Still trying to get that spill from last night out of your rug? Get rid of a stubborn wine or berry stain by pouring boiling water through the stained material.
You'll be praised for having the best party trick and for saving the day. Just be sure to act fast so the stain doesn't set in.
Here's a visual of how it works:
Boiling water won't necessarily work for other stains — it all has to do with the stain's chemical content.
"The way you digest bread is different than you would digest bacon grease," says Sunny Escobar, who is a senior scientist for Procter & Gamble, the company behind laundry detergents like Tide and Downy. According to Escobar, you can apply the same logic to breaking down stains that you would to breaking down food.
It can be hard to remember what method works for each stain, so here's a bonus tip: Keep a "stain kit" with a cheat sheet and some basic household items like baking soda and bleach handy to tackle your most common blemishes.
Check out this complete guide to removing stains.
22 tips for 2022 is edited and curated by Dalia Mortada, Arielle Retting, Janet W. Lee, Beck Harlan, Beth Donovan and Meghan Keane. This tip comes from an episode of Life Kit hosted by Elissa Nadworny and produced by Sylvie Douglis.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
