Stain, stain go away - come on back another, wait - Never??

I don't get how Martha Stewart does it. Or did it before she was famous (and had servants to do her work).

How the hell do you get rid of an old SET IN STAIN!

I've read the tips, I've tried the tips.  The tips don't work half the time.

I have kids (and a husband) therefore I have stains on clothes.....and as such, many are thrown out when i have given up trying to get the stain out.

So....along comes my friend Mr. Google and we look for a homemade product that just might work.

I found a recipe, tried it, and O. M. G.  It works.  The photos don't acutally do the product as much justice as it deserves....but it works.  My husband has this beautiful stark white Canada hat I purchased for him during the 2010 winter olympics.  Why I decided white would be a good colour for my gets everything covered in stains husband, I will never know.

His hat was gross.  The sweat-dirt stains were all over it and I banished the hat to a spot where he couldn't FIND it so that I wouldn't be embarrassed if he tried to wear it out in public.  I had already tried throwing it in the wash to no avail.

So.  I pulled it out (hey honey I "found" your hat LOL!!).

Spray on the homemade stain remover.  Wait 10 minutes.  Rinse off.

Holy white hat.

The photos below are from the first time I did it.  I should have taken more after I went through the process a second time and actually scrubbed the hat.....but I can't find the hat anymore.  Pretty sure that hubby has hidden it so I can't get my hands on it again.  haha.  It's amazing - it looks brand new.

Since the hat, I have used it on nearly every set it and fresh stain that comes up.  It's been great.  New stains come out perfectly and as for the old set in ones...well....I took a pile of 20 pairs of kids underwear (my daughter had 'bathroom issues') that I was about to pitch.  I sprayed each and every one, threw them in the wash and crossed my fingers.  Out of 20, I  completely saved 8 pairs.  Not a hint of any stain left anymore.  The remaining 12 were better but not completely stain free.  And these stains were old, set and had many bleach/commercial stain removers applied with no success.  I've also recently used it on a cat barf stain in the basement.  Took it out completely in less than 2 minutes.

The commercial stuff I had been using was either the Clorox 2 Laundry Stain Remover ($3.47 for 650ml) or OxyClean Gel Stick Pre-Treater ($3.99 for 6.5 oz)

Here is how I did it and what it cost.

Laundry Stain Remover

Ingredients

·      1 cup dawn dishwashing liquid

·      2 cups Hydrogen peroxide

Directions

1.     mix toget

Yield

·     750ml

Cost

·      Dawn dishwashing liquid ($2.49/750ml) = $0.83/1 cup

·      Hydrogen Peroxide ($1.97/1 L) = $0.985/2 cups

·      Total - $1.81

I have kids, therefore I have fingerprints.....

On glass.

On mirrors.

Doorjambs, walls, tables, fridge, counters.

Seriously?  I'm not sure what they get on their fingers that make this tiny little smuge spots on E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G.  I have a large mirror in our family room that I swear will never be clean.  Ever.

Of course....I was the braniac who just HAD to have the glass table top kitchen table.  Stupid.

Windex?  I think they make 4 different kinds of Windex, maybe more, and I've tried every one of them.  I still can't get mirrors to that no-streaks-or-haze state.  And it drives me NUTS!

So.  New search.  There appear to be 2 main recipies of homemade glass cleaner out there.  One includes ammonia, one has no ammonia but has cornstarch.  Based on the fact that I had cornstarch in the house and didn't have ammonia I chose that one. (I also hate the smell of ammonia - I do the cleaning around here, I'm not smelling that on everything!!)

Super easy to make.  And it works.  For the first time I had absolutely clean, streak and haze free glass!.

The cost difference is great.  Especially when I noticed that the price tag was still on the bottle of Windex on my counter.  $5.99.  OUCH! I cringed when I saw that.  Obviously NOT a great 'shopping for the lowest price' moment.

For the sake of my ego, sanity, fairness, we will pretend that the bottle of Windex Original that I have actually cost the current price (at Walmart) of $2.93.  And yes, I know that there is a slight difference between the bottle sizes but really, even if you double the cost of the homemade stuff, it's still ridiculously cheaper.

Windex - $2.93/765ml 
Homemade - $0.48/ 750ml

SAVINGS OF $2.45/bottle 

Here is how I did it and what it cost.

Glass Cleaner

Ingredients

·      ½ cup rubbing alcohol

·      ½ cup white vinegar

·      2 TBSP cornstarch

·      2 cups warm water

Directions

1.     combine everything in a spray bottle and shake.

Yield

·      750ml

Cost

·       Vinegar ($1.49/4 litres) = $0.04/ ½ cup

·      Rubbing Alcohol ($2.87/1 litre) = $0.36/ ½ cup

·      Cornstarch ($1.49/454g) = $0.08/2 TBSP (24g)

Notes:

·      Shake it before using.  The cornstarch settles at the bottom of the bottle and may plug the sprayer.  Give it a good shake before cleaning your windows and that problem is gone.