Sun’s out, buns out — as in the hamburger, hot-dog and brioche variety. Summer is prime time for barbecues and outdoor dinner parties, and that means fun times with friends and family, good eats and, yes, occasionally a mess or two leading to frequent loads of laundry.
Whether you’re cooking yourself or just chowing down on delicious pulled pork, stains happen. But they need not ruin your day — or your all-white-before-Labor-Day ensemble. The first step to getting rid of them, says Carolyn Forté, laundry expert and executive director of the Good Housekeeping Institute Home Care & Cleaning Lab, is knowing what the stain is, the type of fabric it’s on and the care it requires. Unfortunately, there’s no magic wand when it comes to removing stains, and what works on some messes may not on others. But these guidelines are a constant: Act quickly, and choose the safest, most effective products and methods for your garment,
Good Housekeeping Seal star Persil ProClean +Oxi Power Laundry Detergent uses the power of Oxi — short for oxygen bleach — a proven stain-fighter that's safe to use on all machine washable fabrics and colors, to work every bit as hard as the grill master, tackling the fearsome likes of barbecue sauce, guacamole and ice cream. Paired with targeted pretreating, which it can also be used for, this whitening and brightening detergent ensures that the only thing your summer bash will leave behind is great memories. Here’s how to wash away the rest.
Beat barbecue sauce
Seasonal sauces make for some of the tastiest dishes that come off the grill — but also some of the hardest stains to eradicate. Never fear, though: Forté has you covered. She recommends carefully scraping off any excess sauce with a spoon, being careful not to push any back into the fabric. Next, flush the stain from the back with cold water, or soak a dried stain in cold water for about 15 minutes. Work some Persil ProClean +Oxi Liquid into it and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes. Then rinse well with warm water and machine-wash as usual, in the warmest water that’s safe for the fabric.
Wash away wine
No need to cry over spilled Cabernet, even if it’s all over your ivory pants. While that deep crimson may look scary, it’s fairly easy to make disappear. “First be sure to blot and rinse it promptly in cold water,” Forté advises. “Sponge the stain with white vinegar, and then rub in a little liquid laundry detergent before washing as usual.”
Wipe out watermelon
With juice and fruit stains, Forté again stresses a prompt rinse in cold water as the first step. She then says to rub in a mixture of equal parts clear dish soap and hydrogen peroxide and let that sit for 10 minutes before rinsing and washing as usual. Another, even simpler option here: Use Persil ProClean +Oxi Power Discs, which give you the power of a deep cleaning laundry detergent in the form of a pre-measured disc. Just add one into your empty washing machine drum before adding your laundry for long lasting freshness.
Stick it to stickiness
Whether it’s leftover marshmallow from s’more toasting or a dollop of strawberry ice cream, gooey, tacky stains should be treated with oily soap. And while most sticky situations call for warm water, Forté says ice cream stains benefit from keeping it chill in cold water. Either way, "gently rub in a few drops of dish soap to help dissolve the sugars," she says. Then wash as usual and get on with your sweet day.
Get guacamole gone
We're sorry to say, destroying guac stains will be a little extra (work). Simply flush the stain with cold water, rub in liquid laundry detergent, and let stand for five minutes. Then, before laundering, give the item a 15-minute soak in warm or hot (if safe for the garment) water. If you double-dipped with some salsa in your mishap, rinse off any excess and then work in a mixture of one part vinegar and one part water, as well as some detergent, and then machine-wash.
Whatever type of stain you’re fighting, for that final step use ProClean +Oxi Liquid or Discs as directed on the packaging. When the cycles finish, only you will know the messes ever happened.