If there’s one thing that I can count on as a mom of two young boys, it’s washing plenty of laundry. And most of the time, that laundry is incredibly dirty or covered in stains. Now I have to admit, when my boys were younger, I didn’t worry about stained clothing all that much. Things like “pre-treating” and “dry-clean only” were almost foreign concepts to a mid-twenties mother that had only had to wash her own clothes before. Until one day, and one stain, changed the way I looked at laundry forever.
I had taken Zackary to the library for preschool story time. He was just a toddler and the craft that particular day was finger-painting. Of course, it was also the day I had decided to wear my favourite white Capri pants. As my excited son finished his finger-painting, he turned, grabbed my pants with a paint-covered hand and said, “Look Mom! It’s a rainbow!”
The left thigh of my pants was covered in a beautiful red, yellow and blue abstract design, but I didn’t panic. “Oh well!” I said to myself. “It’s washable paint!” With that comforting thought in my head, I calmly praised my son, took him home, hung up his picture and tossed my pants into the laundry basket…where they sat for the next week.
Needless to say, the pants did not come out of the wash clean. And when I described the incident to my mother, who had washed the clothes of five incredibly active and messy children for years, she said, with a shake of her head and a rueful chuckle, “Oh honey! It’s only washable if you wash it right away!”
I never did get those pants clean, but I learned an important lesson about taking care of stains right away, and it’s a lesson that has saved many pieces of clothing since that day. I’ve also learned some tips and tricks of my own for taking care of tough stains and Resolve®, a company with plenty of stain-fighting expertise, has recently created a way for you to share your favourite stain removal tips with others and request help with particularly stubborn stains of your own!
The Resolve® Tip Exchange is a fun new interactive website with a mission to make battling stains a thing of the past. Whether you’re scrubbing a stubborn grass stain out of your child’s favourite jeans or trying to get red wine out of that delicate lace tablecloth, you can request advice to help you get your favourite clothes looking like new again! And if you have a patented stain removal tip of your own, share it on the site for a chance to win one of twelve weekly prizes of $250 or a grand prize of $5000!
Trial and error may have taught me how to deal with tough stains, but with a little help from the Resolve® Tip Exchange, I won’t have to risk ruining clothes in the future even when I’m stain stumped! Come check out the site for yourself, see what others are suggesting for that tough stain you’ve been fighting and enter your own tips too! Your stain removal expertise may just help out somebody else and pay off for you too!
Disclosure: I am part of the Resolve® Tip Exchange Blogger Campaign with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.
I agree with your Mom, anything that’s stained, you’ve got to wash it right away! Resolve is a great product, though, it’s come to my rescue many times!
I’ve never tried Resolve, but a Pinterest tip was worth a try. I just tried Dawn dish detergent on old grease (cooking) stains. These were previously washed clothes with a couple of grease stains. I used pure Dawn, and made a lather. Then a rinse. I was shocked that it actually worked. 2 separate shirts, and one of them had been washed several times.
I wish I had a tip to share. We have had too many stains ruin too many outfits, couches etc here
Awww! Sorry to hear about your capris! I’ve got a few items lost to stains (mostly from my little one’s paints too). Resolve is my MIL’s “go to” stain remover when hanging things out in the sun doesn’t work!
I love what you’re mom said: “It’s only washable if you wash it right!” Some people seem to be naturally laundry geniuses.
Awww that’s too bad about your pants! But definitely a lesson learned for next time right? hehe. Resolve has always been by my side ever since a major stain incident last year…where Resolve took care of a nasty spaghetti sauce stain in our beige interior van! Love it!!