Whites Worthy of Wimbledon!

It’s that time again, whether you are taking up the racket yourself or enjoying an excuse for delicious Kentish strawberries, stains on those precious whites are inevitable! As you are probably aware, the strict dress code maintains that players must wear all white. Officials are notoriously fastidious; last year seven-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer was told he couldn’t wear his orange-soled trainers, since they were considered to have broken the All England Club’s rules! For some these rules are too stringent; Andre Agassi refused to play at Wimbledon because of his deep love for denim shorts. After much soul searching, he finally ditched his commitment to denim in 1991 in order to compete. For those of us who love our white sportswear, here are some trade secrets for keeping those whites pristine:

General Rules

• Wash whites in hot water: provided the fabric can handle this (always check the label!) it is the best setting for white clothes.
• Use a colour remover on your white clothes if they discolour, become dull or look dingy, as they can remove the unwanted colours from whites. If you don't want to purchase a colour remover, mix boiling water with oxygen bleach and let the clothes soak in the mixture for the same effect. If colours bleed during the wash, do not allow the garments or items to dry. Add colour removers to the wash and do the whole wash again. Once the wash has dried the colour transfer tends to set.
• Consider adding a laundry booster to your wash. Adding washing soda, oxygen bleach or borax will increase the efficacy of your detergent. These boosters work best with soft water
• Make sure that clothes are completely rinsed. This removes all traces of dirt or grimy water that can dull the look of whites.
• Select an appropriate load size. The clothes or other items should be able to move freely around in the water.
• Clean your washing machine regularly to ensure that your white clothes are actually being cleaned and that any remaining dirt in the washing machine isn't being transferred onto them.

Going Green

• Some of you are no doubt fully embracing the green revolution. If you want to avoid harmful chemicals in everyday cleaning and laundry, follow these steps to clean your dingy whites the natural way!
• If you spill something dark, pour salt on it to absorb moisture from the spill. Apply white vinegar or lemon juice directly to stains. Soak whites in a solution of water and lemon juice.
• Pouring 1/2 cup of lemon juice or 1 cup of white distilled vinegar into your washing machine with your clothes can keep your white clothes white.
• Wash whites with washing soda, similar to baking soda but with a lower pH. After washing, hang whites to dry in the sun. Sunlight naturally bleaches without setting stains the way a dryer does.

Bleach Boys

• Dilute hydrogen peroxide with water and add to a stain. This can also work with colours to although I would recommend a patch test first
• Dilute 3-percent hydrogen peroxide into your washing machine with your clothes can keep your white clothes white.
• Vanish Oxy Action Crystal White is a readily available product that has excellent reviews (not the pink tub, as this is better with colours).
• A decent bio powder - will do a good job BUT you must follow the instructions to the letter.
• Pre-treating with a liquid detergent may well help as well as they have optical brighteners in them that should help. Also use if you again use biological detergent, as it will attack the stain.
• Napisan (the nappy soak liquid) is an excellent stain remover (think about it!) and it keeps the whites white. Use as a soak for stains or in the machine.
• Boil using soap - ancient Korean secret, no joke. Korean people have been documented to have a long history of wearing white clothing, before washing machine times. Apparently what they did then, and what most housewives continue to do today (including my mom), is to boil their whites with a bit of soap or your detergent of choice. The key is to use only a little and then boil it for hours. It preserves the fabric and will get it spotlessly white without using any bleach. (This was my grandmother’s method of choice and my mother assures me that she and her siblings always had dazzlingly white clothes!).
• Add bleach to your clothes as a last resort. Bleach will keep clothes white and can act as a disinfectant. Make sure to use the appropriate amount of bleach as recommended on the packaging or else you may damage your clothes.

Grass Stains

• The golden rule is patience and not to dry the article as that will set the stain Grass juice contains chlorophyll which is the green pigment - known as a dye stain – that we see in grass stained clothing.
• Synthetic (manmade) fabrics are generally easier to treat than natural fabrics such as cotton. The reason for this is that the grass stain, being a natural stain will form a stronger bond with natural fibres.
• Wherever possible, keep the stain wet until you can treat it.
• Often grass stains are accompanied by dirt. Rinse the item for the back with cool water to remove as much of the dirt as possible before treating the grass stain.
• After flushing with water you're ready to treat the grass stain. The best method of removing grass stains is a simple paste of baking soda and plain vinegar mixed into a spreadable paste the consistency of toothpaste.
• Gently work it into the stain with your fingers, working from the backside of the fabric.
• Working from the back of the fabric pushes the stain back out rather than working it in deeper. Allow the paste to sit on the clothing for 15 minutes. Rinse with cool water, again from the back, until the water runs clean.
• If it appears that the stain has been removed, launder with your normal detergent and then allow to air dry.
• If the stain is still visible you can repeat the above method or buy digestive enzymes from the chemist, available in a powder or pill form - make a paste with enough water to again get the consistency of toothpaste. Spread the paste on the top of the stain and leave for an hour. Flush the stain with cool water.
• Depending on the severity of the stain and the amount of time that has elapsed before treatment, it may be necessary to treat multiple times before the stain has been completely removed.  

                                                   Strawberry Stains

If you’re like me, then you much prefer watching the tennis, rather than playing it. This, of course, entails the obligatory bowl of strawberries and glass of wine!

Once again, your best chance of success is swift action! The sooner it’s treated, the easier it is to remove.

For Clothing

• Rinse any excess juice from the fabric, and rinse with cool water.
• Combine half a teaspoon of liquid laundry detergent, a tablespoon of white vinegar, and a litre of warm water. Let the stained clothing soak in the solution for about 15 minutes.
• Rinse the fabric well in cool water.
• If the stain is stubborn, sponge the area with rubbing alcohol, and rinse thoroughly again with cool water. BUT do a test patch to check that the rubbing alcohol won’t damage the fabric
• Launder in the hottest water the fabric will allow; use chlorine bleach if the fabric will allow it, or colour safe bleach if not.
• If this process is unsuccessful, do not allow the fabric to dry, and look into alternative methods such as lemon juice, glycerine and denatured alcohol.

For Upholstery

• Carefully blot up as much of the strawberry as possible.
• Mix a solution of 2/3 of a cup of rubbing alcohol and one tablespoon of white vinegar.
• Using this solution, sponge the spot with a clean white cloth.
• Next, blot until the liquid is absorbed.
• Repeat steps 3-4 until the strawberry stain is removed from the upholstery.
• Now that the spot is removed you should get plain cold water and a new white cloth and sponge the area to remove the cleaning solution, and then blot dry.
• Be sure to get the upholstery only as wet as necessary to remove the stain.

For Carpets

• Firstly, follow the same method as for upholstery; if this is unsuccessful there are two options.
• Option one: This solution is milder than option two, so it may be wise to try this one first. Mix a solution of one tablespoon of liquid dish detergent and two cups of warm water, and use this as a stain removal solution.
• Option two: mix a solution of one tablespoon of ammonia with two cups warm water, and try that as a stain removal solution. Science time! When using ammonia and vinegar together, be aware that one is an alkali and the other an acid. Therefore they will neutralise one another, so thoroughly rinse the alcohol/vinegar solution before trying ammonia.

That’s all folks! Perhaps laundry is not your favourite activity whilst the weather is so beautiful, if so the Iron Maids are always happy to take it off of your hands!