Grease Stains

Yesterday was laundry day, and I was reminded of the fact that my husband had gotten grease stains all over his new shorts. Such is life, I suppose, and after I gave him a good sigh, I set to work trying to get it out. I had already tried just pre-treating it with liquid detergent, which had worked not a whit, so it was time to call in the big guns. I called my mother-in-law.

This is not a bad idea for anyone who has one, since not only is she about as knowledgeable as your own mother, but relations can be strengthened when you ask for advice (who doesn't enjoy being asked for advice?), and besides, you already know all your own mother's tricks. If you don't have a mother-in-law, any older woman you know will do. (Actually, ask everybody about everything. Ask your butcher about meat, ask a baker about bread, ask the lady at the dry cleaner about stains. Ask, ask, ask, and you'll get answers from people who know.)

My wonderful mother-in-law, who destroys all stereotypes of evil and wicked in-laws, advised me to try dish soap, since that stuff is built for cutting through grease. It was as though a light had shown through my stained day: it was so obvious, and yet so brilliant. Best of all, it worked.

Our method was to pour a few drops of dish soap on the offending stain, rub it in with a damp washcloth, and rinse. You probably don't need to rinse it, and if you feel like it you could scrub with something stronger than a cloth, but it did the trick.

One thing to remember about stains: if you try a method of stain removal you're not sure of (or if you're not sure your tried-and-true method will stand up to the honker you've got) don't put the item through the dryer: instead, just let it air-dry. If it's still stained, then you at least didn't set the stain in there permanently by drying it, and if it isn't stained, wonderful. This concept holds true for washing the stain out when it's fresh (the best way to remove a stain- get it while it's still hot): don't rinse any stain in hot water, since this will only make it stay more stubbornly. For delicates I like to use simple lingerie soap, which they sell at a lot of places that sell delicates, but hand soap works too if you think buying lingerie soap is a snooty way to spend your money (I didn't buy mine for myself, so I'm clear there).