Out, Out, Damn Spot... And You, Too, Damn Stain:
Joe Hallak of Hallak Cleaners stopped by with some stain removal tricks! Hallak Cleaners has 2 locations:
1232 Second Avenue (65th Street) New York, NY 10021. Phone: 212-832-0750 and another at 172 Johnson Ave. in Hackensack, NJ 07601. Phone: 201-343-7333. For more on Hallak Cleaners log onto their website at http://www.hallakcleaners.com/.
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Stain Removal Tips by Joe Hallack of Hallack Cleaners:
Stains 101:
- Water-based stains, such as coffee, wine, soda, blood, and perspiration have a clear outline around the stain
- Oil-Based stains, such as salad dressing, car and food grease, lipstick, make-up look dark and blotchy with jagged edges
Stain care basics:
- Never rub a stain with the hope of removing it
- Never use water or club soda without testing for color-fastness first
- Blot the fabric with a dry, white napkin, especially if it says dry-clean only
- If your garment is dark, you may want to leave it as is until you can give it the proper care. Rubbing or working on a darker fabric could result in color loss.
Ink on wool:
- Ballpoint ink is a dry side stain and can be removed by first wetting the area lightly. Use a dishwashing liquid (lemon, because it contains a citrisolve) and a spoon to work the stain loose. Then flush it out with water. Repeat if necessary.
- If you have an ink stain on suede, use a safety pin to gently scrape the ink line. Follow by using a cleaning eraser to bring up the nap on the suede again.
Wine stains:
- Wine is a very difficult stain due to dyes. I start with baby shampoo and tamp it with a spoon, then apply white vinegar and work that in. If I need to get more aggressive I use a drop of alcohol.
- If the stain is still there, I suggest soaking the piece in a POWDER all color bleach. These bleaches contain an oxygen bleach (usually sodium per carbonate) for an hour or so in no more than 140 degree water. Finish by rinsing it out with white vinegar to neutralize the alkali.
Ketchup:
- First I use a toothbrush to wipe off the excess ketchup so I’m only dealing with what is in the fabric and not what is on the surface. We’ll wet the area and then proceed with baby shampoo and a drop of vinegar. We’ll work that into the stain and flush it out. This should remove the stain.
WEB EXCLUSIVE:
Chocolate on an acetate satin:
- Cocoa is a tannin stain, but milk chocolate is a protein stain because it has very little cocoa in it. I start with baby shampoo and work the stain with a spoon. Rinse and if the stain remains, work a blue laundry detergent (has alkali in it) into the stain and flush. In a worse case scenario, use peroxide and a drop of clear household ammonia. Always flush with water at the end of each step.
