Stains in Fabric

Act with time. Already dried stains are more difficult to remove and sometimes even impossible to take out.

Check what type of fiber the garment of. Check if it can be washed in water or if it should be dry cleaned.

If the garment can be washed in water, then try taking out the stain with hot water and a bit of talc soap.

This can be done by putting a towel under the stained part and rubbing the stained part with hot water and talc soap. Once this is done, the garment can be washed using an adequate temperature.

If the garment is made of wool, siply rub the stained part ina gentle maner.

Blood stains are removed with COLD WATER.

Stains in items for dry cleaning should be dry cleaned as soon as possible. Do NOT try taking out the stains with if the garment is for dry cleaning.

Stain removal products can ruin the fabrics made of rayon and viscose. One can try the prodcut in a flap to make sure that it does not cause discoloration in the fabric not ruin it.

The Color of Stain (2)

The Color of Stain (1)

5 Aspects of Stains

To be able to know what a stain is, it would be good to focus one’s attention in the following acronym:

TOUCH

Hard, soft, sticky, smooth, course/rough

Surface: enamel, adhesive/glue, oil based paint, tar

Depth: grease, wine, ink stains, some sauces, coffee, perfume, urine

Mixed: eggs, blood

APPEARANCE

Stains with defined a outline: blood, cacao, enamel, oil based paint

LOCATION
Flaps and collars: perfume
Flaps, jacket front, neck ties: food and drinks
Hem of the pants, coats: shoe polish, mud 
 

COLOR
White-yellow: eggs, milk, white wine
Yellow, brownish-gray: tobacco, tea, fruits, honey, mustard
Red: lipstick, wine, nail polish, blood (fresh), paint
Brown: coffee, cacao, chocolate, blood (dry)
Brown-Green: grass
Grey-black: mud, shoe polish, mold, tar, cement

ODOUR

Stains with a characteristic smell: tobacco, disinfectant, urine, perfumeSome stains have a defined outline while others do not.

Original article from the book of CEICID:

How to take care of fabrics. 

Types of Stains

In principle, Stains are divided into two groups:

Water- soluble stains

Solvent-soluble stains

Soluble means “capable of being dissolved” and to dissolve means to break or to separate in component parts.

Water  helps break the cohesion of some stains while in others, solvents are needed to take them out.

It is not common to find concentrated stains. They are normally compounds, that is formed by distinct substances. Thus it is important to know the properties each of the substance since stain removal is taking out the different components of the substance of the satin.

A) Water-soluble stains

1- Stains which contain albumin

They come from vegetables and animals.

Examples of these are the following: blood, milk, milk cream, dairy products, eggs, mayonnaise, ice cream, food leftovers, soup, fish, meat sauce, choclate, cacao, sweat, vomit etc….

It is easier to remove recent stains. Albumin coagulates at 45º and the stain becomes permanent.

How to know water-soluble stains?

These types of stains leave a distinct mark/ outline and shine when one scratches it with one’s nails.

2- Stains which contain tannin

Tannin is a substance present in fruits, vegetable extracts (coffee, tea), grass, green nuts, coca-cola, tobacco, red wine, beer, perfume, medical creams etc…

Fresh stains of tannin are easily removed yet difficult to recognize.

Old stains of tannin require time to be removed. Once tannin comes in contact with the albumin of the natural fibres (wools or silk), a chemical reaction occurs and provokes a change in color (yellow-ochre) which makes it difficult to remove. 

Stains of tannin become permanent when one puts them in high temperature or mixes them with alkaline. These are actually the yellow-ochre stains which one finds in one’s clothes.

3- Stains which contain sugar

Simple sugar which is contained in many fruits (monosaccharine) reacts chemically with the albumin of the natural fibres. This reactions creates a yellow-ochre stain which is difficult to remove.