There are just times things spill, drop, break, leak and run over. We are all guilty of the spilled coffee or crumbs that hit our blouse or something we can’t recognize being on our clothes. There are also spots in every home where stains have happened and we carefully try to hide with a rug or accent piece. If we are lucky we can flip over the sofa cushion to hide marks that won’t wipe away.
Ah stains. It’s not as though we intentionally drop things onto ourselves, the furniture or floor but it happens. It all adds up to ruined clothing, stained carpet, marked furniture and walls.
There are products that promise to remove a stain. We have stain sticks, sprays, foams, erasers even that we can use to dab, rub, scrub a stain away. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t.
The Stuff that Makes the Mark Go Away
I’ve always been curious as how a Magic Eraser actually worked.
When I first tried these I was amazed how simple and effective they were for removing scuffs and other marks from our walls. There was an article posted about the ingredients back in 2015 that listed melamaine and formaldehyde as the two active ingredients in this magical sponge.
When I saw this recently that little magical sponge became a little less attractive to me. Seriously who wants to rub their walls to remove crayon and markers with formaldehyde?
Most stain removers use a bleach base or something similar to what we find in the Magic Erasers. By breaking down the stain or removing a layer of it with these harsher ingredients we can at least lighten the mark or eliminate it completely. Trouble is, some of the ingredients to achieve this are in fact quite dangerous to your skin, respiratory system, eyes, nose and pets.
Natural Erasers
There are options available to eliminating or at least lightening stains without the harsh ingredients however. Here’s what I do:
If it’s a basic grease, grime, food, coffee type stain I use Lemon essential oil, white vinegar on the stain. Sometimes soaking a garment in this mixture overnight does the trick if its juice or coffee. (I use 8 drops Lemon to 1/2 cup white vinegar)
If it’s a serious stain as in oh boy we’re going to replace carpet or buy a new sofa level, I use Lemongrass essential oil. Using drops of this oil directly on the stain and then rubbing it in lifts permanent marker, crayon, soaked in stains and more. I’ve had great success with this as my stain remover
For wall scuffs, crayons and hand prints I make up a light spray consisting of doTERRA Purify, baking soda and water. (4 to 5 drops Purify, 1 tablespoon baking soda and 3 tablespoons water). Use a sponge to rub the stain
Coarse salt is also a good scrubbing ingredient to add in to these stain fighting oils if you need extra scrubbing power on a stain.
Interested in more?
We are all going to encounter stains sooner or later. Using a natural stain fighter will remove the stain but not make your home or favorite blouse a toxic wasteland.
If you have questions about the oils I describe in this post please reach out. I’m happy to help.
amyk@dragonspitapothecary.com
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