Summer time is strawberry time. But what to do if the red fruits end up on your clothes and leave unsightly stains there? Here are the tips.
If strawberries fall on clothing or tablecloths, they leave unsightly stains that are difficult to wash out. However, there are tricks you can use to remove the discoloration effortlessly.
Removing Strawberry Stains: Overview
There are several things you can do to remove succulent summer fruit residue from t-shirts, shirts and tablecloths. However, there is one mistake you should definitely avoid: rubbing the stain.
Because if you rub or rub the dirty area with a cloth, you only work the fruit juice and the color particles even deeper into the textile fibers. The red discoloration will then probably not come out at all – at least not without using harsh chemicals that could attack the garment.
It is also important that you do not put the textile in the washing machine without first having removed most of the stain by hand. Because experience shows that it is more difficult to remove a stain that has not been washed out in the machine wash.
The third mistake: treating the textiles with the red fruit juice stain too warm. This means: only wash everything at the lowest temperature. Drying in the dryer is also taboo. Because heat only fixes the strawberry color in the fabric and then it doesn’t come out at all.
Another common misconception is that treating strawberry stain makes it worse instead of better: bleach. Especially with dark clothes. Therefore, use it only in emergencies and when all other tips have not worked. But only if the fabric is suitable for bleaching.
So always take the following steps first:
Tip 1: paper handkerchiefs
Strawberry stains should be treated immediately. Once the residue has dried, it settles in the fibers and is difficult to remove.
Tip 2: water
The easiest way to remove fresh strawberry stains is with clean water. Run the stain under lukewarm water for a few minutes.
But beware: the trick only works if it is a pure strawberry stain – i.e. without sugar, cream or other additives.
Tip 3: soapy water
If it is not just a strawberry stain, but strawberry ice cream, strawberry milk or strawberries with sugar, you should put some soapy water on the affected area. Then let everything soak overnight and the next day carefully rinse out the suds and dirt with lukewarm water.
Tip 4: Soda
Most fruit stains can be removed with soda. Place the textile in a small bowl. Fill this with warm water and then add a teaspoon of soda. Stir the whole thing well so that the home remedy can spread and dissolve. After you have left everything to work overnight, rinse the textile under clear, warm water.
Danger
If you use more aggressive agents such as vinegar, lemon or stain remover, first test on a dirty area of the textile to see whether the acids and chemicals are not attacking the fibers too much – or even damaging the color.
Tip 5: Vinegar
Another home remedy for strawberry stains is vinegar or vinegar essence. Dilute vinegar essence with water (in a ratio of 1:9) or use clear household vinegar. Drip some of it on the red spot in the fabric. After a short exposure time, you can rinse the stain under clear, warm water and put it in the wash.
By the way: The trick also works for tomato stains.
Tip 6: Lemon
You can also use lemon juice as an alternative to vinegar. Just drizzle some on the strawberry residue. After a few hours, rinse the textile under warm, clear water.
Tip 7: alcohol
If the strawberry fell on the sofa or carpet, you can try to remove the stain with 100% alcohol. Saturate a soft, lint-free cloth with alcohol, then gently blot the area. Be careful not to rub the stain. Use a different part of the cloth each time so that the color particles are not worked back into the textiles by dabbing. Finally, carefully dab everything again with warm water so that no residual alcohol remains in the fibers. Otherwise they could become brittle.
