Abracadabra! Stains…disappear!

My kids still believe in fairy tales. Not I. Especially when I’m confronted to stained clothing. Imagine if, just by invoking a magic spell, you could get rid of multi-colored crayon stains, lawns impregnated knees or stained bodysuit collars! How great that would be!

But until such a miracle arrives, I rely on other allies. Beginning with the Bunchafarmers Stain Stick. Their product is handmade and is Canadian made. I have been using it for 2 years now, and it has saved me countless pieces of clothing. It makes easy work of food stains and much more. The first time I set foot at L’Enfantillon, I was enchanted to see that we shared the same love for the product. The best thing about it being that it costs a little under 4$.

I am not a mom that runs to the cleaners with my kid’s clothes. I was a little afraid that the high end collections wouldn’t suit our lifestyle. A lot of the pieces at L’Enfantillon have rather eccentric details that require a certain level of attention and care. But nothing I have bought there so far has required professional care. Everything is machine washed at home. « You simply have to read the labels carefully and proceed with care. If stains need to be removed, do not rub too vigorously so that you won’t strain the fibers”, recommended Caroline the store’s owner.

The truth is that with children, stains seem to keep on coming. Your worst enemy is your tumble dryer. Never put a stained piece of clothing in there: the heat will cook in the stain, rendering it impossible to remove after. The same goes for hot water. Cold or lukewarm is the way to go.

I’ve also found some pretty good hints in a book called L’ABC des trucs de Madame Chasse-taches (Publistar publishing, available in French only). It contains a bunch of recipes you can do at home with stuff that can be found around the house to get stains out of fabrics. Here are just a few:

-MUD : Saturate the fabric with egg yolks then clean again.

-BERRIES : Soak for a night in milk with a dash of lemon juice.

-GREASE : Add a can of Cola to your usual wash cycle with soap.

-GRASS : Saturate with water, sprinkle with sugar and let rest a few hours before cleaning.

I also posted a Pinterest board with dozens of tips and tricks to get rid of those tough stains.

I am curious to know… what are your tricks to help get rid of stains? Do you have any miraculous go-to tricks to share?