Sorting and stain-removal rules

What to have ready

• Dish soap (grease)
• Oxygen bleach
• Cornstarch or baby powder
• Soft brush / blotting cloths

Steps

1. 1

   Sort into like piles before anything else: darks, whites, colours. Keep towels separate, and used cleaning cloths in their own basket — microfibre loses its grip when washed with lint.

2. 2

   Prep each garment: empty pockets, close clips, hooks and Velcro, loosely tie drawstrings, leave buttons undone. Items must be dry before they go in a basket or they turn musty.

3. 3

   RULE 1 — speed. Treat a stain as soon as you see it. Scrape, blot or lift off the stain material first so it does not spread.

4. 4

   RULE 2 — match the product to the stain. Oil-based (food, makeup): sprinkle cornstarch or baby powder, shake off, dab dish soap in, wash as usual.

5. 5

   Tannin-based (coffee, tea, wine, fruit): soak 30 minutes in cold water, then dish soap if still visible, then wash.

6. 6

   Protein-based (body fluids): blot first, treat with oxygen bleach, then launder. Never use heat until the stain is gone — heat sets protein and oil stains permanently.

7. 7

   RULE 3 — last resorts: an oxygen-bleach soak (1–6 hours in a clean basin, then wash), toothpaste worked into dried blood, or the dry cleaner for anything precious.

8. 8

   Sour or musty linens: rerun the cycle with white vinegar in place of detergent.

Yellow underarm marks on whites: paste of equal parts baking soda and water, leave overnight, wash next morning.