Latest news with #stains
Wall Street Journal
16-05-2025
- General
- Wall Street Journal
Bissell's Little Green Mini Is a Small Machine for Life's Messy Moments
The videos I watched of the Bissell Little Green Mini show it working on far tougher stains than dog-muzzle juice, like coffee on a beige carpet. The Mini's predecessor, the slightly larger Little Green (model 1400B), has a solid reputation for cleaning stains. At about $100, the newer Mini seemed like a reasonable investment that, if it worked, I'd be using more proactively before stains set in. When Bissell offered a model for me to test, I was up to the challenge. Out of the box, the Mini lives up to its name: the 7-pound (empty) cleaner is roughly 12 x 12 x 6 inches and falls between a coffee maker and a medium-sized toaster oven in size. It has a 12-foot cord with a 4-foot-long hose to get you near the stain. Bissell ships the Mini with an 8-ounce bottle of liquid stain remover. The cleaner's setup is straightforward: Fill the right-hand side tank to its max fill line with warm tap water, then top that off with roughly an ounce of stain remover. The Mini's limited two-year warranty spells out that you should only use cleaners mentioned in the owner's manual, including the brand's Pet Pro Oxy Spot & Stain and Simply Spot & Stain, to protect internal components. Once I had loaded the cleaning solution, it was time to suck out some stains. Following the directions, I sprayed the solution on the stain and let it sit for two minutes. Then I went to work, manually rubbing the upholstery with the 3-inch-wide brush built into the nozzle. This step works the solution down into the fibers and, for chunkier stains, loosens debris like dirt. Once you let off the spray trigger, put the nozzle on the carpet and start pulling the tool towards yourself, the vacuum starts sucking. That's when you see the spray and other debris get lifted up through the nozzle's clear, 3 ½-inch-wide suction head. I continued the pulling motion until almost no moisture was coming up into the tool. Once I was done and the area was dry, the stain was gone. I was impressed that it worked and did the job quickly enough that I can see myself dispatching the Mini frequently to spot-treat stains. There were a few mild issues in my testing. The tanks leak a bit, especially when loading and unloading it. The rinse tool that comes with the unit — a plastic dome that clips onto the hose for easy storage and flushes the hose before you store it — is something you want to use near the sink because it leaks a little, too. The Mini might not yank a four-year-old pinot noir stain out of a cream sofa (at least not without some heavy-duty pre-treating), but it's a quick and effective tool for easier-to-remove stains. The alternative — hoping our dog starts drinking from a Stanley tumbler like everyone else — likely takes more training than I have time for.
The Sun
14-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- The Sun
Cleaning gurus swear by £2 trick to banish stubborn sun cream stains from even the whitest of clothes this summer
WITH spring in full swing and the weather heating up, many of us are sure to be slapping on the sun cream before we head out to spend time in the sun. Wearing sun cream is vital for everyone, no matter your age, but if you've spotted a stubborn stain on your favourite top thanks to your UV protection, don't worry, you've come to the right place. 4 4 4 4 Sun cream can often leave harsh stains on clothes that are a challenge to remove - but luckily for you, cleaning enthusiasts have sworn by a £2 trick that will remove the sticky stuff from even the whitest of outfits this summer. And don't worry if you're on a budget, as thankfully you may already have the secret at home. It comes after a woman posted on Mrs Hinch Cleaning Tips, a private Facebook group with 622,800 members, and wrote: "I know this has been asked many times, but I can't remember the answer. 'Sorry to be a pain, but could someone tell me how to get the yellow effect sun lotion leaves on white T-shirts out, please?" Numerous social media users eagerly raced to the comments to share their handy tips and tricks, with the common solution being to use soda crystals, which can be picked up from most supermarkets. One person simply advised: "Soak in soda crystals." Whilst another added: "I use Milton and soda crystals. Soak overnight, then wash, dry outside in the sun." If you fancy giving this trick a try, you'll be pleased to know that you can find the large bags of Dri-Pak Soda Crystals from Asda, Sainsbury's and Savers, for just £2 a bag. To use soda crystals to banish stains, you'll first of all need to grab a clean cloth and blot the stain gently. Then, sprinkle the soda crystals onto the stain and let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes. The £1.25 buy parents are swearing by to get rid of stains in seconds, and it works on everything from pen to ketchup Following this, you can apply a small amount of dish soap, which you should massage in gently and then let sit for five to 10 minutes. Once you've done this, rinse the garment under warm water and then wash the item as normal. The importance of sun cream in your skincare routine Dermatologist and skincare enthusiast Andrea Suarez - known as Dr Dray - revealed why you should wear suncream. The one thing you can do that will make the biggest difference - and this matters for all ages - is protecting your skin from the sun, Andrea stressed. "The vast majority of external aging is due to exposure to ultraviolet radiation," she continued, not because you're "not using some jazzy serum or layering 90 different things on your face everyday". "If you're not doing in your 20s, get on that now." But she said the use of sun cream alone doesn't go far enough. Andrea urged that you also wear sun-protective clothing like broad-brimmed hats and long sleeves, on top of not staying out too long in the sun. Doing this over your lifetime - and all year, not just during the summer or on sunny days - "will reduce the visible signs of photoageing", Andrea said. Those are wrinkles, muddled pigmentation and sagging skin. Not only did many rave about using soda crystals to banish stains, but other commenters suggested the woman try covering the stain in washing-up liquid. As well as this, cleaning fans also claimed that white vinegar does the trick. One user posted: "Distilled white vinegar and baking soda. Leave to soak and then rub original fairy liquid into the area. "You have to get the yellowing, protein and the oil out, and all three of these will do this." Meanwhile, a second recommended: "White vinegar. Spray on, leave for a while, then wash in bio detergent. Try and hang outside in the sun." Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme - Sun Club More hacks to get rid of harsh stains Baking Soda and Vinegar: Make a paste with baking soda and water. Apply to the stain and let it sit for 30 minutes. Rinse with vinegar and wash as usual. Lemon Juice and Salt: Squeeze lemon juice over the stain. Sprinkle salt generously. Rub the fabric together and leave it in the sun for an hour before washing. Hydrogen Peroxide and Dish Soap: Mix equal parts hydrogen peroxide and dish soap. Dab the mixture onto the stain. Let it sit for 10 minutes and then rinse. Milk for Ink Stains: Soak the stained area in milk. Leave it overnight. Rinse and wash the following day. White Vinegar for Grass Stains: Apply white vinegar directly to the grass stain. Let it soak for 15 minutes. Wash as usual. Cornflour for Grease Stains: Sprinkle cornflour onto the grease stain. Let it sit for 20 minutes to absorb the grease. Brush off the cornflour and wash the garment. Toothpaste for Collar Stains: Apply a small amount of non-gel toothpaste to the collar stain. Scrub gently with a toothbrush. Rinse and wash as usual.
Daily Mail
10-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
You're cleaning your Tupperware wrong! Scientists reveal the simple way to remove orange stains from containers within seconds
Anyone who has used Tupperware to store their food will know just how easily the plastic containers can become stained. And the oily orange tint from pasta sauces and stews seem to be a particularly stubborn blight. But a viral hack circulating on social media claims there is a simple way to remove stains in just seconds. Now, a scientist reveals why this trick works so well and explains how you can say goodbye to those pesky orange marks. According to videos posted on TikTok, all you need to do to remove oily stains is to add water, dish soap, and a paper towel to the container and shake. Once the sealed Tupperware has been sufficiently shaken, you should find yourself with an oily towel and sparkling clean plastic. Jason Tetro, microbiologist and host of the Super Awesome Science Show and author of The Germ Code, told MailOnline: 'The hack works because it's a two-pronged approach to getting rid of the stain.' However, there are a few things you need to do to make sure this works every time. The viral hack circulating on TikTok claims that by adding soap, water, and a paper towel to your container before shaking, you can easily remove any greasy stains Why do plastic containers get stained so easily? Although the surface of a Tupperware container might look similar to other materials, it is very different at the microscopic level. Mr Tetro says: 'Plastic containers, unlike steel and glass, are not completely smooth. 'If you take a look at them under an electron microscope, you'll see pores that can allow oils to get trapped.' This means that plastic containers are more likely to pick up oily stains from your food than glass or ceramic options. Unlike discolouration caused by other substances, these stains are also particularly difficult to remove because of oil's chemical properties. Mr Tetro says: 'The oils are stubborn because they repel water and as such, rinsing and washing won't extract them from those pores.' Water is able to dissolve some substances because it is 'polar', meaning its molecules have areas of different electrical charges. Other polar molecules, like salt, stick to these charged areas, allowing them to dissolve. However, since oils aren't polar, water alone can't dissolve them - which makes oily stains harder to wash away. How does this cleaning hack work? This viral cleaning trick works to remove oily stains because it combines two effective techniques in one. Since water alone can't dissolve oil, you need something that has the right chemical properties to pull the stains out of your Tupperware. Mr Tetro says: 'Dish soap contains what we call a surfactant, and this chemical is excellent at trapping oils inside small, microscopic bubbles known as micelles. 'You can just add the detergent, and you'll get micelles. But if you want to make as many as you can to improve stain removal, then you need to do one thing – shake it up like a Taylor Swift fan! The more you shake, the more micelles you make and the better the stain removal process.' This is why putting water and soap in the container before vigorously shaking is key to helping get the plastic surface clean. Natalie D'Apolito, a spokesperson for the American Cleaning Institute, told MailOnline: 'When combined with dish soap, shaking a paper towel and water inside a plastic storage container will cause agitation inside the container, helping to remove set-in stains by activating the soap and vigorously wiping the inside of the container. 'Another way to think about this is by considering how washing machines agitate, or move, the items inside during a wash cycle.' However, it is important to use an absorbent paper towel rather than any other kind of scrubbing material. Mr Tetro points out that the paper towel acts as 'another kind of trap, but this time for the micelles'. 'The micelles tend to float in the liquid freely and can end up pretty much anywhere, but if you provide a large matrix for them to get trapped, then you can prevent them from going back into the pores,' says Mr Tetro. 'First, the detergent makes all those micelles that trap the oil, and the paper towel traps those micelles so that they don't end up going back into the pores when you rinse the container.' How to make this cleaning trick work If you want to use this trick yourself, there are a few factors to bear in mind. First, you need to clean the container as soon as possible to have the best chance of removing any stains. While the micelles in the soap are effective at breaking down oils, there is a limit to how effective they can be. The longer the oils are on the plastic, the longer they have to seep into the pores, and the harder the stain will be to remove. 'The sooner you can clean stains, the better the process will be,' says Mr Tetro. Likewise, when a Tupperware container is heated, the plastic softens and the porous surface expands slightly, allowing oils to penetrate even further. Ms D'Apolito says this can be caused by microwaving a container with food inside or by the residual heat from warm food. So, if you want to ensure your containers are easy to clean, don't use them in the microwave and allow food to cool completely before storing it.
