I do this too to get stains out but .... (a) If you hung it out overnight how was it the sun ... And (b) did it not get darked on?

It went out at 7! Was still sunny. And again this morning. Not as direct but still bright from 5ish

I know. But I'm too excited about Mumsnet Magic (and my shrinking laundry pile) to care! Maybe the dark ate the stain...

I'm happy for you OP. It really does work, tomato pasta sauce came off cricket whites here this week

I cant believe so many of you didn't know this but i live in an area that used to have lots of textile Mills and bleachworks so there are parks in a lot of the towns that used to be bleaching greens where linen was laid out on the grass to bleach, so i suppose the knowledge is there in the background.

I've had success with sun cream and deodorant stains by dousing in lemon juice and then putting it out in the sunshine. It's like giving it the full belt and braces, it works!

At the end of the school year I always give the white shirts three washes and dries in the sun, and they’re sparkling for the next year. Although it doesn’t deal with some ink and paint stains, that’s all.

I learned this when my now teens were in cloth nappies. In winter it can take several days, I just leave things out as long as it needs (I don't care about darking and routinely leave washing out overnight). Never needed to re-wet either.

For tupperwares, not so much for stains as for stubborn greasiness, half fill with water and a drop of washing up liquid, tear up a piece of kitchen roll or two depending on size and drop it in, lid on and give it a vigorous shake, works wonders.

Oh and my other favourite, getting grease spots out of cloth, dab on some talc, put a towel or flannel over it, rub hard with a hot iron for a few seconds, use the towel to brush off the talc, it takes the grease with it.

@Wbeezer

I cant believe so many of you didn't know this but i live in an area that used to have lots of textile Mills and bleachworks so there are parks in a lot of the towns that used to be bleaching greens where linen was laid out on the grass to bleach, so i suppose the knowledge is there in the background.

Well... now I feel very silly. I'm originally from Bolton & there's a ton of old cotton mills and bleachworks & bleach fields but I never stopped to wonder what they were bleaching...

It really does work.

And, when there is no sun in the winter, hanging washing out in a heavy frost does the same.

@rishisboater

You left your washing out overnight?!

Being sunned on completely cancels out being darked on.

Didn't you know that?

I've also put things in a south facing window in winter and it worked

Ooh ok so I’ve just stopped work specifically to soak a white tea towel in water before hanging it out in full sun. So exciting! 😁

I wonder if this will work on Lansinoh (nipple cream) stains – I ruined so many tops before I realised it stains fabric!

@BoredZelda

It really does work.

And, when there is no sun in the winter, hanging washing out in a heavy frost does the same.

I honestly don't think it matters what the weather is. I have found it works in any kind of wether. I expect the UV light is there just the same!

@AtLeastThreeDrinks

I wonder if this will work on Lansinoh (nipple cream) stains – I ruined so many tops before I realised it stains fabric!

I think not because that is an oil. Lansinoh is pure lanolin oil. So you need to use washing detergent or another oil based cleaner to get it out. I have an oil/grease stain remover spray which smells like WD40 but seems to work well.

but surely people don't throw away white items without giving neat bleach a go first.
I'm amazed people throw anything stained away. Doesn't anyone wear old clothes for painting, cleaning, going to the allotment, walks in the country, lounging at home etc etc?

I just tend to keep the stained kids' clothing around until they outgrow it, but once they are outgrown if they are badly stained then I probably would throw away/textile recycling, because nobody is going to want a stained old top.

Years and years ago many countries had "drying greens" which were lawns that sheets were spread on after being boiled washed, this allowed the sun to bleach the stains out of them. One day a woman had the bright idea of putting lengths of ropes tied to posts up and created washing lines.

It does work- I read this of years on here and was always 'yeah. alright eye roll' but my son got pasta sauce and ketchup down his white polo shirt and I pegged it out to dry intending to then cut it up and use it as rags but when I went to fetch it, the stains had gone!

Now a big fan of sun bleaching all the stains!

how do I get out of my Zoom meeting and head towards my washing line with a hosepipe!?!?

awesome thread and bonus points for use of my giddy aunt.

@ahagwearsapointybonnet

It's great for lily pollen, which is a pig to get out of clothes otherwise!

I can confirm this works. One of my twins pinched the others BEST CARDIGAN and got pollen on it, omg can still hear the argument that caused!