Stains don’t have to be such a pain

You know the scenario: you’re enjoying a warm and saucy Italian pasta complete with a lovely glass of red wine and all the olive oil. Then, the unthinkable happens: you spill, splatter or drop your fair onto some fabric. Don’t panic – we have the fix you need for the following three stubborn stains.

1. The stain: oil

Whether you’re a fan of drizzling some olive oil over your ciabatta or you prefer the delicious melted goodness of a grilled cheese… nobody is a fan of the oil stains it can leave all over your tablecloth.

See this three-cheese toastie recipe, here.

The fix: Dab, dab, dab.

Dab the oily stain with a clean, soft cloth to remove as much excess oil from your clothing as soon as possible. Don’t rub or scrub as this could cause the stain to spread.

Apply a small amount of liquid laundry detergent like OMO Auto Liquid**, or create a thick paste using a powdered detergent and a drop or two of water.

Pop the dirty clothing into the washing machine with the correct dosage of OMO and set your machine to a high temperature break down grease. Check the care label on your garment to ensure you wash your item at the correct temperature.

After your wash has finished, thoroughly inspect the clothing before it’s had a chance to dry. If the stain remains, repeat the above steps until the clothing is clean.

2. The stain: pasta sauce

You get lost in a moment while savouring your delicious spaghetti. Your eyes close and you misjudge where your mouth should be. Ugh. Don’t let that sauce stain spoil your appetite, though.

Browse this and other delicious pasta recipes, here.

The fix: blot with a damp cloth

These stains are much easier to remove when they’re fresh.

Get rid of any chunks of food, then blot the stain with a clean cloth or a piece of kitchen towel. If you’re not home, blot it with a damp cloth as soon as possible and try to keep it wet until you have the chance to deal with it.

Place the pasta sauce stain under the tap and direct a stream of cold water onto the back of the stain to help remove the sauce from the fabric.

Apply an effective pre-treatment like OMO to the stain and rub it in gently with an old, clean toothbrush. Leave it to work for a few minutes.

Pop the garment in the washing machine and wash as usual.  With a stain like this, it’s better to wash at a lower temperature.* The formulation of OMO Auto Washing Liquid works best at around 30°C but for this particular stain, a cool wash is actually the better solution.

3. The stain: red wine

We’ve been there. Our glass has a second hole and a sip of wine goes rogue. Or, our hand gestures become more expressive and the white linen takes the hit.

See the recipe for this three-cheese toastie, here.

The Fix: add salt

Treat the stain quickly by blotting with a cloth to soak up as much of the wine as possible. If you can, place a clean cloth underneath the stain to avoid it transferring onto any surrounding material.

Keep the stain moist (it is much easier to remove a moist red wine stain) with cool water, white wine or soda water until you can treat the stain properly.

Cover the whole stain with regular table salt. Press the crystals into the fabric and leave it to absorb the wine.

Brush the salt off the stain, then saturate the remaining stain with cold water. Blot with a cloth to remove as much of the stain as you can.

Apply a stain remover like OMO Auto Liquid directly onto the stain.**

Use a high-quality detergent that is tough on stains, such as OMO Auto Liquid to machine-wash the item at the highest water temperature that the garment care tag permits.

Discover more feature articles, here.

Buy your OMO Products at Woolworths, now. 

*Be sure to always check the clothing care label on the garment before treating your item.

**Always follow the instructions on the bottle of your chosen cleaning product and test it on a small patch of the stain before using it on the whole area.

The post SPONSORED: How to remove these 3 stubborn Italian food stains appeared first on Woolworths TASTE.