Fabric Stain Removal Products – A stain on a fabric is something that has not been removed by normal washing. A stain is not dirt — what you have done is dye the fabric — so something can be  stained but still clean. That said, most ‘stains’ will respond to a soak and wash. The garment may have to be washed more than once; you may have to try stronger remedies; but if you are patient, do not panic and tackle the mark in  an orderly way, it will disappear in the end.

The following applies only to washable fabrics. Do not attempt  on fabrics that need to be dry-cleaned.

There are plenty of commercial spot and fabric stain removers on the market, and  many of them are very good, but the basic household chemicals already to hand  do the job just as well. Most common household stains can be tackled with one of the following:

Enzymes — as found in biological pre-soak products and washing detergents;

Acids — lemon juice and white vinegar;

Alcohol — surgical spirit or any other pure colorless spirit, such as vodka;

Bleach — oxygen fabric bleach for preference. Use chlorine bleach only when absolutely necessary.

To these, add a commercial stain removal product, such as White Wizard; a solvent spot remover, such as De.Solv.lt for ink stains; Wine Away for fruit and wine stains; and glycerine, which is available from chemists. A dry-stick spot remover is also useful for grease. Of all these products, the most useful and gentlest are ordinary detergents and pre-wash products — especially on grease marks, food spots and oil marks.