How-To Videos

A crisp white shirt can look great right up until you notice the collar. Collar stains, sometimes called “ring around the collar,” have a way of making an otherwise perfectly good shirt look worn, dingy, or ready for the discard pile. The good news is that a stained white collar does not necessarily mean the shirt is finished. We put Stain Solver to the test on a real white shirt with a noticeably stained collar. The process was simple, and after only a 30-minute soak, the difference was easy to see. Watch here >> Why Do Shirt Collars Get So Dirty? A shirt collar spends hours in direct contact with your neck. Over time, perspiration, natural skin oils, makeup, lotions, hair products, dirt, and everyday grime can accumulate in the fabric. Regular detergent may remove some of that buildup, but stubborn discoloration can remain behind, particularly after it has worked its way into the fibers. That is when giving the stain some extra time with an oxygen-powered cleaner can make a difference. Step 1: Mix Stain Solver with Hot Water For this shirt, we started by mixing Stain Solver with hot water. Stain Solver is an oxygen-based powder cleaner made with just two ingredients: sodium percarbonate and soda ash. When mixed with water, it releases active oxygen that helps lift and break down staining material. Make sure the Stain Solver is completely dissolved before soaking the garment. For general mixing guidance, Stain Solver recommends approximately: 1 tablespoon of Stain Solver per 1 cup of water That ratio can be scaled up depending on how much solution you need to completely soak the item. Step 2: Soak the Stained Shirt Next, the white shirt went into the Stain Solver solution. The important part is making sure the stained collar is fully submerged so the cleaning solution can work throughout the fabric instead of merely touching the surface. For this particular collar stain, we let the entire shirt soak for 30 minutes. Then we checked the collar. No stain. The visible discoloration that had been around the inside of the white collar was gone. Stain Solver generally recommends allowing 30 minutes to two hours of contact time depending on the severity of the stain, so tougher or older stains may need additional time. Step 3: Rinse the Shirt Thoroughly Once the collar stain had lifted, we thoroughly rinsed the shirt with clean water. Don't overlook this step. Rinsing helps remove the loosened staining material and remaining cleaning solution before the garment goes into the washing machine. And, yes, we checked the collar again after rinsing. Still no stain. Step 4: Wash Normally After rinsing, the shirt went into the washing machine for a normal wash. We also added one standard scoop of Stain Solver to the wash. That is one of the easiest ways to incorporate Stain Solver into your regular laundry routine. Keep using your normal laundry detergent, and add Stain Solver as an oxygen-powered laundry booster when your clothes need some additional cleaning power. The Result: A White Collar Worth Wearing Again After washing, we took another close look at the shirt. The collar was clean, white, and ready to wear again. No complicated stain-treatment routine. No aggressive scrubbing. And, most importantly, no reason to replace a perfectly good shirt because of one stubborn stained collar. That is exactly what we mean when we say: Solve your stains. Save your stuff. Before giving up on a stained shirt, towel, uniform, or other washable fabric, give the stain a chance to come out. Stain Solver is designed for far more than laundry, but clothing is a great example of why removing a stain can also mean extending the useful life of something you already own. Can I Use This Method on Other Shirts? For washable fabrics, the same basic process can be used for many common laundry stains: Mix Stain Solver completely with warm or hot water. Submerge the stained area. Allow it to soak. Check the stain after about 30 minutes. Continue soaking if necessary. Rinse thoroughly. Wash normally with your regular detergent and add a scoop of Stain Solver. Always check the garment's care instructions first, and test an inconspicuous area when appropriate. Stain Solver should not be used on wool or silk. Don't Toss the Shirt Until You Try to Solve the Stain Collar stains are frustrating because they can make the whole shirt look dirty even when the rest of it is perfectly fine. Before replacing that white shirt, try treating the stain instead. In our test, 30 minutes with hot water and Stain Solver was enough to remove the visible collar stain, followed by a thorough rinse and normal wash. One stain solved. One shirt saved. Ready to tackle your own tough laundry stains? Visit StainSolver.com and put oxygen-powered cleaning to work. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ FAQs How do you remove stains from a white shirt collar? Mix Stain Solver completely with warm or hot water, submerge the stained collar, and allow it to soak. In the demonstration shown here, the collar stain was gone after 30 minutes. Rinse thoroughly, and then wash the shirt normally. How long should I soak a stained shirt in Stain Solver? Stain Solver generally recommends between 30 minutes and two hours, depending on the severity of the stain. Check the garment periodically, and continue soaking if needed. Can I add Stain Solver to my washing machine? Yes. Stain Solver can be added to your regular laundry routine along with your normal detergent to provide additional oxygen-powered cleaning. Does Stain Solver replace laundry detergent? No. For routine laundry, keep using your normal detergent, and use Stain Solver as an additional cleaning booster. Can Stain Solver be used on all fabrics? No. Always check the garment care label first. Stain Solver specifically advises against using the product on wool or silk. What causes ring around the collar? Collar discoloration can develop from a combination of perspiration, natural skin oils, personal-care products, dirt, and other buildup transferred to the fabric during normal wear.

It's happened to us all; the dreaded coffee stain. If you're the kind of person who needs a cup of coffee in the morning (like us here at Stain Solver) then you've likely spilled at least one cup of coffee all over yourself, your carpet, or your dog. While we can't help you get coffee stains out of your dog (seriously... don't use Stain Solver on a dog) we can definitely help you get rid of your toughest coffee stains on all of your favorite clothes. Yep, even dried coffee stains that have been there for years. Yep, even on colored fabrics. Yep, even that white sweater that you LOVE but you dumped an entire mug on that one morning. Let's get started on our Stain Solver guide to coffee stain removal. Why Are Coffee Stains So Hard To Remove? Let's start with a quick discussion of why it's so danged difficult to remove coffee stains in the first place. It all comes down to something called tannins. Tannins are the compounds in coffee that give it its dark color, which is beautiful to look at in a mug, but not so nice to look at when you spill coffee on yourself! These kinds of compounds are present in notorious stainers like red wine, which Stain Solver also happens to be excellent at cleaning! These tannins, along with the lipids (or fats) in coffee are what causes the coffee stains to be so persistent. It begs the question... Can Coffee Stains Be Removed? Luckily, the answer is a resounding yes! While a standard laundry detergent or the leading stain remover (we won't name any names...) might not be able to take care of your toughest coffee stains, Stain Solver is up to the task. Step-By-Step Process for Coffee Stain Removal Now that we've talked about why it's difficult to clean coffee stains, we'll go over a step by step process for removing coffee stains, and show you what kind of results you can expect when using Stain Solver to clean up after your coffee spills. A Coffee Stained White Sweater Before Check out this white sweater that was badly stained. This is what we'll be using as our case study today. Check out that big ugly coffee stain right in the middle of it! This stain had been dried for over a week too, and was firmly stuck in there. Some people might assume that this sweater has seen its last days, but not us! Let's show you how to remove coffee stains. What You'll Need to Remove Coffee Stains One of the best parts about this project is that all you'll need is Stain Solver, hot water, and a sink! Step 1: Prepare the Stain Solver solution Fill up a sink or large basin with HOT water, then add a cup of Stain Solver powder. Stir until completely dissolved. Note: you can use warm or cold water, but it will slow the dissolution process substantially. Use hot water if at all possible. Step 2: Soak The Garment This is the easy part! Simply put the stained garment in the solution and let it sit for two to three hours. This is even on the safe side, and if the garment has a fresh stain, or one that isn't very pronounced it could take even less time. Step 3: Wash and Dry as Normal After soaking for an hour, you can take your garment from the cleaning solution and gently rinse it with warm water. After you've done that, you can put it through the wash using whatever is your preferred laundry detergent. The Big Reveal Three easy steps to remove coffee stains from your clothes! Now, are you ready to see the difference that Stain Solver made on these dried coffee stains? Boom! The stain is gone! And not like kind-of-sort-of-you-can-hardly-see-it gone, gone gone! Additional Tips For Removing Coffee Stains Now that we have looked at how to use Stain Solver to clean set in stains, let's discuss a few more tips that we've found to be useful in our quest to find the absolute best ways to remove coffee stains. Act Fast! While Stain Solver is great at getting rid of even really old coffee stains, there's no doubt that coffee stains come out much easier when you tackle them right after spilling coffee. If you act quickly you likely won't need a full soak to remove the stain, just mix one quart warm water with one quarter cup of Stain Solver and apply to the stained area. You can use a wet cloth to apply the solution, or simply pour it on. Be Patient! Allow plenty of time for the solution to work its magic before washing and drying as normal. If you take your garment out and some stain remains, don't fret, it's just a matter of time! Make yourself (another) cup of coffee, pick out a good book, and let it sit for a little while longer. Before you know it you'll take it our and viola! The stain is gone. Some Important Fabric Safety Notes Stain Solver is incredible at removing a coffee stain from synthetic and cotton fabrics, but you SHOULD NOT use it on silk or wool. It can seriously damage these fabrics, and we don't want that! If you're trying to clean stains from wool or silk, we reccomend either taking it to a dry cleaner, who will have specialized tools and equipment, or using a very mild liquid laundry detergent specifically made for those kinds of fabrics, such as Woolite. Why Is Stain Solver So Good at Removing Coffee Stains? You might be wondering why Stain Solver is such an effective stain remover, and we don't blame you! Luckily there is no hocus pocus, and no magic in what makes our product so effective, just science! It all comes down to the use of our active ingredient, sodium percarbonate. The Power of Peroxide When you mix Stain Solver powder with water, a safe and natural chemical reaction occurs, leading the percarbonate to become hydrogen peroxide, yep, the same hydrogen peroxide as you probably have in your medicine cabinet right now! When that peroxide is created, the oxygen bubbles are what lifts the stains from the clothing, allowing you to safely and effectively remove coffee stains. Even better, it's safe to use on colored fabrics as well as whites, unlike traditional chlorine bleach. Stain Solver can help you restore all kinds of stained fabrics, not just coffee! Check out some of our other cleaning tips for more advice and inspiration. No matter what kind of stain you're trying to solve, we've got you covered. Final Thoughts! Well, there you have it! We hope that you've found this guide useful, and that its given you some insight into the best way to use Stain Solver in conjunction with your regular liquid laundry detergent to solve even your most persistent coffee stains. Stain Solver is the best way to get coffee stains out of your favorite clothes, whether they're made of cotton or synthetic fabrics. The next time that you have a coffee spill, don't freak out! Just reach for Stain Solver and watch as it removes the coffee stain quickly and easily.