Question
I live in Maine, and many times during the winter and early spring I walk through that messy mixture of slush, mud, salt and road sand that leaves your clothes covered with splash spots. I just cannot get the stains out of my beige and khaki pants, no matter what stain treating products I use or how much I bleach them. What is there that I can use to get the stains out?
Answer
I suspect you actually could have encrustation, a water-insoluble build up that forms when water soluble minerals naturally present in water react with carbonates. This happens in other situations, too, and a good way to remove this is to use undiluted white vinegar (3%) to dissolve the crust, but you have to soak the fabric for it to work well. Don’t dilute the vinegar—at 3% it’s already very weak so it needs to be full strength if it is going to dissolve any encrustation.
Soak the clothes for 30 minutes, then rinse thoroughly. Finally, machine wash using a good detergent and Clorox 2® For Colors Stain Remover and Laundry Additive. Air dry and check your progress—hopefully this will do the trick.
