Dear Home-Ec 101,
I managed to get that reddish Tennessee clay all over the cuffs of my favorite pair of white pants. Can you help me get the stains out?
Signed,
Mr. Lavender
Ivy says:
What in the world were you doing wearing white before Memorial Day!?!?! Just kidding, if I didn’t have 3 Pigpen-like kids, I’d probably wear white before Memorial Day myself. Although- it’s usually less muddy after Memorial Day, and that might have had something to do with why you have all those mud stains. Or perhaps you should stop mowing the lawn in your favorite white pants. Just sayin’.
We discovered this method of getting mud and grass stains out of white pants when my brother was playing baseball. Why baseball players all have white pants when they are sliding and diving into the mud and grass is beyond me, but here’s the solution: soak the pants overnight in a half- full bucket with about a half cup of automatic dishwasher detergent and water. My personal favorite brand for this is Cascade, however I figure just about any brand would work as well.
Once it’s soaked overnight, rinse them out and make sure the stains have completely faded. Then just wash and dry as normal. Make absolutely sure you have gotten the stains out before you put the pants in the dryer- once they’ve been run through the dryer, there’s a good chance that they may never come clean.
Send your domestic questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.
