How to Remove Stains Naturally and Effectively
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Your clothes hate stains as much as you do! To make sure they don’t have time to set in and permanently damage the fabric, here are some easy ways to remove stains naturally and effectively.
Mathilde Blanc
Use a Clay Stain Remover
Stain removers made with a Sommières clay have powerful degreasing properties. They are great for dealing with grease stains like oil and butter or make-up on delicate fabrics, floors and furniture. Sommières clay stain removers are 100 percent natural and come in several shapes and forms.
As a soap bar, Sommières clay is easy to grab and handy for removing stains naturally on garments before a hand or machine wash. Dampen the fabric and the soap, rub the stain with the soap and leave for a few minutes. For persistent stains, you can leave the soap on the fabric for up to three hours. Wash and rinse by hand or in a machine cycle and repeat if necessary.
In powder form, it can be sprinkled over a carpet or soft furnishing stain and left to act for several hours then gently brushed or hoovered away.
Use a Marseille Soap Cube
The Marseille soap as we all know it, with its large, handy cubic shape, was traditionally used by our great-grandparents as a household soap. Because of its pure and natural formula and high vegetable oil content (72%), it has also become popular for personal use. This is a soap that respects the natural oils from the skin and isn’t abrasive, making it suitable for children or people with dry skin. It’s also easy to use – simply moisten the soap and gently rub it into the stain.
Use Natural Laundry Bleach
Believe it or not, you can bleach without harsh chlorine bleaching agents! Our preference is the BIO D Natural Laundry Bleach – an oxygen-based antibacterial and sanitizing in-wash whitener, odour and stain remover. It is made in the UK, hypoallergenic and comes in recycled and recyclable packaging. What’s not to love?
To remove stains naturally with this bleach, we recommend adding one tablespoon to your wash cycle. Of course, it’s also good to use this with other BIO D products (such as their eco-friendly Laundry Liquid or Washing Powder) because they were created to work together. These products will remove stains and keep your whites light and colours bright, naturally.
Use Specialist Detergents
Tangent GC is a Swedish brand who makes 100 percent natural detergents for specialist washes from sportswear to denim. This eco-friendly range gives you an effective wash for a range of different fabrics with no synthetic chemicals at all. They only use essential oils.
Their ECO-cert certification means that their production is environmentally controlled from harvest to biodegrading. With expert natural products such as the Stain Remover with Soya Bean & Sunflower Agents, the Sportswear Detergent with Odour Control or the Denim Wash with Mild Sugar Surfactant & Orange Oil, they are definitely a good ally to have in your battle against stains.
Top Tip: Invest in a Clothes Brush
Back when valets had the important job of maintaining a gentleman’s wardrobe, a good clothes brush was an essential trick of the trade. These days brushes are sadly overlooked, but we strongly recommend a good all-purpose brush to remove pilling and keep clothes looking new for longer. Brushes also remove surface dirt and freshen up your clothes, which means fewer washes and protection for your entire wardrobe.
There are many kinds of brushes worth investing in for particular parts of the laundry cycle. Redecker makes a range which includes a light bristle laundry brush for pre-treating grubby shirt collars and cuffs before putting them in the washing machine. Their rather attractive pearwood and bristle cashmere clothes brush is perfect for servicing and removing fluff from the most delicate fine knitwear and woollen coats. And the sustainable rubber lint brush removes almost everything through clever use of static charge, which creates friction and attracts dust and debris like a magnet.
Keeping your wardrobe in mint condition means avoiding repeated washing and use of chemicals. Removing stains naturally is quite easy; it just relies on a bit of know-how and some handy tools. You can also pop into BLANC’s London concept stores for advice anytime.
Mathilde Blanc is the co-founder of BLANC, an artisan natural dry cleaner, tailor and launderer based in London, UK. They use a natural alternative technology that replaces the need for toxic chemicals with the expert use of biodegradable detergents in high tech gentle cycles. Mathilde also curates BLANC Home, a carefully selected range of products from the most environmentally-friendly and natural brands in the UK and Europe.