Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with stain

SOS butter stain

footnote — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 18:15:41 -0800

Heyyylup! I just got some butter on my new suit. It's all synthetic material, dry clean only. Is there anything I should to between now and when I can get to a dry cleaner in the morning? It was a nice lemon-sage-garlic butter, it truly was. But I do wish it was not on my suit.

Help me remove a stain.

lunit — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:10:30 -0800

Stain Removal Filter: Help me get a rust stain out of a bathing suit! I put my white printed bathing suit (women's, 90% nylon 10% lycra) in the washer and it came out with yellow, I assume rust, stains. Help me get them out without discoloring the (black) print!

A question about Ink Spots. Not the musical group, the stain.

rileyray3000 — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 22:41:42 -0800

I got black ink on a birch wood bookshelf from Ikea. Help me get it out. Cheap pen. Too much heat. light colored wood. Now I have a bunch of small stains all over my nice cabinet. Worst case scenario? I'll make it into the floor end for this thing as it's one of those cube deals that can be either side. But I'd rather get it out. Any suggestions for black ink on birch wood?

We don't need no water...

mezzanayne — Sat, 31 May 2008 08:17:19 -0800

Is it safe to burn untreated pine which was stained ~10 years ago? We are tearing down our deck, which was built about 10 years ago with untreated pine and has been stained with an oil-based stain. We'd like to burn the torn-off wood. Most of the stain has now worn off but the burn site is in the garden area and we fear contamination of our veggies.

Should we burn the decking or attempt to Freecycle the stuff instead?

Sriracha mess...

pea_shoot — Fri, 30 May 2008 20:29:23 -0800

Accidentally splattered hot chili sauce onto the kitchen floor. Any sneaky (the less toxic, the better) tricks to remove the stain?

Please help me clean the bathtub before my relatives find out and kill me.

naoko — Fri, 23 May 2008 16:32:22 -0800

How to remove dye (paper, not hair) from a bathtub? Ok, here's the incredibly stupid thing that I did:
1. I was sitting on the edge of a bathtub painting my toenails...and dropped the bottle and spilled polish all over the tub.
2. I tried to clean it up with nail polish remover...using some flower-print paper napkins (they were just the first thing I saw in the bathroom), and got the red dye from the flower print all over the tub (the nail polish came up, though).
2.5 I also dropped a ceramic tray and badly chipped it during this process, but I can't be bothered to care about that right now.
3. I tried cleaning up the dye with Clorox spray, which did not work AT ALL. Gaaaaah.

I am at the home of relatives who will hate me forever if they find out I ruined their fancy tub. Please help.

Coffee stain on white! Argh!

mooza — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 19:16:55 -0800

I have this white/cream dress made out of a viscose lace. I just discovered a faint stain of what I think is coffee or tea or something. I tried to take a pic of it to post as a reference but it didn't come up. Any tips on how I can possibly get rid of it?

You want the truth..? You can't handle the truth!

mu~ha~ha~ha~har — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:49:56 -0800

I have about a week or so to find some of this carpet. Yep, it is that stuff that's everywhere. You probably even have 3 rolls of it under your house as we speak. It's almost safe to say, at some point, you really did have like 3 rolls of it - what did you do with them?!! Where should I inquire about getting a scrap of it?? (30cm/12inch -sq.) Demolition.. people? The dump? Is there like an Elephants Graveyard but for carpet?? Also.. I need a hand with repairing melamine/laminex?? ( Bathroom vanity and a cupboard). And (omg!) this blind ( /s)... It's about 10x4 inches of absolute scorched earth toast and it's pretty much dead center of the room. (There were factors. We were all involved.. except for any cats at all though, which was a nice change.)

There is nothing to work with here, though if I can find something that's close enough, I'll definitely be able to do something with that.
Where/who should I be asking (Brisbane, QLD)
and/or does anybody happen to know what that carpet is called??

Now,
*For the cupboard I was thinking super-glue, vice grips and some white tape? Would there be a better way?
*The vanity... Get it back to white and then sculpt new edges using.. *something that dries white and hard*.
What would this product be??

(I will run it by SO but I'd like to open the topic with the answers.)
So again - any better ideas would be tremendous!!

*And the blinds... my god. The cats (they're always doin' somethin') - aren't on the lease so I am being ultra anal about leaving no trace of them. Hairy blinds were at the top of my cat related concerns list. (Now it's on a different list... grrr!)
I didn't use anything harsh on them but I sure was horrified when they dried.
The filth that came off them was brown/red/yellow... not at all blue related. I did use a little bio-zet because it's neat on colours so it's possible that the sun bleached bit... but shit!! These are the blinds from the room beside it. Yeah.. O-M-G!!

I also washed a pale, creamy coloured one the same way after (but with much more opportunity for disasters!!) and it's come up freakin' fantastic. But, of course, the remaining four are blue.
What can I do?? (..paint?? It'll be possible but not without both much tedium AND suspense.) Ugh!! I'm just trying to get my bond back!

*There are also yellow marks from a table on the vinyl floor. (I think it's vinyl?) It's stained like rust would, only it's yellow and has so far withstood various application methods and combinations of -
Gumption, Domestos, Bi-Carb (/+vinegar), toothpaste, sugarsoap, morning fresh, bio-zet, napisan, CD scratch repair, magic eraser, a whisper of nail polish remover (that seemed effective yet I got it off quick-smart and I'm hesitant to try it again). Oh and diluted degreaser stuff SO had.
So what can I try now?

This table looks like hell

LoriFLA — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 10:49:52 -0800

How can I refinish my kitchen table so it will look nice again? I have a kitchen table that I like. It's sturdy. It's wood.

The stain/glaze isn't holding up. The finish has worn off over time with repeated placing of hot plates and dishes on the table. I cannot say for absolute sure that the top isn't MDF, but I'm almost positive it isn't. I can see raw wood grain underneath the table. The table is very heavy. It appears that the table and chairs were primed and then stained. How can I stain or paint these spots that are white with wear? I would like to put some stain or paint and glaze mixture on the spots but I'm not sure how to go about it. I don't know if traditional stain will "stick" to these spots that appear to have been primed. I don't want my paint job to stick out like a sore thumb. It doesn't have to be perfect but I would like it to blend. There are slight variations in the color. The color is a yellow-ochre.

Pictures are here.

Thanks so much for any suggestions.

Help me save my shirts from being sliced up and made into rag rugs!

Stewriffic — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 06:05:41 -0800

How have you successfully removed old grease stains from shirts using common household items, rather than specialty products I'd have to go out and purchase? I've got a ton of solid colored t-shirt type shirts that I no longer wear because I dripped food on my chest and the spots didn't come out in the wash. I don't want to trash/recycle them, but I'm very self-conscious of the darker spots the grease left behind.

The kicker is that they've all been through the wash and dryer at least a few times. Some I've caught before doing laundry and pretreated with dishsoap (think Dawn, not Cascade) or commercial laundry pre-treaters, but that didn't work.

Description of shirts: cotton and/or cotton knit in a variety of colors, including both pastels and darks/brights.

I'm looking for a way to try to once and for all get rid of these stains, using something I'm likely to already have at home and that won't ruin my clothes or washer.

Have any of you done this successfully? How? I have a few shirts I'm willing to experiment with (i.e. potentially ruin), if anyone comes up with a particularly creative solution.

I don't want to go out and buy a specialty product, but I will if that's the only solution. Thanks!

i knew if i waited too long this would happen

kidsleepy — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 16:20:39 -0800

I bought these suede moccasin slippers at Target back in November. My local store no longer carries them, and target.com says they are out of stock. Where can I find them (or at least shoes similar to them)? My shoes are pretty filthy. I figured since they were so cheap I'd just buy new ones, and now I can't find them anywhere!

I called the target.com contact number, and was told by a representative that they "only see what you see," aka, they see that it is out of stock but can't tell me when or even if they will get more in stock. I called my local Target, and they said they "only know what's getting shipped to us once it's shipped to us." I checked Amazon and eBay- no dice. Googling only leads me back to target.com.

Where can I find these shoes or shoes like them? "Like them" meaning suede, fur-lined (faux), tan with dark brown laces, and under $25?

Or, how could I clean the ones I already have? They're nice and dirty on the outside, as well as matted down on the inside. I assume a washing machine would kill them.

How do I remove this parking-deck-drip stain from my car's paint and windshield?

Askr — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 09:57:24 -0800

How can I get this parking-deck-drip-residue off of my car's paint and windshield? Do you park in a parking deck regularly? Has it dripped on your car from its cement ceiling when it has rained? Has it left this faint whitish residue on your car? Have you found anything that will get it off of either glass or paint?

A guy at the carwash told me this stuff is not unusual for people in parking decks. He didn't know how to get it off though and didn't mention what it was, e.g. something leeching out of the cement, paint from the parking space stripes, etc. It's like it's some kind of mineral stain, faint and just a hair this side of transparent, just ever so slightly white, if anything.

I've tried all the normal kind of cleaners on it such as windex, car wash soap, even (if I remember) CLR (Calcium/Lime/Rust), at least on the windshield. I was afraid to try that on the paint.

WTF is this stuff and how can I get it off?

I need to clean a lot really fast, where is Heloise when you need her?

stormygrey — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 19:28:56 -0800

My dogs destroyed the house while I was shopping, how long do I have for damage control? Football filter of all things. I was out shopping and my newly handy boyfriend left a couple of cans of stain opened on the kitchen counter. Our dogs managed to knock over two cans of wood stain and their are little foot prints all over the sheets, the laundry, the couch, the floor, etc.

He is at the Clemson/Auburn game and it looks like the Fourth Quarter just started. There is officially 14:18 on the clock. How long does an average quarter like this take?

Bonus question: How does one get wood stain out of laundry?

Has anyone had any success with removing sweat / antiperspirant combo stains?

GleepGlop — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 15:21:14 -0800

Has anyone had any success with removing sweat / antiperspirant combo stains? On my black undershirts the armpits are kind of caked on with white and on the white undershirts the armpits are stained yellowish. There seem to be 'recipies' out there to remove armpit stains but I was curious if anyone has found success. I use Mitchum clear gel antiperspirant if that makes any difference.

Where's Danny Baker when you need him?

Zé Pequeno — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 01:45:07 -0800

Dear Metafilter, Please help me save my favourite pearly white Lacoste shirt, which now looks as if I've been wearing it whilst rolling around in nuclear waste. So, whilst living in Brazil, I had a maid who would wash and iron all my clothes. Despite her adorable nature, on more than one occasion my clothes came back to me somewhat "different" to how they'd gone out. One shirt, for example, came back with a huge hole in the collar; she claimed a wild animal had broken into the house, some kind of bird, she hypothesised, with a penchant for designer clothes. Luckily for me, she told me, she'd heard a commotion and interrupted the beast in the midst of his wild frenzy, taking a broom to it and chasing it from the apartment.

It was an old shirt and I didn't care much for it, but this one I do care about. One morning, she came to the breakfast table clutching my favourite white Lacoste shirt. "Mr. Zé Pequeno," she enquired, innocently, "The what have you been making in this shirt? Looks like you did to spill something on it." I looked, and to my horror, saw a faint yellow stain which had taken form across the front and the short sleeves. I wondered what I had been eating and, rather more puzzlingly, HOW I'd been eating, to get such stains in such strange places.

It's a very thin, almost transparent, white cotton shirt. I realised it had been burnt when I looked at the iron settings and nothing I have done, none of the old tricks such as vinegar etc., have worked.

What can I do, Metafilter, to get my favourite shirt back?

How to remove a blue stain from my friends carpet.

unsurmountable — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 14:32:51 -0800

How to remove a deep blue Lysol toilet cleaner stain in the carpet A friend of mine spilled some Blue Lysol Toliet Cleaner causing a 2" circle stain. Does anyone have tips or any cleaning sites i could search for removing this.

How to deal with red wine stained teeth

Anonymous — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 23:12:05 -0800

How do you deal with red wine staining your teeth purple during an evening out? I'm sure it's not only me that worries about this. I enjoy drinking red wine, especially in Winter, but I hate how it stains my front teeth purple after a couple of glasses.

I always think this looks really unclassy on other people, so I now avoid drinking more than one glass of red in an evening.

How do others deal with it? Secret toothbrush in the handbag?

Oily Stain On Silk

davehat — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 05:50:54 -0800

How do I get a stain out of a silk tie? About 3 months ago, I got some food on a cream silk tie and although I acted PDQ in removing the bulk of the spill, I now notice it has left a slight oily discolouring in two places.

Does anyone have any tips for cleaning silk ties that have worked for them in the past? I have an interview tomorrow and I really want to wear this particular tie!

StupidQuestionFilter? Why doesn't detergent stain my whites?

Bud Dickman — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 13:00:48 -0800

I just poured a cupful of dark blue liquid detergent and purple liquid stain remover over a load of white towels. Setting aside the admonition that I should have poured the detergent in BEFORE the clothes: why doesn't dark blue detergent turn white towels blue? I mean it obviously doesn't. But it seems counterintuitive. What kind of coloring is added to detergent that allows it to be blue and pretty but wash right away?

How do I clean the blood stain from my hardwood floors?

gemmy — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 22:06:55 -0800

I cut my foot pretty severely on a broken glass, and now it looks like someone slaughtered a pig on my hardwood floor. How do I get the blood stains out? While cleaning this afternoon, I accidentally broke a glass, overbalanced, and stepped on some of the shards with my bare feet... I'm absolutely fine now, it's not even that painful, but I bled pretty profusely from two cuts on my foot for a little while. Once I had patched myself up (and finished lamenting my own stupidity), I tried to clean up. Unfortunately, I live in an old building where the lacquer topcoat for the hardwood floors is all scuffed up, and in places almost gone, so now it looks like my blood kind of soaked into the wood itself. I did my best to clean it (cold water, murphy's oil soap), but it still looks really bad - like something out of a CSI episode.

I have been Googling for cleaning tips, but most everything is how to clean blood from clothing and sofas and things, or places recommending exactly what I did to no effect. Does anyone have experience cleaning blood off wood? Is there something I can do to at least make it less red, so its not so obvious? Would some hydrogen peroxide or bleach help, or do I risk an even bigger stain? Thanks, Hive Mind!!!

OH NO! HER FAVORITE PANTS!

klangklangston — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 18:02:59 -0800

Khaki pants— $50 or less solution to fix girlfriend's khaki pants. Went through laundry with detergent on top; got orangish bleach stains. Dye? Some sort of hot soak with other khakis?

Gah

CoinOp — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 21:41:00 -0800

(PISS FILTER) A guest just relieved himself on my futon. Happened within the last hour, I'm so mad I can hardly contain myself. I stripped the bed and promptly threw the blankets in the wash. However the mattress has been soaked through. Besides burning the futon, what are my options?

Removing metallic stain from sink

beniamino — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 02:01:22 -0800

Our white porcelain enamel sink has a stain on it. The stain is silver/grey and seems to have resulted from dropping a steel cup into the sink (probably repeatedly). Two related questions: Is it possible to stain a sink in this way? And how can we remove the stain?

How to simply refinish an old piano

primer_dimer — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 02:30:49 -0800

Is it possible for me to refinish my cheap piano (pics inside) I have an upright piano of unknown provenance that has had a hard life. I bought it from a school a couple of years ago, and the finish is extremely battered - lots of dings and scratches - but I like the sound. In a couple of weeks I'll be moving it to a new house, which is going to be empty for a few more weeks until I move in. Hence, I've got the idea of doing a simple refinishing job while there's no-one in the new house to be annoyed by dust, varnish fumes etc.

Now, on to the beast itself. The construction is very simple; as far as I can tell there are no fancy veneers or scrollwork or anything like that. Here are some photos (one,two, three ). I've found some online articles about piano refinishing but they all seem to be dealing with veneer finishes and are consequently more complicated than I think I need. As far I can tell, my piano is just stained pine/maple/something. So, my proposed scheme would be:

1. Take off the bits that will come off easily and do them separately
2. mask of the non-wood bits (i.e. the keys) to stop them getting dusty
3. Sand down to bare wood.
4. Stain/varnish

Does this sound like a do-able plan, given a couple of weeks of evenings to work in? For bonus points, can anyone ID the wood, in case it makes a difference?

My milkshake brings all the stains to my car

sprocket87 — Fri, 18 May 2007 08:56:29 -0800

Spilled chocolate milkshake + cloth car seat + several months time = Icky stain. Remedies? The seat material is a rough cloth, dense, coarse and sort of woven like burlap. It's not very absorbent like a plush fabric, but the stain has set for some time. The seat material is black in color.

What's the best technique(s) and product(s) to remove this stain? Thanks :)