Which curtains get dirty the most? Of course, kitchen. Splatter flying from the stove, and the accidental touch of dirty hands often leave oil marks on them. How to wash stains from curtains?
Preparing for Cleaning
Before proceeding to active actions, it is necessary to evaluate the following points:
- The scale of the disaster. Washing is stressful for any, even the most durable, fabric. If the stain is single, it makes sense to try to remove it locally without removing the curtain from the eaves.
- The time of appearance of the oil trace. Removing fresh stains is not so difficult with gentle detergents. Stubborn dirt will require aggressive cleaners, soaking and washing.
- The type of fabric from which the curtain is made. Different materials respond differently to the same curtain cleaning. If linen and cotton react calmly to most substances, polyester and viscose treat them selectively.
When the answers to all questions are given, you can proceed to the choice of detergent and processing method.
Removing Fresh Stains with Improvised Means
If a greasy trace has just appeared, and there is no desire or opportunity to remove the kitchen curtain from the cornice, the following products are suitable as cleaners:
- Dishwashing gel. The place of contamination is wiped with a cotton pad moistened with warm water. Then, using it, gently apply the detergent to the stain. After 15-20 minutes, again armed with a wet swab, they remove the greasy trace.
- Soda and lemon juice. Place your palm under the stained area so that the fabric takes a horizontal position. The stain is irrigated with lemon juice and sprinkled with soda on top. When the hissing stops, the curtain is left for a quarter of an hour, and then the remnants of the cleaner are washed off from it. Before use, it is worth considering that lemon juice has a weak whitening effect.
- Starch or salt. The oil is covered with a greasy stain in several steps, each time cleaning off the powder that has absorbed the oil. In order not to keep the curtain during the action of the substance, it is diluted with water to the state of gruel and only then applied to the stain.
The curtains are washed from the inside, pressing a paper towel to the front side. To prevent the formation of halos around the contamination zone, before cleaning, the edges of the stain are moistened with water or sprinkled with starch.
If the stains are fresh but numerous, the best way to remove them is to soak in one of the following compounds:
- Laundry soap and soda. The curtain is rubbed with a bar and lowered into a warm soda solution. Wash after 3 hours.
- Dishwashing liquid and washing powder. Curtain soaking time – half an hour.
- Salt solution. The curtain is immersed in a basin for an hour and a half, then washed. If the stains have not gone away, the soaking time is doubled.
Fresh oil marks from durable fabrics will be removed with a hot iron. Napkins are applied to the stain on both sides and ironed until all the fat is absorbed into the paper. On the place of contact of the iron with the fabric, you can pour crushed chalk, and then cover it with a napkin.
Household Chemicals for Removing Greasy Traces
If there is no trust in gentlefolk methods, you can turn to household chemicals. For soaking curtains, including white ones, Bos plus Maximum is suitable, for coloured ones – Vanish also effective:
- Stain remover pencil, for example, The area of the curtain with a stain is moistened and then treated with a cleaner. After 10 minutes, the product is washed off with warm water.
- Dry spray against stains. The stain remover is sprayed onto a greasy print and left to dry completely. When the aerosol turns into white flakes, it is brushed off the curtain with a dry brush. For curtains of any colour and texture.
We Remove Old Pollution
Removing stubborn grease stains is a little more difficult. For this, various methods and means are used.
- Mechanical cleaning method. A section of the curtain with stubborn fat is brought to the spout of a boiling kettle or held over a saucepan from which steam is pouring for several minutes. After that, it is washed in a soapy solution. A stronger effect is obtained by treating the stain with a steam generator.
- Household chemicals When choosing an industrial product, you should focus on the colour and composition of the product.
- Grease from white curtains perfectly removes laundry soap with a whitening effect.
- Home cleaners. Substances that can be found in any kitchen, pantry or home first aid kit effectively fight old greasy traces. They are used separately and in the following combinations:
- Ammonia, vinegar, table salt. The mixture is carefully rubbed into the contaminated matter and left for a quarter of an hour.
- Laundry soap and ethyl alcohol.
- Acetone and refined gasoline, taken in equal proportions.
- 3% peroxide dissolved in water. The curtain is soaked in the product for an hour and a half.
- An aqueous solution of 9% vinegar. The exposure time to pollution is 1-3 hours.
- Ammonia, glycerin, water. The mixture is applied to the product for 15 minutes.
After local cleaning of stains, the curtains should be washed manually or in an automatic machine.
