To think stains can come out of white / pales?

[MrsP2015]

Here for traffic. Need a wash expert!

Should I just chuck white socks when the stains don't wash out on a 40 wash with a pre soak of vanish powder (£8 tub one).

I'm sick of throwing the white/ pale socks/ tops away when there's stains- even the grubby dust doesn't seem to come out of socks.

Have to be careful due to dc's eczema.

Any ideas?
Thanks

Can you get the green sunlight bar?( I am not in UK so I am not sure if it is available there).

If so they are as cheap as chip and amazing to get stains out of most things. I just did white socks as we had been hiking and the mud didnt shift on a normal wash. Grate some of the soap and melt it with hot water then add more cold. Either let it soak in this for a while (I let it soak while doing a dark load) or rub the stained area with the bar of soap. The socks look brand new again after that.

When you hang clothes on the line in the sun, should they be washed or wet first?

@loulou2012

When you hang clothes on the line in the sun, should they be washed or wet first?

it doesn't really matter. I tend to wash them and hang them out to dry.

I use vanish- spray and powder and do a soak before a wash. Hang in the sunshine if poss, it works!

For really persistent buggers I use a drop of Milton.

Ds likes white socks and no shoes. Been recommended napisan and am trying it this weekend. Apparently it is amazing and the person who recommended it knows what they are talking about

I do whites at 60. I don’t worry about slight discolouration on socks but a bit of Vanish(Wilko own £2) and a non bio wash at 60 gets most out.

Yes to Napisan soak.

Shout spray for stains before washing. As I am in a hard water area I use washing soda - labelled 'Soda Crystals' on the packet - in the machine. It's cheap and good in general for removing dirt and you can use less detergent than you otherwise would. But I wouldn't use it on towels or delicate things as they would come out feeling hard. The detergent I use with it is Surcare - non-perfumed. Rubbing on some wet Vanish soap on the item and leaving it to soak overnight before treating with stain removal spray and washing in the machine at 40 is something I might try for exceptionally hard to remove dirt.

I am really good at getting stains on clothes, so is my DS. Especially red power paint, beetroot and turmeric (lovely bright yellow)
My vote goes to Napisan - cold soak for an hour or more (it’s also good for sterilising hankies and worse!) Vanish bar, or Wilco equivalent, for specific stains (much better than the soak) and sunshine.
Milton, or own make equivalent, as used to sterilise baby bottles, bleaches gently. Salt in cold water for blood, milk for ink. If a stain is dry and set in you can soften it with glycerin (cheapest from boots, sold as cough syrup) rub it in with a finger tip and you should see the stain start to dissolve. It then washes out fairly easily. This gets ballpoint pen marks out really well. Leaked pen may take a few goes and washes.

And @Abitofalark - don’t know how I coped before I found soda crystals! I use it in the wash like you, also clean greasy grill pans, burnt pans, floors... everything!
My other favourites are bicarb (buy in larger usually green boxes in the cleaning aisle not the tiny ones in the baking aisle!

I have a white linen top that has been ruined with sun cream. It has turned a pale yellow where it has rubbed against the cream on my skin, particularly around the arm holes and neck line.
I've washed it twice on a 60 Deg wash, the second time with a couple of scoops of stain remover and hung it in the sun to dry.
The staining is still there! Any ideas how I can get rid of the stain?
I'm considering dying it black if I can't get it out.
Help 😭

@Riv

And *@Abitofalark* - don’t know how I coped before I found soda crystals! I use it in the wash like you, also clean greasy grill pans, burnt pans, floors... everything! My other favourites are bicarb (buy in larger usually green boxes in the cleaning aisle not the tiny ones in the baking aisle!

I too use soda in the water for cleaning floors and it's good for cleaning sinks. It's excellent for grubby greying sheer white curtains - the dirt just floats out. I use bicarb for cleaning tea-stained mugs. And use it with vinegar for clearing sink traps; it fizzes up and dislodges gunge. I've never noticed it in the cleaning aisle but it's cheap enough in baking. Also someone mentioned glycerine above which you can buy in Sainsbury's baking aisle for 90p. Waitrose also but slightly dearer. Maybe £1 there.

Flash Spray with bleach - you will thank me later. It has saved so many baby grows splattered with orange jar food etc. It is AMAZING

Spray the stain with cold water. Coat with the vanish powder. Rub in and leave overnight. Wash at 60 degrees. I tried this recently on a well established stain on some bedding. It came out completely.

Just to add , bio powder is not necessarily bad for eczema. It is partially an urban myth and a marketing ploy .some children n's eczema can be exacerbated but the same can be said of many products. I used to be fanatical about washing liquids and powders until I read that the distinction wasn't a thing in many other countries.when I tried, gingerly, a bio detergent it didn't make a difference. Henceforward I used bio powder for whites and 'coloured' powder for colours. Skin was fine.i am fully aware that changes in washing powder can cause a problem btw but my whites became easier. Soak overnight if stained or very grubby, wash on 40 and line dry outside when possible have kept years of white school shirts, sports socks and cricket whites going!

My sons wears lots of white foot socks - they get filthy. I just ask him to pop them in a weak bleach solution then put them in with white in the machine and use Oxi Crystal white powder. Feel your pain though.

@SummerPoppies

I have a white linen top that has been ruined with sun cream. It has turned a pale yellow where it has rubbed against the cream on my skin, particularly around the arm holes and neck line. I've washed it twice on a 60 Deg wash, the second time with a couple of scoops of stain remover and hung it in the sun to dry. The staining is still there! Any ideas how I can get rid of the stain? I'm considering dying it black if I can't get it out. Help 😭

I had this same problem. I made the mistake of bleaching it and it went pink!

Apparently once the suncream stain has set it's there forever..... :(

I was told to put eucalyptus oil on it for 15 minutes and then wash but not to let it set in or it's near enough impossible to get out.

@Abitofalark Like you I use bicarb, white vinegar and soda crystals for almost everything! Bicarb is brilliant in a little dish to take away those awful fridge and microwave smells, and I often sprinkle it on carpets to deodorise the room (better than "shake'n'vac )
I go through so much bicarb that those 200g pots don't last long. Same with the tiny bottles of glycerine.
This is the 500g bicarb - currently 99p in Aldi, usually around £1.25.
and the Boots glycerine - £1.45 for 200ml.

Looks like its going to be dyed then @heidi1976 ☹️

Thanks for that, Riv. I didn't know they sold bicarb in Aldi. I'll definitely look for it the next time I'm there. And the glycerine in Boots.
I too use bicarb for fridge smells and carpets. Also used it to deodorise a spare mattress which had been unused for a long time and was a bit musty. Sprinkled it on, left it for a couple of days, then hoovered it off. Left to air by an open window to finish the job.

Aldi don't always have bicarb, the local cheap stores (B and M, Home Bargains and local independents) seem to have it on a rotation and I occasionally find it in supermarkets. I just buy a few boxes when I see it. It's easy to spot when you know what you're looking for. And the glycerine in Boots seems to be always kept on the same shelf as cough medicines.

I use spray Vanish (or the own brand version)- spray the dull spots and put the wash on a pre-wash cycle with colour care liquid and that seems to work for most stains.

If your DC has sensitive skin then maybe do a second wash without detergent or with just non-bio but I don't think non-bio will take the stains out.

Wilko sells boxes of bicarb and soda crystals in their cleaning section. Cheap. White vinegar sprays too. I recently went down a YouTube rabbit hole and watched Anthea Turner’s cleaning tips.I think there was one on stains.

Ah, I've never seen bicarb in Aldi but then I'm not yet familiar with all their lines. Benji, I buy my SHOUT stain removing spray in Wilko. Didn't know they do bicarb and vinegar spray too. Good to know.

@SummerPoppies

I have a white linen top that has been ruined with sun cream. It has turned a pale yellow where it has rubbed against the cream on my skin, particularly around the arm holes and neck line. I've washed it twice on a 60 Deg wash, the second time with a couple of scoops of stain remover and hung it in the sun to dry. The staining is still there! Any ideas how I can get rid of the stain? I'm considering dying it black if I can't get it out. Help 😭

sorry, suncream is the one thing I've never been able to get out