Our Favorite Cleaning Secrets from the Pros
The need to clean can sneak up and overwhelm us in no time, and sometimes it's difficult knowing where to start. Here are the best (and easiest) pro tips to help break the cycle of cleaning inertia.
By Emily Lee
Ink: Press a teaspoon of citric acid onto the spots (using a bone spoon) and moisten with water. Then pour boiling water over the stains until they disappear.
Wine or fruit: Stretch the fabric over a bowl and pour boiling water through it until the stain disappears.
Rust: Stewed rhubarb, spread over the stain, left for a few hours and washed off, is pretty effective. (Boiled fig leaves work just as well.)
Blood: Soak thoroughly in cold, salty water for an hour or so before washing.
Old coffee or tea stains: Can be soaked in a diluted solution of methylated spirits and 1/2 cup to 2 cups of water. Leave garments to soak for an hour and then wash as normal.
Scorch marks: Bruise two onions and then boil in 1/2 pint vinegar with some grated soap and 2 ounces of Fuller's Earth. When cooled, apply mixture to scorch mark and rinse off when dry.
Mildew: Soak for a few hours in buttermilk before washing.
— Lucy Lethbridge
Published 07/19/2018