Almost every ruined garment was ruined by the response, not the spill. Three rules cover most situations: act fast, blot rather than rub, and never put heat on a stain you have not removed. Everything below assumes you test on a hidden area first.
The first two minutes
Lift any solids off with a blunt edge. Blot liquid with a clean white cloth, pressing straight down and lifting — rubbing pushes the stain deeper and damages fibres. Work from the outside of the stain inwards so you do not spread it. On washable fabric, flush from the back with cold water so the stain exits the way it came in.
Heat is the enemy: hot water, a tumble dryer or an iron will set protein and tannin stains permanently. Cold first, always.
Red wine
Blot, then cover generously with salt or, on carpet, a little cold water and blot again. Follow with a solution of washing-up liquid and white vinegar in cold water, blotting until it lifts. On white cotton, dilute hydrogen peroxide works well. Skip the myth of white wine — plain cold water does the same job.
Coffee and tea
These are tannin stains. Rinse with cold water immediately, then treat with washing-up liquid and a splash of white vinegar. If a shadow remains on white cotton, an oxygen-based stain remover soak for a few hours usually clears it. Do not use soap bars, which can set tannins.
Grease, oil and butter
Cover with cornflour, talc or bicarbonate of soda and leave for 15 minutes to draw the oil out, then brush off. Work washing-up liquid — designed for grease — into the mark, leave five minutes and wash at the warmest temperature the fabric allows. Never wet a fresh grease mark first; you spread it.
Blood
Cold water only. Rinse and blot repeatedly while it is fresh. For a dried stain, soak in cold salted water, then treat with a little hydrogen peroxide on white fabrics or an enzyme detergent on colours. Hot water cooks the protein into the fibre and the stain becomes permanent.
Ink, make-up and deodorant
Ballpoint ink responds to isopropyl alcohol or hand sanitiser dabbed with a cotton bud, with a clean cloth underneath to catch what transfers. Foundation and lipstick are oil-based, so treat them like grease. Deodorant marks and yellowing under arms respond to a soak in an oxygen-based remover; avoid chlorine bleach, which turns those marks yellower.
Pet accidents and other protein stains
Use an enzyme cleaner made for pet messes, not a general spray. Enzymes break down the proteins that cause the smell, which is what stops an animal returning to the same spot. Blot thoroughly first, apply generously enough to reach as deep as the mess went, and let it dry naturally.
When to stop and call someone
Stop if the fabric is silk, wool, viscose, leather or labelled dry clean only; if the item is valuable or sentimental; if colour is lifting; or if you have already tried two products. Mixing chemicals — especially anything containing bleach with anything containing ammonia — is genuinely dangerous. Take the item to a specialist and tell them exactly what you already applied.
Common questions
- Does an old stain still come out?
- Sometimes. A long soak in an oxygen-based remover is the best first attempt, repeated rather than intensified. Set stains that have been through a dryer often will not fully clear.
- Is bleach ever the answer?
- Only on white, bleach-safe cotton or linen, and it is a last resort. On most fabrics an oxygen-based remover is safer and just as effective.
- How do I treat a stain on a mattress or sofa?
- Use as little liquid as possible, blot rather than soak, and dry with a fan or open window. Soaking the padding causes odour and mould long after the stain is gone.