Mysterious Stains
Our laundry has been inflicted with some mysterious stains that simply will not come out, except perhaps by prayer and fasting. I have tried soaking in oxy-clean, pre-treating with detergent, using homemade detergent, and rubbing alcohol, all to no avail. The stains don't even look like they've budged. Even more mysteriously, out of a very large load of dark clothes, only three items appear to have picked up the stain. Unfortunately two of the items stained are borrowed maternity clothes. The other is a pair of JM's pants, as if he doesn't already have a shortage of them.
The stain looks like a black ink stain, although I have no idea how that would have gotten into our wash. I check pockets for pens, and I haven't ever found a pen in the washer or dryer after running a load. JunkMale has done a few loads for me of late, but he never mentioned anything of the sort to me, either.
Any suggestions?
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our life
A bar of homemade soap (or store-bought Fels Naptha) and a scrub board (or the bumpy side of a broiler pan or griddle). Rub the soap on the stain and rub the stain on the scrub board. Do it at least a dozen times before giving up. I have gotten some unbelievable stains out that way. If that doesn't work, try hairspray, in case it is ink. If all else fails, embroider something around it. ;-) OR cut up the clothing and make some really nice napkins, handkerchiefs, and rags.
Does the stain feel oily? If so, try rubbing some dishwashing liquid into it. That likely won't remove a black stain, but it will lessen it if it's oily in nature.
Otherwise, I don't know what to tell you. I know Martha Stewart has a stain chart that I refer to, but it's not foolproof. I never could remove a dry-erase marker stain from Steven's pants. I do recall glycerin as being one of the potential stain removers for inky stains.