Removing oils and grease from clothing

Add baking soda to your wash, or make a paste with water. You can use the paste to pre-treat the stains, then wash as normal with your beegreener Laundry Balls!

Removing grass stains

Today’s sunshine brings my kids outdoors-   how will I get out those grass stains?

Mix baking soda and vinegar into a paste, and gently work the paste in from the back side of the fabric. Let sit 15 minutes. Rinse with cold water, again from the back, repeat if necessary. Then wash as usual!

Removing red wine stains

What do you do with red a red wine spill on your clothes?

You pour white wine on it of course………… That’s right! Dab the red wine stain with paper towel, and pour white wine over it, then leave to dry for at least thirty minutes. You will be surprised with the results!

Sunlight

Oh, Mr. Sun, Sun, Mister Golden Sun. Please shine down on me ...........

Exposing your laundry to sunlight is the best natural method for bleaching and removing stains. I've personally removed red wine stains when I put my tablecloth out to dry in the sunshine! Give it a try! My daughter's cloth diapers are always whitest during clothesline months. Did you also know that you don't need full sun? A cloudy day can even be enough!

Happy Washing!

Laundry Booster

For those lingering smells or spots/marks on your clothing add a ½ cup of Borax to your wash. It is safe with your balls! (for more info on Laundry Balls go to www.got-balls.ca) Borax is a naturally occurring mineral widely used as a laundry detergent booster. Also known as sodium borate, this white powder is not harmful to washing machines, plumbing pipes or septic tanks, and is non-toxic when used in recommended amounts.

Borax is considered environmentally friendly because it's a natural product that does not contain phosphates or chlorine.

beegreener Stain Stick

Most people don't know about the Natural Enzyme Stain Stick from beegreener. This stain remover is the first natural alternative to the Tide Stain Stick, and it is perfect for home and on the go! It is the size of a chapstick and can easily fit in your  pocket, bag, or purse. Perfect for those unexpected spills or accidents when your out and about!

Check it out at www.got-balls.ca

Laundry bleaching

Add a cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide to your whites wash in place of bleaches. It's environmentally friendly!

Natural wrinkle-release recipe

Juice 4 lemons into a pint of cold water. Put into a spritzer bottle and spray for easier ironing. (If you use this mixture in your iron it will also help to prevent them from clogging)

How to remove Sudocream (diaper rash cream)

"Do you have any advice for removing Sudocream?"  Georgina Freedman, UK

Thanks for your question Georgina! Because of the content of Zinc and Benzyl, we need to treat this similiar to grease, something that is not meant to immediately break down when in contact with liquid (eg. pee). There are three very good products already in your cupboards if you do not already have our eco stain remover at hand. You can soak the stain in washing up liquid (dishsoap), or a clear, non-staining clarifying shampoo. For those in Canada, household vinegar can be used also. This will help to lift the stain in order for the wash water to penetrate the fibers. If the stain is not completely removed the first time, don't worry, repeat the soaking process again once hang dried.

For our Natural and Eco-Friendly stain stick go to http://www.got-balls.ca/

Air-drying your clothes

Well, as winter fades (hopefully), we can see the sun start to shine and .... 
I can close my eyes and dream about dreaming on freshly line-dried sheets and pillowcases.

 Best of all, air-drying is FREE! Reducing your energy use is an important environmental contribution. Decreased energy use means fewer generating plants are required and we reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Also, air-drying completely eliminates static cling! Checking the heating elements of a GE dryer, they are rated at 5600 watts. If I run that dryer for 1 hour, then I’ve used 5.6 kWh (kilowatt hours). BC Hydro is charging (March 2011) at $0.0878 per kWh, so that costs me about 49 cents per load. I do about 3 loads a day, so my savings for hang-drying 50% of my laundry is about $15 per month. That’s $180 a year! Or as I like to see it, twice a year at the Wild Orange Spa!

 Now, I know you’re thinking that this weather is not conducive to drying outside yet, but we can still dry inside- 

 If space is a concern, you can check out Ikea’s new, very cool, height-adjustable drying rack ($14.99), it hangs from your laundry room ceiling! Or, there is also wall drying racks, and your classic drying tree. I have also used my small wooden drying rack over the bathtub in our travel trailer, a perfect fit, and a tub also catches those drips!

Next week-  a natural wrinkle-release recipe!

Grease and oil removal

“Marriage is about the most expensive way for the average man to get laundry done”
Burt Reynolds


First scrape the grease and oil from fabric with a knife. Then it can be shifted by placing brown paper above and below the stain, and ironing with a hot iron.

More Blood Stain removal tips

Milk is a great way to remove blood! Soak the stain in milk, the enzymes in the milk will help to remove the blood. Rinse in cold water. Never warm, or especially not hot water~

Also, be sure to check out the Natural Stain Stick at http://www.got-balls.ca/! It really works!

Blood

"Now they show you how detergents take out bloodstains, a pretty violent image there. I think if you've got a T-shirt with a bloodstain all over it, maybe laundry isn't your biggest problem. Maybe you should get rid of the body before you do the wash."
Jerry Seinfeld

We recommend that for small blood stains, to use the saliva of whoever's blood it is to get the stain out. Suck immediately whenever possible! Then wash in cold water.

Stay tuned for another blood stain tip later this week~

Sweaty clothes

Did you know to remove sweat stains on your clothing it is best to spray the stain first with vinegar? Also, for ground-in sweat, you can add a couple of crushed aspirins to the washing water!