Tomatoes are very tasty, but if you eat them whole, you may encounter splashes of tomato juice, which will also get on your clothes. Tomatoes are strong dyes and leave a persistent orange color on fabrics. This can become a problem for inexperienced housewives who try to wash off dirt with ordinary washing. Fortunately, there are several effective ways to remove tomato stains from white and colored items.
General recommendations
It is necessary to observe several conditions for removing tomato stains. These include:
- Timeliness – the older the stain, the more difficult it is to remove. Ten-day pollution already affects the structure of the fabric, so there are more chances to remove a fresh stain without losing the quality of the thing;
- You should never send things with such contamination to the washing machine. It is necessary to wash everything manually, using appropriate means;
- You need to wash the stain from the edges to the center, collecting the dirt, and not rubbing it even more over the entire surface;
- Care must be taken when using acids to remove stains from colored clothing. Most of them are still intended for light things, more often – white;
- When treating dirt, it is better to place the clothes on a hard surface, placing an old cloth under them. The stains will be removed, and the rag will absorb the dissolved dirt.
How to remove fresh stains
As soon as a drop of tomato got on the clothes, it is necessary to immediately postpone all matters and deal with the stain. Fresh, still wet contamination can be removed with boiling water, mineral water or household soap.
Boiling water
- Immediately remove the contaminated item and wash off the tomato contamination with hot water.
- Wash with laundry soap by hand and rinse several times.
- After this procedure, send the thing to the washing machine to wash it again.
An important condition: the thing should not shed, otherwise boiling water will permanently spoil it.
For example, very bright jeans will lighten when in contact with boiling water, especially the area of the stain. Therefore, this method is more suitable for light-colored clothes and fabrics that do not shed.
Mineral Water
If not even 10 minutes have passed since the item was contaminated, you can use ordinary mineral water. It is very convenient on the road, on a picnic, on trips (for example, on a train), when it is not possible to use detergents.
In this case, you can even not remove the thing (if there are no conditions and the stain is small).
- Moisten the tomato juice with mineral water. The stain should not be rubbed, but washed off.
- If possible, later it is better to wash the thing with powder in a washing machine.
The secret of mineral water is that its gases act similarly to oxygen, which is often added to stain removers. Therefore, you can not be afraid and use this method for both white and colored items and for any types of fabric.
Household soap
Good for any fabrics, can be combined with other means. An important condition: unlocking must be done manually, having previously washed off contamination with water.
The remains of the stain are washed, the thing is rinsed and washed in a washing machine with powder.
Sometimes the pink spot does not rub off. In this case, soap it again and leave it for half an hour.
How to remove old stains
- Milk
Sour milk should be used, as acids eat away impurities. This gentle product is suitable for any type of fabric, so you can safely soak things for 12 hours. To enhance the effect, you can add grated laundry soap to the serum. After keeping the clothes in sour milk, wash the thing as usual in a washing machine with powder.
- Oxalic acid
Oxalic acid acts similarly. It is necessary to dissolve 2 grams of the product in a glass of water and soak a piece of contaminated fabric there. After half an hour, everything is washed with household soap and rinsed in cold water.
- Vinegar
Another available acid that helps quickly reanimate soiled items. Towels are especially well cleaned with vinegar: in addition to cleaning, vinegar also has a deodorizing effect. Vinegar is poured on the stain and left for half an hour. Remains of contamination are washed off with household soap or dishwashing liquid. If the stain is old, vinegar and ammonia are mixed together. Vinegar can also be mixed with salt, hydrogen peroxide – a kind of gruel will be obtained. The stain is rubbed with this mixture, rinsed with water and washed in the washing machine.
- Ammonia solution
The contaminated thing is doused with ammonia in the area of the stain and waited for half an hour. If the stain is old, more time is needed, for fresh contamination, 10 minutes is enough. Strong contamination is wiped off with household soap and the item is washed in a machine with washing powder.
Since ammonia gives an unpleasant smell, it is better to use a deodorizing rinse.
Ammonia with salt removes even the oldest dirt.
- Glycerin
Glycerin is effective for clothing made of leather or with leather inserts. It moisturizes the material well and does not spoil its quality. To do this, mix one tablespoon of ammonia and two tablespoons of glycerin. This mixture is applied to the stain and allowed to soak in properly. Next, they begin to rub off the stain, after which it is washed off. The skin becomes shiny and elastic, and the thing takes on a new, fresh look.
- Green tomato and baby powder
If we say “a wedge is knocked out with a wedge”, then this is exactly the same case. Stains from a red tomato are well removed by a green tomato! It will work well even for white clothes. For this, a green tomato is squeezed directly onto the spot of a ripe tomato and allowed to absorb. Rub well, sprinkle with baby powder and leave to react for 15 minutes. Then wash the thing in the machine with the addition of powder.
How to remove stains from white clothes
- Hydrogen peroxide
White cotton fabric will be saved by peroxide. It must be poured onto the contamination, using half of the bottle. Allow half an hour to come into contact with the clothes, then wash the item in the washing machine. A pleasant bonus: the grayed thing will sparkle with whiteness and will delight with a fresh look.
- Lemons
You can not be afraid to wash white clothes with strong acid agents. For example, you can mix lemon and vinegar in half. Cotton wool is soaked in the solution and the tomato stain is wiped off. The cotton wool is changed, and finally, a clean lemon-vinegar disc is left on the contamination for 15 minutes. The stain will definitely lighten, if not disappear completely. The remains are washed in the machine with powder and rinsed in the usual mode. If there are no conditions for washing (for example, when visiting), you can simply apply a slice of lemon to the tomato stain. The acid will eat away the dirt, and the thing will not spoil.
- Citric acid
The thing is rinsed in cold water, then a bag of citric acid is added there. After an hour, the thing is taken out, the state of the stain is assessed. If it is still there, wash it with household soap. Then the thing is washed in the usual way in a washing machine and rinsed.
- Fabric dyeing
If none of the listed methods helped (which is unlikely), you can try a radical method – repaint the thing.
Using the tools listed above, you can easily put your clothes in order and make life much easier by saving money on buying new things.