Laundry tips

"I feel like the latest edition of something or other."  ~Arthur, Lord Goring from An Ideal Husband


I'd like to offer advice that everyone can use, from laundry to politics.  With that in mind, here is the first installment of practical tips for laundry.

Tip #1:  Many stains can be put in one of two categories: Sugar or Protein.  If it contains sugar, wash it in the warmest water the fabric can stand.  Cotton, if pre-washed, can usually stand "hot."  If the stain has protein in it, wash it in cold water.

Examples of sugar-based foods would be juice, candy, and cereal (usually has more sugar than protein, unless the stain has a lot of milk, but crushed-up cereal is often found on baby clothes).  Fruit of any kind requires warm water, and blackberry stains can only come out if you pour boiling hot water through the fabric.  You can put a bowl in the sink, and pour water from a teakettle over the cloth.  Be careful to let it sit for ten minutes, so you don't burn your hands.   

Examples of protein-based stains would be egg, milk, other dairy, and any bodily fluids (gross, but true especially when dealing with babies).  Blood stains require cold water as soon as possible.  Adding vinegar to the cold water can help remove the odor, especially with pet stains.  You may have to try more than one washing.  If protein stains are old, you can use Shout spray, and let it sit for a few hours before you wash it in the warmest water the fabric can stand.

So, sugar: hot water.  Protein: cold water.  I put a little note about this is my own laundry room, since it is hard to remember things for specific stains when you are doing laundry at 3 in the morning.  Lots of things can be sorted into these two categories.  Tomato juice?  Fruit = sugar = hot water.  Baby spit-up?  Protein = cold water.

I hope this is helpful.  Good luck!