Getting Out Old Stains

I've tried this recipe with great results. 1 cup colorsafe bleach plus 1 cup dishwasher detergent. I added these to the machine and used my soak cycle. I used hot water but my machine really doesn't get hotter than warm so you could probably use either. I've seen this listed on multiple sites with different brands of each product, but I think the powdered versions would work better than liquids. I also only used this for whites and lights--I'm not brave enough to try it on colors. I also pasted two that are similar but that I haven't tried yet. Unfortunately, I don't have the origin of either of these.

Pour 5 quarts of very hot water into a bucket and add 1/4 cup powdered Clorox and 2-1/4 cup powdered Cascade automatic dishwasher detergent. Mix and add your stained items. Let them soak overnight then launder as usual.

Dissolve one scoop OxiClean and one scoop Biz in about 1 gallon of hot water. Add 3/4 to 1 cup household ammonia. Place stained items in this solution and allow to soak.

Oxy clean gets all of my kids stained clothes clean. Even if I miss the stain the first time around and the clothes have been through the dryer! I get it at Target in a blue spray bottle.

I'm not sure about after already washing, but a friend told me to use just regular old bar soap on stains and it works great. You just rub the soap into the stain and then rub on & around the stain. The stain pretty much comes out before you put in the wash. Maybe something to try before you buy other products. Good luck!

Hi S.,
I'm not sure about old stains, but I have found the best thing ever! It is called Fels Naptha. It looks like a bar of soap. My daughter is great at messing up her clothes and never wore bibs (she would always take them off). My son was never that messy and I didn't have to worry about stain removal too much with him. A friend told me about Fels Naptha and I've been using it ever since. I tell everyone I know about it if they question about a stain, or how I keep my kids clothes so clean. Now my mom, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and a few friends are using it. I think it works better than the other products such as 'Shout', and it's much cheaper too!

Good luck in your stain removing,
~SR

I've gotten some old, set-in stains out by using Shout Advanced.

I am a huge fan of Dawn dishwashing soap. Put it directly on the stain and let it soak or soak the item in dawn soapy water. it works great, especially on greasy stains.

Hi S.,

Believe it or not the one thing that I've found to take out ANY stain is Simple Green. My son spilled red juice on a white shirt last summer. We tried everything and finally decided the shirt was ruined. As a last resort my mom sprayed it with Simple Green and it took it right out. My whole family has started using it for everything. Good luck.

K.