If you’re whipping up a Thanksgiving storm in Grandma’s vintage cast iron skillets and getting ready to have the entire family over, you should be prepared for messes and stains—it comes with the hosting territory.
We spoke to Zachary Pozniak, the fourth-generation New York City dry cleaner at Jeeves NY on Madison Avenue and co-author of the newly released The Laundry Book (written with his dad, Jerry) about getting some of the worst stains off your favorite fabrics.
How to remove a red wine stain
“Give it a rinse and then spray or soak the area in some white vinegar (depending on the stain size) then wash as recommended.”
“Make sure to inspect before tumble drying. If the stain was not fully removed, then spray with 3% hydrogen peroxide and air dry inside or soak in hot water and powdered oxygen bleach and then rewash.”
Pozniak suggests keeping powdered oxygen bleach on hand to remove red wine stains and other dark-hued Thanksgiving mishaps.
How to remove a cranberry sauce stain
“Act quickly!” says Pozniak. “Wipe as much of the cranberry sauce as possible with a clean damp towel. Spray with an all-purpose stain remover to break down the sugars and wash as recommended.”
“For cranberry sauce stain removers, we like Oxiclean Max Force, Shout Triple Action and Dadmode.”
Because these stain removes work to lift stains, lighten them and break up tough enzymes, they’re ideal to keep on-hand all the time—not just around Thanksgiving.
How to remove a gravy stain
“Gravy is mostly fat and oil, so work in some dish soap,” he says, because this soap is superficially designed to cut through lipids and grease. “Let it sit for 30 minutes, and then wash as recommended.”
Pozniak says, “Dawn performs best in our opinion,” thanks to its ability to really break up greasy, fatty particles and lift them to the surface to be rinsed away.
And if you need more ideas, check out this super-long list of our fave gifts under $10 (all with fast, free shipping).
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