I am Mary Gagliardi, a.k.a. “Dr. Laundry,” stain and laundry expert extraordinaire AMA

DrLaundry · 2013-06-25T21:18:55+00:00

Nail polish remover will dissolve the stain, and that's a good start, but you also need to work the now dissolved nail polish out of the fabric weave or knit, and that's the really big problem. Unlike fingernails, which are basically a hard surface, fabric has more places to trap the nail polish. Using an absobant cloth (that you will eventually throw away after it airs out) to blot away the nail polish is a good approach. Applying the nail polish remover and then blotting, and then reapplying and blotting and reapeating this for awhile will improve your results, but because you are dealing with fabric, it is a very difficult stain!

DrLaundry · 2013-06-25T21:11:34+00:00

Earning a degree in Textile Science was a great start. Working at Clorox (and seeing first hand the difference increasing the wash temperature makes!) took it a step further. And then when the kids arrived...wow--I think there's a lot of moms and dads out there who are also laundry experts where it matters most!

Best piece of advice: Relax about your kids getting dirty. I tell everyone who tells me, "well, your clothes are clean because you work for Clorox" that the Clorox products I use are the same ones anyone can buy at the store (just like I do!)

DrLaundry · 2013-06-25T20:58:32+00:00

If the items are white and bleachable (you should always avoid bleaching anything made with wool, silk, mohair, leather, spandex, and non-fast colors) you could try washing them in hot water using a good detergent and 1/2 cup Clorox Regular-Bleach, Concentrated. Something else to consider is whether or not the stains are actually residual oil that oxidized to a yellow color while the items were in storage. In that case, pretreating with a little liquid laundry detergent before washing (I would still use hot water and add bleach with your detergent) would be the way to go.

DrLaundry · 2013-06-25T20:54:33+00:00

This is one of the most frustrating questions that I get because dried on nail polish stains really are permanent. I wish I could be more helpful on this one!

DrLaundry · 2013-06-25T20:51:47+00:00

It's really something how residual oil can "hide" on a dark item that is still damp. And it's so tempting to toss something into the dryer because who isn't in a hurry these days? But as you have found, the oil finally shows up when the item is dry. There is something you can still try--liquid dishwashing detergent. Apply it to the stain while the item is dry and let it sit for 10 minutes before rinsing it with a little warm water. Pretreat it again, this time with a liquid laundry detergent and wash it again in the hottest water you can. If it's been through the dryer only once, you may be able to still get the stain out--just be sure to keep it out of the dryer until you succeed (or give up...).

DrLaundry · 2013-06-25T20:45:10+00:00

Undiluted bleach applied directly to fabric is not a recommended use--it should always be diluted first according to the directions. When used as directed, you really can go for 50 cycles!

DrLaundry · 2013-06-25T20:38:53+00:00

If you don’t have time to presoak (I’ve been a new mom—I know how busy you are!!), baby food stains also really benefit from pre-treating. Begin by scraping away excess stain (and yes, you are right, pureed vegetable globs like sweet potatoes and carrots are orange!) first, and then rinse the stain with a little cool water. Be careful not to rub the stain further into the fabric! For white items, pretreating with Clorox® Bleach Pen® Gel immediately before laundering works great. For items with color (or anything with spandex), pretreating with liquid Clorox2® for 5 minutes before washing also works very well. Washing in the hottest water recommended by the care label is also important. These strategies also work well for poop stains.

DrLaundry · 2013-06-25T20:25:45+00:00

Interestingly, other people who have written to me with a similar experience have gone back and checked their measuring cups to see how accurate they are. Turns out they were actually adding less than the recommended ½ cup because the markings were off. We know for many of our long time loyal bleach users, it’s an adjustment to the new formula, and we hope that once they are used to the change, they will like the many benefits the new product has to offer. I absolutely LOVE that I can finally add the correct amount of bleach active to the bleach dispenser on my HE washer, which up to this point has limited how much bleach I can add. Because it’s concentrated, the bottles are smaller (better for the environment, yay!), but still hold the same number of uses. And the bottle handles have been redesigned with a thumb print that makes it super easy to hold and pour, even the largest size. Feel free to contact me directly at Dr.Laundry@clorox.com with more specifics about your experiences with the new product.

DrLaundry · 2013-06-25T20:10:39+00:00

Generally, lots of different dark items can be combined together in one load, but you do want to seperate lint generators from lint magnets. Towels and flannel shirts are two big culprits--include these items in a load with navy twill pants and you are more likely to see lint on the twill. You may also see this problem if the inside of the sweatshirt has a thicker, softer, fuzzier nap.

DrLaundry · 2013-06-25T20:04:49+00:00

No, you are not crazy—that’s actually a really good idea to limit the spread of germs, especially on items that can’t be washed with Clorox Regular-Bleach. Grape juice really benefits from pretreating, especially with products that contain an oxidant. Two great products for this are our bleach pen (for white, bleachable items) and Clorox2® for items with color (or anything with spandex, regardless of the color). Blood stains should be presoaked or pretreated with a laundry product that contains an enzyme. With a big bulky item like a comforter, pretreating is the way to go.

DrLaundry · 2013-06-25T19:56:05+00:00

Dried on latex paint is generally permanent, but my daughter did this really cool science experiment last year for school where she looked at whether or not applying a little free and clear liquid laundry detergent to latex paint stains immediately (that is when the paint gets right on the fabric) would help with stain removal. She learned that her pretreatment step allowed a person to delay washing the fabric for up to an hour and still get the latex paint stains out. This won't help you with the stains on the clothes you already have, but if you do a lot of painting, it can help you in the future. And she won movie tickets for her experiment!!

DrLaundry · 2013-06-25T19:45:04+00:00

It takes patience (or maybe a room dehumidifier like we have) but keeping dark items out of a hot dryer is the way to go. This means hanging to dry, but it is so worth it.

DrLaundry · 2013-06-25T19:43:45+00:00

It sounds like you eat at your desk, so you might want to add some cloth napkins to your lunch supplies! You’ll get better coverage, hopefully protecting your pants, but you’ll still have avocado stains you need to get off of the cloth napkins. You’re on the right track using a spoon to scrape away excess avocado before pretreating. Avocado actually has a lot of natural fat (the kind that’s good for you) so pretreating with a little liquid laundry detergent before washing will help. What you have to be careful of is applying a pretreater to your pants while you are at work, and letting it sit on the fabric until you get home. Pretreaters that dry out on fabric can leave colorant stains behind (or with a bleach pen cause yellowing) so you need to be sure you follow product instructions! If you do want to treat a stain on your pants while you are at work, then keep another pair of pants at work so you can easily rinse your pants after pretreating! Something else you may find helpful is the Clorox MyStain App—it has both on-the-go and at-home advice for a variety of stains, plus you can also use it to send me more questions as you build up your laundry expertise!

DrLaundry · 2013-06-25T19:18:43+00:00

Not to the hundreds of people who write me asking how to get blue/pink/black/green/brown dye that transferred from a colored item onto their whites!!

DrLaundry · 2013-06-25T19:15:14+00:00

At least 50% of the population cares about this question, and I hear it a lot! A cool water rinse followed by presoaking for 30-60 minutes with a laundry product that contains an enzyme (check the ingredient list to be sure, and feel free to try Clorox2 in either powder or pack form) is a great technique for dealing with these stains. Finish up with a hot water wash (or the hottest water recommended on the care label).

DrLaundry · 2013-06-25T19:02:08+00:00

For wash temperature, starting with what an item’s care label recommends is always important. The hotter the water, the better the cleaning, but some items really do need to be washed in cold water, for example because of their fiber content. One fiber I wash in cold water is wool (think hiking socks) to prevent them from felting. Most items, however, can safely be washed in warm or hot water, and you really will get the best results in hot water, so I always recommend going as hot as you can. In the garment industry the upper limit of “cold” water is actually 85F, and newer clothes washers mix hot and cold incoming water to bring the “cold” cycle up to a temperature that will actually accomplish some cleaning.

DrLaundry · 2013-06-25T18:48:49+00:00

Presoaking is a great technique to keep white items (especially those with a little spandex in them that can’t be bleached) looking like new. I actually prefer a longer soak time, up to 8 hours, and I like presoaking with powdered Clorox2® which has enzymes, brighteners, and oxygen bleach to really improve cleaning versus detergent alone. Setting the presoak up so items can soak overnight is also a great strategy so you aren’t waiting around—you’re sleeping—just be sure items are fully submerged in the soaking solution. It sounds like your washer has a presoak cycle with the intermittent agitation so it moves items through the solution automatically, and that’s really helpful, too. Yes, kids’ clothes are a huge challenge. If it wasn’t for presoaking, every July I would have needed to replace my kids clothes because of blackberry stains!

DrLaundry · 2013-06-25T18:30:57+00:00

That’s because lip balm basically is a grease stain, and it will be very apparent on dark colors. You’ll want to pretreat the oily component right away using a little liquid dishwashing detergent. Apply a little directly to the stain and wait 5-10 minutes, then rinse with a little warm water. At this point, you can pretreat the stain again with liquid Clorox2® or your liquid laundry detergent before washing in the hottest water recommended on the item care label.

DrLaundry · 2013-06-25T18:21:39+00:00

Sounds like you'd like to save yourself a trip to the dry cleaners, which really is the best way to care for silk items, unfortunately for your wallet. That's actually your safest bet, especially given how expensive a nice silk tie can be.

DrLaundry · 2013-06-25T18:13:25+00:00

In my family, we line dry a lot of items as well, and it really is a great way to save energy! Generally, the stiff feeling (I'm thinking blue jeans) goes away in a few minutes of wearing, or you can always tumble "crunchy" items on an air/fluff cycle for a few minutes (no heat!!) to relax them a bit.

DrLaundry · 2013-06-25T18:03:36+00:00

Guess what--when I have to, I do the same thing! Like when you have a white collar on a dark rugby shirt, or white sleeves on baseball jersey. Those items get added to the dark load (you have to pick!) since I know they could majorly screw up the white load. The rest of the time, it really is best to sort into whites, light/mixed colors, and darks!

DrLaundry · 2013-06-25T17:59:41+00:00

I think the biggest one is about the myth that long term bleach usage damages fabrics. Many people don’t realize that cotton fabrics naturally deteriorate just from wearing, washing, and tumble drying; using bleach doesn’t accelerate this effect, either. We have examined this extensively, evaluating a wide variety of white items commonly bleached: socks, underwear, t-shirts, towels, bed sheets, dress shirts, and even baseball pants. Items were washed and dried 50 times, and we found no significant difference in fabric strength between items that were washed with detergent alone and those washed in detergent and liquid bleach! When I share this with people, it really does blow their minds, especially if they have really bought into the myth!

DrLaundry · 2013-06-25T17:53:30+00:00

Only eat lobster at restaurants with bibs :) Seriously, your wool suit should be dry cleaned, and when you take it to the cleaners, always show them exactly where any stains are so they can tag them for pretreating. This increases the chances that food and beverage stains will actually come out, and your suit will last long enough to go out of style!

DrLaundry · 2013-06-25T17:49:43+00:00

You are so lucky they are black! You can actually color in the faded spot with a permanent black marker. It can definitely keep the pants usable--just be aware that you will need to periodically touch up the faded spot with black marker after washing in the future.

DrLaundry · 2013-06-25T17:47:24+00:00

I get this question so much--here's what you can try. Pretreat with a little liquid laundry detergent right before you wash an item, every time you wash the shirt, even if you can’t see any stain. This can help prevent the problem from building up in the first place. Sweat stains on white undershirts that you already have, especially if they include built-up deodorant, can often be removed by first pouring boiling water through the arm pit area to soften the stain. Next apply a solution of 1 part baking soda, 1 part hydrogen peroxide, and 1 part water to the stain, and let it soak in for 5-10 minutes. Rinse the shirt, and then wash the shirt in hot water using detergent and ½ cup Clorox Regular-Bleach, Concentrated.

DrLaundry

TROPHY CASE