Stain Remover

I would like to take a moment and publicly apologize to my stain remover.  I shouldn't have doubted you.

I was in a flurry of making my own cleaners the other day because it seemed like at all once everything was down to the bottom of of the bottle.  No problem, I'll make up fresh of everything (in less than 15 minutes) and I'll take pictures to show all of you.  

Well, I'd never made stain remover before.  I've always just purchased it and with pets, kids, a garden, and lots of experimenting around here, that can get expensive - quick!  And besides the cost, who knows what kind of craziness is in there....and the fact that it was an aerosol made me die a little inside each time I used it.  I know they are supposed to be safe now with no fluorocarbons and what not, but I remember in grade school the huge campaigns to get everyone to stop using them....that stuff stuck with me I guess. 

So I do a little research and people seem pretty pleased with this blue dawn and hydrogen peroxide mixture. I have an extra spray bottle laying around - I think....I'll give it a whirl [Home Alone, anyone? :) ]

When I first mix it up it is blue.  I am thinking to myself, won't this just leave blue soap everywhere? So I test it out on a mud stain by the back door.  And yes, yes it does leave a blue soapy mess in the carpet.  I then proceed to "rinse" it out of the carpet with water.  :(

By this point, I have been working on my science experiment for far too long and it must come to an end.  It was time to take off my mad scientist coat and put on my mama hat.  Under the cabinet the stain remover goes and I'll deal with that later.

So later ends up being 2 days ago and Te-Man has decided to paint his clothing with dry erase markers.  The speed at which children can go from happily drawing to graffiti artist is startling.  

Almost an entire tide pen and 3 washes later, the orange marker just will not come out of his cute little swishy pants. :(  What do I do....certainly not give up - I'm on the Z-Squad! ;)  Ah Ha! The stain remover....let's give you a try.  I pull it out of the cabinet and it's clear?!?!?!  MAGIC ;)  

Well,  I don't know if it's magic, but it WORKED - his pants are marker free!  It has since worked just as well as the store bought garbage on the carpet and the couch (I told you we were messy).  

So maybe when the stain remover in your cabinet is empty, give this guy a shot.  Just be sure to spot check for color fastness - the hydrogen peroxide makes me a little nervous about maybe taking the color out of stuff.  

Homemade Stain Remover

What's In It:

1 Part Blue Dawn

2 Parts Hydrogen Peroxide

What To Do With It:

Mix together in a large spray bottle.  Wait until the solution turns clear to use.