Friday, August 7, 2015

Cleaning Crises!---Suntan


       Suntan
         lotion

on clothing

Blot excess lotion with a paper towel or carefully scrape up the excess with a dull knife. Oh washable clothes, spray the stained area with a commercial pre-wash stain remover. If you do not have that product, apply liquid laundry detergent directly to the stain and work it in. Immediately after  pre-treatment, launder the item in your washer in hot water (if that is safe for the fabric and colors). With dry-clean-only clothes, blot with a paper towel dampened with acetone-based nail polish remover. (Acetone will dissolve acetate, however, so don't use on that fabric.)
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      Tar
on shoes

Remove as much of the tar as possible by gently scraping with an old spoon. Remove further residue by blotting with a clean, dry paper towel. Next, apply rubbing alcohol to a paper towel and blot or gently rub. Repeat several times using clean paper towels with freshly applied alcohol. If any tar remains, try wiping with a sudsy solution of warm water and a squirt of dish-washing liquid. Put a small amount on a cloth and gently blot or rub. Rinse by spraying lightly with clean water and wiping dry.
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       Washer,
    toilet, tub,
        or sink
overflowing
    onto floor

This--along with bathing the dog--is why you keep those old towels around. First, turn off the water source and open any drains. Then grab as many old towels as needed and toss them onto the pooling water to soak it up. With another towel or several smaller rags, contain the water by soaking it from the outside toward the center. Mop or use a wet vac and then let dry, using fans and dehumidifiers, if necessary.
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   Water or
      alcohol
          stain
on furniture

If it's a fresh stain, soak up any excess water or alcohol  with a paper towel and then rub the spot vigorously in the direction of the grain with the palm of your hand or a cloth dipped in furniture polish. If it's an old, dry stain. You'll need an abrasive/lubricant combination: Use a few drops
of mineral oil with rottenstone ( a fine abrasive available at hardware stores) sprinkled on top or apply a paste wax with a very fine grade of steel wool (such as 0000). In a pinch, you can even use
cigarette ashes and mayonnaise. No matter what combination you use, rub gently with the grain using a clean, dry cloth.
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Wine
on carpet

Blot up what you can with paper towels. For large spills, work from the outside in to contain the  spill. Next, lightly apply a solution of 1/4 teaspoon mild dish-washing liquid and 1 quart water. Work the solution into t he affected area. Blot with clean paper towels to remove. Rinse by lightly spraying with water. Blot to remove excess water. Do this until all suds are gone. Then slightly with water and don't blot. Instead, lay a pad of paper towels down, put a weight on the pad, and let the towels dry. If the stain persists, moisten the tufts with 3 percent hydrogen perioxide.  Let the stand for an hour.
Blot with clean paper towels.
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Wine
on table
linen

Regardless of the type of wine, if the fabric is washable, soak it for an hour in a solution of 1 teaspoon liquid laundry detergent (Preferably one containing enzymes) per 1/2 gallon warm water. Then launder in your washer using the hottest water that's safe for the fabric and laundry detergent, not soap. Natural soap--including soap flakes, bar soap, and detergent containing soap--makes tannin stains harder to remove. To remove stubborn tannin stains, you may need to wash with bleach. If all the sugars from one of these stains are not removed, they could turn brown in the dryer, as the sugar is caramelized.

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