Stains

I've always been quite rough and tumble and so have never worried about how dirty I get, no matter what I'm doing. On top of that I am no domestic goddess, i have had no time or patience for housekeeping. The practice of looking after things so they last means I need to consume less, so doing laundry is no longer a mundane practice. Stain removal means that clothes and carpet last longer, and napkins and handkerchiefs can replace paper versions. The most valuable prinicple is that every stain has a solvent - for example detergent 'cuts through grease' as the ads tell us. So far I have learnt that facial soap and cold water, rubbed in with a toothbrush removes protein stains and is the first step. Meat, gravy, milk, blood - in fact most food related stains respond to this. Then, I put it into the wash with a commercial powder, because detergent removes the next level of stains which are oil and fat based. There is much more to learn, and the books by Shannon Lush and Jennifer Fleming are fantastic, because most of their cleaning solutions are simple and environmentally friendly.