Secrets to my clothes washing dilemmas 
People have always commented on my ability to wash clothes. To be honest, I am obsessed with having clean clothes. It irritates me not being able to get spots out of clothes. My friends often inquire what my secret is in getting out stains and I thought I might share the products in hopes that they might be helpful to you, too. J
#1 - Hairspray - This one was passed down from my grandmother to my mom, to me. Hairspray will remove ink from clothing. To use: Spray area with hairspray, blot with a paper towel, launder, and the ink should be removed. It has been my experience that any brand will do the trick. We actually don't use hairspray in our home, so I buy the cheapest brand and leave it with my laundering detergents for when an ink spot arises.
# 2 - Epsom Salt - This one I read in a magazine about 5 years ago and have had success with it every time. Have you ever washed an item with both dark and light colors and had the dark colors bleed into the light colors? It's happened to me on more than one occasion and it really annoys me. The last time, I had a cute red and white striped sweater that I had worn probably 2 times. I washed it and the red bled onto the white. I never could bring myself to wear it again. L To use: After placing laundry detergent into the washing machine pour in about 1/4 cup of Epsom salt before adding clothing. I use this on many loads now, whenever I am in doubt. I haven't been disappointed yet. Again, I buy a cheap brand and keep it in a tightly sealed container in my laundry room.
# 3 - Shout - This has been my stain releaser of choice since getting married. We use it often, even more often after having Olivia, and even more often after having a little boy. J To use: Generously spray spot, allow to soak for 10-30 minutes, and launder. It removes most stains. If it doesn't work, I turn to #4, my all-time favorite clothes washing helper.
#4 - De-Solv-it - MY ALL TIME FAVORITE CLOTHES WASHING HELPER!!!!! My mom introduced me to this product about 5 years ago, and I will never go without it on my shelf again. She originally purchased the product to remove stickers, but we soon found out it can do so much more. J This product will remove the toughest of stains -- grease, car oil, cooking oil, make-up, lipstick, grass stain, crayon, tomato stains, chocolate, just to name a few I have used it for. When I have thought that there is no hope in getting out a stain, this product will remove it 9 times out of 10. Sometimes I have to use it twice, but it RARELY lets me down. To use: Generously spray spot, allow to soak for 10-30 minutes, and launder.
I recently ran out of this amazing "liquid gold" (read with disgust...because Wal-Mart no longer carries this product on their shelves) and tried a substitute -- Goo Gone. Let me just say, DO NOT USE GOO-GONE. I used it in place of De-Solv-it and it stained several items of clothing the Goo-Gone orange color. One white shirt I had to launder an additional 6-7 times to remove the orange dye color. After going though the heartache of laundering one item so many times I got on the internet and ordered 8 bottles of De-Solv-it, so I wouldn't run out again any time soon. J Call me eccentric, but I am sold on this product.
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Additional comments:
I always treat the spot as soon as possible to prevent the stain from setting in.
I always make sure stains are removed before placing my item into the dryer. Otherwise the stain will be set and unlikely to come out in the future.
I am not claiming to be able to get out every stain...just many. J
Boys make more stains than girls. J
