Club SodaSpill coffee or tea on yourself while you're out? Pour club soda liberally on the stain and blot, continuing until the stain has completely lifted. This method is also great for when you spill coffee on your carpet or tablecloth.See more extraordinary uses for Club Soda » BeerGetting that coffee stain out your carpet may seem impossible, but you can literally lift it out by pouring a bit of beer right on top. Rub the beer lightly into the material, and the stain should disappear. You may have to repeat the process a couple of times to remove all traces of the stain.See more extraordinary uses for Beer » VinegarYou can lift out many water-soluble stains—including beer, fruit juices, black coffee or tea—from your cotton-blend clothing or tablecloth by patting the spot with a towel moistened with undiluted white vinegar just before placing the item in the wash. For large stains, you may want to soak the garment overnight in a solution of 3 parts vinegar to 1 part cold water before washing.
See more extraordinary uses for Vinegar » Baby WipesUse a baby wipe to blot up coffee spills from your carpet; it absorbs both the liquid and the stain. Wipes can also be effectively deployed when attacking various spills and drips on your clothing and upholstered furniture.See more extraordinary uses for Baby Wipes » Baking SodaRemove coffee stains on your good china by dipping a moist cloth in baking soda to form a stiff paste, then gently rubbing the cups or saucers. Rinse clean and dry.See more extraordinary uses for Baking Soda » Egg YolkThis stain remover might surprise you, but many people swear by it. Beat an egg yolk and work into the coffee stain with a terry-cloth towel for about a minute. Rinse thoroughly with water, and the stain should be completely gone.See more extraordinary uses for Eggs » SaltYou can easily scrub away unattractive rings on tea cups or coffee pots by sprinkling salt onto a sponge and rubbing in little circles across the stain.
If it doesn't come out immediately, mix white vinegar with salt in equal proportions and rub with the sponge.See more extraordinary uses for Salt »Today’s post is dedicated to the quest for clean, fresh-smelling sheets. No matter how expensive your sheets are, each time you sleep on them, they absorb a little more sweat and oil from your skin. Have you gotten the hint that today’s post is a little more realistic than escapist?! I’m in the middle of cleaning out my garage, and I recently came across an old duvet cover that I’d love to re-use as guest bedding. It’s stylish (from Dwell Studio). But it doesn’t smell fresh, especially since it’s been bagged up in our garage for the past five years. Is it possible to return this bedding to a clean, fresh state? Read on to learn more about my path to clean sheets with the help of baking soda and vinegar…Before I take you through the steps involved in cleaning your sheets, let me answer one question right off the bat. Does using baking soda and vinegar remove odor from dirty sheets?
Especially if you’re willing to run through this process twice if necessary. Just how dirty was my duvet cover? Let’s just say that using tongs to lift it wasn’t an overreaction! And in case you’re wondering why I washed a duvet cover rather than sheets for this post, rest assured that this duvet cover has the feel of two high-quality sheets sewn together. If this cleaning process can work on my duvet cover, it will definitely work on sheets. In fact, it’s eerily similar to my post on deep-cleaning towels! In other words, there’s undeniable power in the baking soda + vinegar combo!Before I go through the steps in this process, let me say that I’m not including the step of running the sheets through the washer using regular detergent. That’s because in a lot of cases, the “sweaty” smell of sheets is noticed after taking them out of the dryer. There’s this “Why don’t they smell fresh after I just washed them?” moment! Are you with me here? If you know you want to wash your sheets before treating them with the baking soda and vinegar, feel free to do so before getting started.
Or you may want to clean them after the process is complete, if you feel like they smell a bit like vinegar. I cleaned out my sink before giving these sheets a soak. The smell of vinegar quickly filled the kitchen once my hot water solution was in place. Vinegar neutralizes odors, and it’s also a well-known cleaning agent. When you add the dish liquid, you can measure out a couple of tablespoons, or just eyeball it. The dish soap will help to break apart stains and dirt.I used my hands to “stir” the bedding a few times during its soaking session. I wanted to make sure that each and every square inch got good coverage!Don’t worry if your sheets aren’t odor free at this point. There’s still more cleaning to do…You may want to let some water fill the washing machine and add the baking soda before throwing the sheets into the mix. This is tricky to do with my washer, so I ended up having to sprinkle the baking soda directly on the sheets. I did not add detergent at this point–just the baking soda.
I put the washer on the “Heavy” soil setting, making sure my bedding got a good cleaning. And then it was time for a coffee break! In fact, while this cleaning process may seem involved, you’ll end up doing a lot of waiting. Which means there will be plenty of time to get other projects done in between steps.Folks, my bedding was in need of a really good cleaning. One time through this process just didn’t cut it. But I could tell that the bedding was much improved after just one soak and wash, so I had faith in the steps.Yes, I re-soaked the bedding. And added the baking soda to the wash again. One repeat of the process, and the bedding was in really good shape! Yes, this baking soda and vinegar strategy really does work! Bonus: these ingredients are non-toxic.Time to get them fluffy and dry! I’m not a fan of dryer sheets, so I didn’t use them for this cleaning process. They will definitely add an element of freshness, but I didn’t want any fragrance to mask remaining odor on the bedding.