Latest news with #stains
Forbes
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Forbes
How To Remove Foul Odors From Your Car
Many a motorist's vehicle doubles as an office, bedroom, entertainment center, snack wagon, kiddie pet transporter and more. It's only natural over time for the interior of your ride to develop eau de funk, which can make painful riding for friends and family, not to mention dates. Also, stains and rotten smells affect your car's resale value. Here's a guide to getting rid of some of unseen offenders in your car. Suck it up It's not enough to toss all the trash, lids, bottles, newspapers and other bric-a-brac on the floor of your ride. Odors and stains get trapped in rugs, so use that big-mouth vacuum at the car wash after you've removed all the refuse. Start with the dashboard and gauges and work down. Use the needle-nose attachment to get between the seats, and don't forget the headliner---the material attached to the roof of the car. Clean carpets Using a mix of laundry detergent and water, wipe down the interior with a rag, being careful not to saturate anything---certain glues in and around your cabin don't react well to water. You can use a hose if available for removable carpets; use a medium-bristle brush to clean them further with your detergent-water mixture. Wipe the headliner with a damp (not soaked) rag, in a uniform direction. After rinsing your rag, wipe in the opposite direction. (Note: You may want to test your solution on an inconspicuous section of your seats to ensure you won't discolor the surface.) Hand cleaning the car interior with microfiber cloth towel If your bucket of solution doesn't need to be changed yet, wipe all surfaces including seat belts---they absorb odors, too. Use a liquid fabric freshener to help kill embedded smells. Some professionals recommend running the air conditioner, which also collects odors, and squirting a little Frebrez into the housing of your windshield AC will draw the fragrance through its housing and minimize certain trapped there. Get rid of stains Denatured alcohol works on ink, makeup, shoe scuffs, coffee and other tough-to-remove stains. Be sure to pour the alcohol on a rag and wipe lightly as opposed to spraying directly on surfaces. Tide-To-Go, a pen that removes stains from fabrics, is also good for quick clean-ups, as is WD-40. Keepin' it real (clean) Prevention's the best way to fight interior smellificaton, but certain odors are tougher to get rid of altogether. One way to combat stink is to sprinkle a few spoonfuls of baking soda or kitty litter, both of which absorb odors, then vaccum after they've been sitting awhile. You may have to this more than once. Final word: Obviously, if your car is near-new or has all-leather seating, it's best to follow the instructions in your owner's manual, or leave total interior cleaning to professionals. When in doubt, consult your dealer.
CNET
16-07-2025
- Health
- CNET
Why Coffee Stains Your Mugs and the Best Way to Get Rid of Them
Did you know that 73% of Americans drink coffee daily? After water, coffee and tea are two of the most popular drinks in the world. If you're one of the folks who finds it hard to start the day without a freshly brewed cup of joe (or tea), chances are you've seen a stained mug or two, regardless of whether you handwash yours or use the dishwasher. In my family, we have an ongoing joke about how my sister absolutely will not touch a mug with even the faintest coffee stain, even if the cup is clean and even if she's putting coffee back in it. That got me thinking: Why do coffee and tea stain mugs so easily, and why are those stains so hard to remove? To find out, I did some digging and found a handful of surprisingly effective ways to keep coffee mugs, thermoses and coffee pots looking spotless. Here's what I learned. For more stain-removing tips, learn how to remove stains from clothes, how to clean workout clothes and how to clean your running shoes. Why does coffee stain your cups and mugs? It's so frustrating to run your cups and mugs through the dishwater only to find they're still stained at the end of the cycle. Before you throw out that old cup, think of it as a learning opportunity to research why coffee has such powerful staining power. Coffee can stain cups and mugs due to the presence of compounds called tannins, a type of polyphenol that is naturally present in coffee beans. When coffee is brewed, tannins can adhere to the surface of cups or mugs, leading to brown staining over time. Boy_Anupong/Getty Images How to avoid coffee stains in your mugs The best offense is a good defense. To stop stains before they start, it's best to rinse a cup or mug right after use to prevent any stains from setting in. Additionally, coffee stains can be exacerbated by other factors, like the temperature of the coffee, since heat accelerates chemical reactions. The tannin compounds in the hot coffee will more strongly adhere to the cup material. Leaving the coffee in the cup or mug for an extended period also makes stains harder to remove since the tannins will set into the surface of the cup as the coffee cools down. The porosity of the cup material can also impact the likelihood of staining. The more porous the material, the more susceptible it is to absorbing liquids and staining. Plastic, earthenware and stone cups or mugs are generally considered more porous. I recommend purchasing high-quality stainless steel cups or mugs since they're non-porous, making stubborn stains unlikely. Regular cleaning of cups or mugs can help prevent coffee stains from ingraining into the material. Let's review some of the best methods for removing coffee stains. Five methods to remove coffee stains for good The following five methods should remove the coffee stains from your cups once and for all. (Or at least until the next time you drink coffee out of it, in which case, you'll need to repeat these steps.) Method one What you'll need: Baking soda and water. What to do: Create a paste by mixing equal parts baking soda and tap water. Apply the paste to the stained areas of the cup, scrub gently with a sponge or brush, then rinse thoroughly. Method two What you'll need: White vinegar. What to do: Soak the coffee-stained cup in a mixture of white vinegar and water for a few hours. After, scrub the stains with a sponge or brush, and then wash the cup with dish detergent to eliminate the sour vinegar taste and its pungent smell. solidcolours/Getty Images Method three What you'll need: Lemon juice and salt. What to do: Make a mixture of lemon juice and table salt. Gently rub this mixture over the stained areas and then rinse thoroughly. You will want to wash the cup or mug with dish detergent and water afterward to get rid of any lingering lemon taste or smell. Method four What you'll need: Baking soda and white vinegar. What to do: Sprinkle a few teaspoons of baking soda inside the cup or mug, gently pour in white vinegar and allow the mixture to fizz. Once it has fizzled out, scrub the stained areas with a sponge or brush and rinse thoroughly. fcafotodigital/Getty Images Method five What you'll need: Denture cleaning tablets. What to do: Denture tablets clean mugs just as well as they clean teeth. Fill the stained cup with warm water and drop in one denture cleaning tablet, making sure to add enough water to completely cover the coffee stains. Let it sit for a few hours, and then scrub and rinse as with the other methods. As with anything, a little effort and time will go a long way to making your cups and mugs shine. These tips will work on any drinkware material and can even be used for tea stains, too. Feel free to repeat any of the above processes as needed to get the stains out. For more cleaning tips, you can also check out how often you should clean your makeup brushes, and the best way to machine wash your sheets and bedding.
The Sun
09-07-2025
- Lifestyle
- The Sun
I'm the Queen of Clean & people ask me how to get rid of sunscreen stains – here are 4 cheap buys that work like a charm
WITH Brits set to enjoy another sizzling hot weekend, most of us have already started to layer ourselves with coats of sunscreen to protect us from the harsh sun. But whilst sun cream is a must, especially in the summer, the product also often leaves our favourite garments covered in yellow stains that are difficult to remove. 3 3 In particularly hot weather, sunscreen can melt and cause clothing stains, which are usually caused by an ingredient called avobenzone that is present in many lotions. Combined with water or perspiration, it can cause rusty brown or yellow stains, which ruin your go-to white T-shirt in seconds. Luckily, here to help sun-loving Brits is Lynsey Crombie, also known as the Queen of Clean, who shared four cheap household buys that will banish the staining with no faff. The best part? You probably have the items you need in your home already. Chatting with Ben Shephard and Cat Deele y, the guru said: ''This is my most-asked question at this time of the year. ''Honestly, it hits me nearly every single day - I even get people on the street come up to me and ask me. ''It is simple but you do need to know what to do,'' she told This Morning hosts and viewers. As sun cream and in turn, the stains, are greasy, you need to find a method to degrease the garment - and there are a handful of wallet-friendly remedies for this. One of them, she revealed, is mixing bicarbonate of soda with washing-up liquid - and there's no need to fork out for a fancy one either. ''Sprinkle the bicarb on, dampen it slightly first. Then add some washing-up liquid, little toothbrush [to rub it in], leave it to soak. Stunning Dallas Cowboys cheerleader turns heads with 'intensive' outfit routine ahead of new NFL season ''In a few hours, that will come off,'' she said, adding that these hacks work like a charm even if you've been wearing the stained garment all day. Alternatively, you can also use white vinegar and really liberally spray it. Another method, which many may not be aware of, is applying tea tree oil, which is available for just a fiver at Boots and other high street retailers. More hacks to get rid of harsh stains Baking Soda and Vinegar: Make a paste with baking soda and water. Apply to the stain and let it sit for 30 minutes. Rinse with vinegar and wash as usual. Lemon Juice and Salt: Squeeze lemon juice over the stain. Sprinkle salt generously. Rub the fabric together and leave it in the sun for an hour before washing. Hydrogen Peroxide and Dish Soap: Mix equal parts hydrogen peroxide and dish soap. Dab the mixture onto the stain. Let it sit for 10 minutes and then rinse. Milk for Ink Stains: Soak the stained area in milk. Leave it overnight. Rinse and wash the following day. White Vinegar for Grass Stains: Apply white vinegar directly to the grass stain. Let it soak for 15 minutes. Wash as usual. Cornflour for Grease Stains: Sprinkle cornflour onto the grease stain. Let it sit for 20 minutes to absorb the grease. Brush off the cornflour and wash the garment. Toothpaste for Collar Stains: Apply a small amount of non-gel toothpaste to the collar stain. Scrub gently with a toothbrush. Rinse and wash as usual. While it may sound bizarre as it's ''oil on oil'', Lynsey explained that ''it's actually a degreaser''. ''Don't use too much and dilute it with water [...], and that combats it as well.'' Although this remedy ''is really strange'', the cleaning expert emphasised that ''it does work''.
New York Times
02-07-2025
- General
- New York Times
The Met Costume Institute's Former Head of Conservation Taught Us How to Store Clothes
Before you store your heirlooms, be sure to clean them. Insects eat your stains, Paulocik told us. 'It's a source of nutrition for them,' she said. So cleaning your clothes is one of the best defenses against pests. Paulocik has a particular word of advice for anyone storing a wedding gown. Many brides have their wedding gowns dry-cleaned after the ceremony. And because a wedding gown is tricky to clean, a dry cleaner will often end up spot-cleaning it. The problem? White wine stains may not show up for a week. In such cases, the dress will actually develop visible stains after it has been theoretically cleaned. 'It's a good idea if the bride can remember if she spilled anything that might later cause a stain and alert the dry cleaner,' Paulocik told us. Generally, the longer the stain sits, the harder it is to remove, so your best bet is to catch it early. For more information on cleaning unique materials, Paulocik recommends checking the Canadian Conservation Institute's website. It's a treasure trove of detailed information and tips on caring for specific materials, including leather, fur, metals, feathers, and more. And for shorter-term storage, Paulocik said she'd also get rid of any accoutrements from a dry-cleaning sesh. 'The worst kind of plastic bags are the dry-cleaning bags,' she said (more on that later). So take your garment out ASAP. Metal hangers, which are typically used at the dry cleaner, aren't supportive, and they can rust and stain clothes over time. 'I have seen the damage,' Paulocik told us. Similarly, safety pins and straight pins (two other common dry-cleaning tools) can eventually rust. Once your garment is ready for storage, you'll want to decide whether to hang your clothes or store them in a box. Avoid hanging items that may stretch, such as knits, heavily beaded garments, or anything cut on the bias (diagonally with the grain of the fabric). However, some clothes are better off when they're hung. At the Met, the conservators would 'often hang some of the more complex garments because placing them in a box would crush or create damage to the structure of the garment,' Paulocik told us. 'We would custom make interior supports for garments such as Charles James gowns or some of the more contemporary designers like Alexander McQueen. That often involved a cotton twill tape waistband sewn into the garment to take some of the weight off the piece.' If you do decide to hang your clothes, you should avoid storing anything in dry-cleaning bags or garment bags made from PEVA or PVC. 'You don't want PVC near your clothes.' The goal is to avoid anything that's going to break down over the long term. As these 'bad plastics' age, they off-gas plasticizers. While plasticizers make the bags malleable and soft, in time they become 'really oily and greasy.' Instead, consider garment bags made of cotton or muslin, which is breathable but also protects the clothes from light and dust. These bags last forever, Paulocik said. All you need to do is wash them occasionally. Paulocik suggests using a garment bag made from cotton, instead of plastic. This one (from an archival shop Paulocik recommends) comes in several sizes, so it can accommodate everything from christening gowns to wedding dresses. Buy from Hollinger Metal Edge You can also consider Tyvek garment bags, which the Met Costume Institute has occasionally used, according to Paulocik. Tyvek is made from high-density polyethylene, a kind of plastic thought to have a much lower rate of off-gassing than materials like PVC film. Crucially, it keeps water out while allowing vapor to pass. If you do choose to hang your clothes in plastic, check on the bag every six months to make sure it isn't starting to yellow or get sticky (which means the plasticizers are breaking down and migrating to the surface). In addition to avoiding wire hangers, which can warp clothes or rust, avoid wooden hangers. Over time, wooden hangers can off-gas volatile organic compounds, which can eventually weaken a textile or yellow it. Instead, Paulocik recommends using plastic hangers made from either polypropylene or polyethylene. Wire hangers can rust, and wooden hangers can off-gas volatile organic compounds, yellowing garments over time. Paulocik recommends using polypropylene hangers instead. And to add structure, you can wrap hangers with quilt batting or muslin. Buy from Hollinger Metal Edge While you probably won't have a garment that needs to have a waistband sewn in, structured clothes, like suiting and hand bags, may need additional support to maintain their shape over time. You can cover a hanger with quilt batting or muslin to add structure in the shoulder area. Then the hanger is 'kind of customized to the garment,' Paulocik said. If you're hanging a suit, for example, Paulocik also recommends stuffing the arms of the jacket with archival tissue paper to bolster the overall shape. You can essentially make '[a sausage] out of tissue and stick it up the arm,' she said. Don't raid your supply of everyday tissue paper for this task, since it can yellow and deteriorate over time. Many pieces may be better off stored in a box. To do so, before you pack the garment away, Paulocik suggests bolstering it with and wrapping it in acid-free tissue paper. 'Try to avoid folding as much as possible. And, where you have to, support those folds with acid-free tissue,' she said. When you store a garment in a box, Paulocik recommends wrapping it in and bolstering it with acid-free tissue paper. Buy from Hollinger Metal Edge If you don't want to use acid-free tissue, you can alternatively use plain white cotton sheets, as long as they've been washed and are clean. At the museum, Paulocik would also place a clear plastic sleeve on top of the box, with a picture of the object for quick reference. (Labeling an item — perhaps with its history, such as the date the item was used, who wore it, and for what occasion — can be a good idea at home, too. That way, if any descendants discover your box decades later, they'll know what it is.) It may be tempting to put your packed clothes in a cardboard box, especially since cardboard is cheap and breathable. But like other problematic materials, cardboard degrades and becomes acidic, off-gassing organic volatile compounds (which causing yellowing), Paulocik told us. Paulocik instead recommends storing garments in an acid-free box with acid-free tissue paper. You can also use a box made from corrugated polypropylene (sometimes called Coroplast). Such boxes are admittedly expensive, but they're also inert, stable, water-resistant, and dust-proof. Skip the cardboard, which degrades and becomes acidic. Instead, Paulocik recommends packing textiles in acid-free boxes. The Hollinger boxes come in several different sizes. Buy from Hollinger Metal Edge If it seems overwhelming to buy all of the long-term-storage items individually, consider getting Hollinger Metal Edge's Gown/Garment/Textile Preservation Kits. The kits come in several sizes and include everything you need for preservation. (Hollinger's Keepsake and Deep preservation kits are sized for wedding gowns, but there are other boxes designed for christening outfits, uniforms, and quilts.) 'The preservation kits are worth it if people just want everything together,' Paulocik said. Overwhelmed by the prospect of buying the items you need individually? These preservation kits come in multiple sizes, and they include everything you need to store heirloom textiles, from uniforms to wedding gowns. Buy from Hollinger Metal Edge And for anyone who opts to use a preservation company (usually geared toward wedding-gown storage) instead of DIY methods, Paulocik recommends checking on the gown periodically to make sure it's okay. She said she's seen 'too many brides' with horror stories of poorly preserved dresses. The space where you're storing the clothes should be spick-and- span. 'I would clean the area by vacuuming and wiping things down with plain soap and water or Lysol,' Paulocik said. She said she would also avoid using mothballs, which are a pesticide. 'In museums, we monitor the storage areas and place sticky traps to see if any insects are flying around and what species they are,' Paulocik said. And this is something you can also do at home. To catch clothing moths, put traps at head height, and to trap carpet beetles, put them on the floor at the side of the doorway. These two types of critters find textiles particularly alluring. Sticky traps, like the ones from archival-storage-company Hollinger, can help you monitor for pests in the area where you're storing clothing. $29 from Hollinger Metal Edge Humidity and heat are other enemies of long-term storage, so it's important to maintain a good temperature wherever you're storing your clothes. Attics and basements are 'really terrible' for long-term storage, Paulocik said, unless they're climate-controlled. The attic gets too hot and dry, while the basement is too damp and humid — conditions that can accelerate deterioration. People with no other choice sometimes use dehumidifiers to pull out the moisture and fans to circulate the air, Paulocik noted. But 'if your pieces are important,' she said, 'I would store objects in an area of your house that is climate-controlled and then check them periodically. For most people, it's on the main floor in closets or under beds.' While heat can be detrimental to garments, in some cases the cold can be a garment's saving grace. Paulocik told us that the Royal Ontario Museum had big, walk-in freezers. They were often a garment's first stop when it entered the collection, because the cold would kill any potential moths and moth larvae. Paulocik uses this technique for her cashmere sweaters. First, she puts the sweater in a zip-top bag with a little piece of cotton fabric 'to absorb any moisture created when the textile is frozen and thawed.' How long you leave it in the freezer depends on several factors, such as the type of freezer you have (chest freezers tend to be colder) and how many things are in it. 'But usually a week is a good amount of time,' she said. (The technique also works for buggy books!) Wirecutter editor Megan Beauchamp panicked during a carpet beetle infestation and put her wedding dress in the freezer in a zip-top bag. It turns out this wasn't such a terrible idea. Megan Beauchamp/Wirecutter Paulocik's advice was a relief to editor Megan Beauchamp, who recently put her wedding dress in the freezer after a carpet beetle infestation (and a panicked Reddit deep-dive). Yet now the dress has been in there for a month, and she isn't sure what to do next. Paulocik said that Megan should now take her wedding dress out of the freezer and inspect it — especially at the seams — for any dead carpet beetles or their frass (excrement). Then pick them off and have the dress cleaned. 'Carpet beetles are less of an issue with wedding dresses unless there is a proteinaceous component to the gown,' Paulocik noted. She also warned that there are some materials that shouldn't be frozen, such as ivory. Long-term storage should start with a clean garment (remember, insects feast on stains!), as well as a clean, climate-controlled storage area — on one of the main floors of your house (rather than in a basement or an attic). After garments are wrapped in and bolstered with acid-free tissue paper (especially at any folds), most of them can be stored in acid-free boxes or boxes made from corrugated polypropylene. Never store a garment in a regular cardboard box or a plastic dry-cleaning bag, which will degrade over time. And be sure to take out safety pins or straight pins, which can rust or cause stains. You may also want to place a few sticky traps in the storage area, and check them occasionally for signs of pests. And hey, if you do a good enough job now, maybe in a few thousand years your wedding gown will be on display at the Met. This article was edited by Hannah Rimm and Katie Okamoto. Despite what the care label tells you, skip the dry cleaner and hand-wash your cashmere at home instead. Does that delicate garment have to be dry-cleaned, or can you wash it at home? Check out our roundup of all the fabrics that can skip a trip to the cleaners. After extensive testing, these seven storage bins, boxes, and totes are our favorites for keeping stuff clean and dry, inside or out. What I Cover I'm a writer on the discovery team covering travel products, along with related news, fun facts, and tips. What I Cover I've covered luggage and travel gear for Wirecutter for over a decade. In that time, I've covered various topics related to this coverage and sometimes far afield from it.
CNET
02-07-2025
- Health
- CNET
How to Remove Coffee Stains From Mugs and Why They Happen in the First Place
Did you know that 73% of Americans drink coffee daily? If you're one of the folks who finds it hard to start the day without a freshly brewed cup of joe (or tea), chances are you've seen a stained mug or two, regardless of whether you handwash yours or use the dishwasher. In my family, we have an ongoing joke about how my sister absolutely will not touch a mug with even the faintest coffee stain, even if the cup is clean. That got me thinking: Why do coffee and tea stain mugs so easily, and why are those stains so hard to remove? To find out, I did some digging, and I found a handful of surprisingly effective ways to keep coffee mugs, thermoses and coffee pots looking spotless. Here's what I learned. For more stain-removing tips, learn how to remove stains from clothes, how to clean workout clothes and how to clean your running shoes. Why does coffee stain your cups and mugs? It's so frustrating to run your cups and mugs through the dishwater only to find they're still stained at the end of the cycle. Before you throw out that old cup, think of it as a learning opportunity to research why coffee has such powerful staining power. Coffee can stain cups and mugs due to the presence of compounds called tannins, a type of polyphenol that is naturally present in coffee beans. When coffee is brewed, tannins can adhere to the surface of cups or mugs, leading to brown staining over time. Boy_Anupong/Getty Images How to avoid coffee stains in your mugs The best offense is a good defense. To stop stains before they start, it's best to rinse a cup or mug right after use to prevent any stains from setting in. Additionally, coffee stains can be exacerbated by other factors, like the temperature of the coffee, since heat accelerates chemical reactions. The tannin compounds in the hot coffee will more strongly adhere to the cup material. Leaving the coffee in the cup or mug for an extended period also makes stains harder to remove since the tannins will set into the surface of the cup as the coffee cools down. The porosity of the cup material can also impact the likelihood of staining. The more porous the material, the more susceptible it is to absorbing liquids and staining. Plastic, earthenware and stone cups or mugs are generally considered more porous. I recommend purchasing high-quality stainless steel cups or mugs since they're non-porous, making stubborn stains unlikely. Regular cleaning of cups or mugs can help prevent coffee stains from ingraining into the material. Let's review some of the best methods for removing coffee stains. Five methods to remove coffee stains for good The following five methods should remove the coffee stains from your cups once and for all. (Or at least until the next time you drink coffee out of it, in which case, you'll need to repeat these steps.) Method one What you'll need: Baking soda and water. What to do: Create a paste by mixing equal parts baking soda and tap water. Apply the paste to the stained areas of the cup, scrub gently with a sponge or brush, then rinse thoroughly. Method two What you'll need: White vinegar. What to do: Soak the coffee-stained cup in a mixture of white vinegar and water for a few hours. After, scrub the stains with a sponge or brush, and then wash the cup with dish detergent to eliminate the sour vinegar taste and its pungent smell. solidcolours/Getty Images Method three What you'll need: Lemon juice and salt. What to do: Make a mixture of lemon juice and table salt. Gently rub this mixture over the stained areas and then rinse thoroughly. You will want to wash the cup or mug with dish detergent and water afterward to get rid of any lingering lemon taste or smell. Method four What you'll need: Baking soda and white vinegar. What to do: Sprinkle a few teaspoons of baking soda inside the cup or mug, gently pour in white vinegar and allow the mixture to fizz. Once it has fizzled out, scrub the stained areas with a sponge or brush and rinse thoroughly. fcafotodigital/Getty Images Method five What you'll need: Denture cleaning tablets. What to do: Denture tablets clean mugs just as well as they clean teeth. Fill the stained cup with warm water and drop in one denture cleaning tablet, making sure to add enough water to completely cover the coffee stains. Let it sit for a few hours, and then scrub and rinse as with the other methods. As with anything, a little effort and time will go a long way to making your cups and mugs shine. These tips will work on any drinkware material and can even be used for tea stains, too. Feel free to repeat any of the above processes as needed to get the stains out. For more cleaning tips, you can also check out how often you should clean your makeup brushes, and the best way to machine wash your sheets and bedding.
