Festive spills incoming (Picture: Getty)
With all the food, drinks and presents, Christmas can be an incredibly messy time.
And considering how much thought and effort goes into our festive looks and partywear, it can be a nightmare when an outfit is ruined by a pesky stain.
Be it mulled wine, gravy, goose fat or something else, it can be difficult to know how to ensure your clothes don’t get ruined.
Do you scrub, soak, pop straight in the washing machine, or send off for dry cleaning?
Thankfully, the team at Dobell are on hand to help, as their cleaning experts share what to do if you accidently spill on or stain your partywear this festive season.
However, Henry Paterson from Housekeep also points out that you should ‘always check the care labels on your products before deciding how they should be washed.’
With this in mind, below is there advice for festive stains…
Red/mulled wine
Sarah Dempsey, from MyJobQuote, explains that red and mulled wine spills are much easier to deal with while they’re still wet – so you need to tackle them quickly.
She says: ‘If you’re not at home, absorb as much as you can with a paper napkin and use white wine or soda water to keep the stain moist until you get home. As long as the spill is still wet, you can sprinkle salt over the area to absorb the wine.
‘As this is a mild treatment, it should be safe to use on any fabric. Brush off the salt and soak with cold water or soda water and blot out the remaining stain with an absorbent towel.’
After, she suggests applying a pre-wash stain remover if the mark is still visible and putting your garment on a cold wash to avoid setting the stain.
White wine/prosecco
Oh dear (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Thankfully, white wine and prosecco are both a little more forgiving – however, don’t delay on sorting them.
Sarah says: ‘As with red wine, white wine and prosecco spills should be tackled quickly before they dry as this makes them easier to remove from all types of material. Rinsing with soda water and blotting with an absorbent towel should take out the worst before you wash it in the machine.’
However, if rinsing doesn’t do the trick, you may need to apply some laundry stain remover directly onto the stain to pre-treat it before you pop it in the laundry as normal.
Oil (from food)
Grant Durrell, a senior menswear designer at Dobell, recommends that the best and most effective way to remove any type of oil stain is to take your garment to a dry cleaner.
This will give you peace of mind that your clothing is being professionally cleaned.
However, if you want to try removing the stain at home, follow these six steps:
First, blot with a towel. Then set your stained garment on a flat surface and sprinkle a small teaspoon of baking soda over the stain. Let the baking soda sit on the stain for 30 minutes.
Scrub the baking soda off the garment using a toothbrush. If the baking soda starts to clump up that means it is properly absorbing the oil. Don’t worry if some baking soda residue remains, it will wash out in the next step.
Pour dish soap over the baking soda, just enough to cover the stain. Massage the dish soap into the baking soda. You can also use your cleaning toothbrush here for more scrubbing power on sturdier fabrics.
Give your soapy garment a thorough rinse under running water before throwing it into the washing machine. You should always avoid putting a garment that has any amount of dish soap in the fabric into the washing machine – excess soap suds are a known way to ruin a washing machine.
Wash the garment in the washing machine using your preferred detergent, following the instructions on the garment care label. Air dry (heat from a dryer will set that oil stain and make it harder to remove).
Gravy
Mucky pup (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Gravy contains oil so Grant says to quickly wipe excess gravy that’s spilled onto your clothing – to stop it soaking in.
Then, pre-treat with a prewash stain remover, and then launder using the hottest water safe for the fabric.
Sarah adds: ‘Use a biological detergent as this has enzymes that can tackle the gravy stain.
‘For materials such as wool that can’t go on a hot wash, remove the excess gravy, then gently rub with chalk or sprinkle with baking soda to absorb oily residues. If the stain persists, dab with white spirit before soaking your items in a suitable detergent.’
More: Lifestyle
Glitter
The best advice here is to dab the glitter with a clean, slightly damp microfibre cloth and you should be able to lift most of it off.
Sarah adds: ‘It’s best to get rid of glitter from your partywear before you wash it to prevent these small particles ending up in our water courses. So, use a lint roller or vacuum to remove bits of glitter stuck in clothing fibres.
‘For more delicate materials, you may prefer to use a damp microfibre cloth to wipe the glitter off.’
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‘Tis spillage season.
