Cleaning Tips and Tricks – Food

General Hints

  1. Place towel under stain, rub in club soda and repeat as necessary.
  2. Washable fabrics – rub in paste of water and automatic dishwasher detergent, wait 10 minutes and wash

Ketchup, Tomato Sauce, Barbeque Sauce and Baby Formula

  1. General – soak in warm water with liquid dishwashing detergent and a drop of ammonia, rinse, then wash using bleach
  2. Tomato based sauces – soak in cool water for 30 minutes, rub liquid laundry detergent into stain
  3. Baby formula – rub paste of unseasoned meat tenderizer mixed with water, wait several hours then wash.

 Fruit

  1. Pour boiling water onto stain then launder
  2. Shrinkable fabric – do not use boiling water, wash in cold water or cover stain with dry starch, after 1 hour, brush off and launder.
  3. Non-washables – sponge with cold water, sponge with glycerine and after 1 hour rub with grease solvent

Fast Food

  1. Combination greasy/non greasy (Mayonnaise) – Run under cool water, run with liquid detergent, soak and rinse. If stain persists, rub with dry-cleaning solution and rinse.
  2. Grease (cooking/salad oil) – Washable, pour boiling water over stain and wash. Non-washables, absorb with paste of baking soda, cornmeal or cornstarch
  3. Gravy – Washables, soak in cold water. Non-washables, sponge with cool water
  4. Chocolate – Scape off with a dull knife, wash in warm soapy water. Stubborn stains, sponge with hydrogen peroxide, wait 30 minutes then wash
  5. Mustard – Apply glycerine, flush with detergent solution. Do not use soap

Chewing Gum

  1. Rub with ice, scrape with fingernail or place in a plastic bag in freezer, scrape off frozen gum
  2. or soak in white vinegar or rub with egg white then launder

Meat Juice

  1. Sponge with grease solvent, dry, sponge with solution of detergent and ammonia

Syrup/Honey

  1. Sponge with warm water then launder.