Do you remember the television commercials for the laundry
detergent that claimed to remove the embarrassing “ring around
the collar?” The husband and wife would be at some social
gathering, perhaps dining on Lobster Thermador at the Rotary
Club or some such thing, when one of the Gladys Kravitz-esque
attendees would notice a stain on Mr. Commercial’s shirt collar
and point it out loudly enough for everyone this side of
Brooklyn to hear, “He’s got ring around the collar!” The
singsong nasal chorus would repeat this as Mrs. Commercial
turned several shades of crimson and Mr. Commercial went on
merrily munching on his shellfish, oblivious to the goings-on.
I, for one, always wondered why Mrs. Commercial was so
embarrassed when clearly the problem would take care of itself
if Mr. Commercial would just take the time to wash his neck.
I got to thinking about that commercial recently as I was trying
to remove another stubborn stain, this one caused by my baby’s
ample and artful methods of regurgitation rather than my
husband’s poor upper vertebral hygiene. Babies’ garments are
different from adults’ you see, and babies’ skin is far more
sensitive, so there is no miracle stain remover that is both
safe for baby and tough on the messes that they tend to make
when they decide that they want to take one more look at that
last bit of formula. There are, however, several ways to remove
stubborn stains like these from baby clothes and accessories
using common household items that contain no harmful chemicals.
For the traditional spit-up stain that parents of a young baby
will see plenty of, the best method that I have found uses club
soda and baking soda. What you’ll want to do is sprinkle a bit
of baking soda on the stained area and then pour on a bit of
club soda. Remember the papier mache volcanoes that the nerdier
kids constructed for the eighth grade science fair? This is the
same effect. The club soda and baking soda will bubble and foam
a bit. Let that happen for a few seconds and then take an old
toothbrush and gently scrub the area. The dried on bits of yuck
should loosen and chip away in no time at all. Now wash the
garment as usual. Voila! The stain should be gone. This same
concoction will remove corrosion from the positive and negative
posts of an automobile battery, by the way, so if you have that
problem one day, tell your husband that you’ll take care of it
for him while he goes into the bathroom and washes his neck.
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