treat stains too

Ever chucked out a favourite item of clothing because it had a big stain on it? The experts at Loveyourclothes.org.uk say you can remove even the muckiest marks by using stuff lying about at home.

One key trick is to treat it as soon as you can, rather than letting it set in. Here are their nifty tricks for the nastiest splatters and splodges...

GRASS STAINS

All you need is hand sanitiser for a stubborn grain stain. Apply it to the mark, rub it in, then wash it in the machine as normal at 30 degrees.

GREASE AND OIL

Put a generous amount of baby powder on the stain and leave it for ten minutes. Rub that in with a toothbrush, before shaking the powder off. Next, rub some dish-washing liquid on the stain, and some water to help lather it up a bit. Rub that in with the toothbrush on both the front and the back of the fabric, and then wash in the machine at 30 degrees.

COFFEE

This one’s really weird – but it works! Break an egg into a bowl, whisk it thoroughly, spoon some onto the stain, rub it in, and you’ll see it disappear. Then wash as usual in the machine at 30 degrees.

RED WINE

Forget putting white wine on it, use salt. While it’s still wet, put a generous amount of salt on the stain, rub it in, then turn it inside out and rinse it with cold water. Turn it the right way round again, and put some liquid detergent on the stain, rub it in, and rinse it again, inside-out. Then wash as you normally would in the machine.