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Take care to wash away any spots and stains on your washables. Here are a few tips:
Treat the spot immediately! The sooner you attack the spot, the easier it is to remove. Get into the habit of checking freshly washed wet clothes for stains that don't wash away. Instead of drying them, pretreat the stains and wash them again. Drying can permanently set the stains.
Pretreating a stain before it is dried or set increases your chances for removing it. Use a prewash stain remover, liquid laundry detergent, or a paste made from a powdered laundry detergent and a little water. First, test for colorfastness by pretreating a seam or other inconspicuous area. Then, launder the entire garment with a detergent — plus a bleach that's safe for the fabric.
Blot it out! Sponge a stain — don't rub it. Rubbing only spreads it and may even damage the fabric.
Beware of beverages. Beverages containing sugar, such as wine or ginger ale, may seem to disappear. But don't be fooled — they may still be there! Once the stain has been exposed to air, the sugar oxidizes and leaves an invisible stain, which ultimately turns yellow or brown. The stain never left ... it was there all along. To remedy? Treat even those light stains you can't see immediately — before they dry.
Using a bleach? Prevent uneven color changes by bleaching the entire garment — not just the stain.
Out with the old! Old stains rarely fade away — but it's possible! Try pretreating or soaking in a product containing enzymes, then launder.
Wash it away! After treating a stain, launder the complete garment to remove any residue left from the stain or stain remover.
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