Fake blood, silly string and more, the Halloween Party stains you need to know how to fix.
Now that the spooky season is upon us your interiors are bound to come in for a battering, between drunken revellers in costume and excitable children guzzling obscene amounts of sweets nothing in your home is safe. Here are the most common Halloween Party whoopsies and how to get rid of them.
Oil Based Make-Up
Don't do what I did and fall asleep in your makeup and think its a problem for future you to solve |
How to remove Fake Blood
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Blot with a paper towel until as much of the fake blood is absorbed, then use a mixture of washing up liquid and warm water to dampen the area and continue to blot. If it is still stained douse the area in bicarbonate of soda and leave to absorb, repeat the process as required. I'd recommend not using any cleaning products with bleach as these can have a reaction to fake blood. To get fake blood stains off clothing first sprinkle with baby powder to absorb as much of the stain as possible, then soak them overnight in water with a cap full of biological washing liquid or powder, as this should break down the stain.
Sticky Sweet Stains
You can get chocolate out of clothes by simply washing the stain through with cold water, from the underside of the stain to help lift it away. If some brown remains use a paste of biological washing powder and a few drops of warm water to work is magic, then launder as usual.
Sugar dye stains from sticky melted sweets can be a real pain if half eaten sweets are left to congealed, but don't worry good old washing up liquid is the best way to get these up. Add a few drops to a damp cloth and wash in circular motions, bringing the sticky mess into the centre. Then scrape away any residue. If anything gets ground into your carpets such as sweets or crisps, firstly scrape away as much as you can, then hoover the loosened debris. Once you've removed as much as you can dampen the area with warm water and scrape again if the stain still persists allow to dry and repeat the process.
Alcohol & Soda Stains
If you're wondering how to remove red wine stains from clothes it's actually not too difficult as long as the stain is fresh and not allowed to dry out. My trick is to soak it overnight in milk, this works because the acids in the milk break down the tannins in the wine making it easy to lift the stain. You need to rinse the clothing well after soaking to remove as much of the milk as possible, do not wring the clothes out because you might force the stain deeper into the fibres of your clothes. Repeated rinse the clothing in warm running water, then wash on a temperate wash with biological washing powder. If the stain is on carpeting or similar do not use the milk trick, you might remove the stain but your house will stink like sour milk!
If you spill red wine on the carpet or couch first cover in salt to draw out as much of the moisture as possible, then dab with cold water. Never ever use hot water as this will set the stain and you'll never be able to get it out. Some people swear by a mixture of white vinegar and dishwashing liquid to blot the stain away, while others swear by soaking the stain in white wine. Due to the nature of red wine stains, they can be tricky to get out but if you keep trying, and trying different methods eventually the stain will lift.
Cola can be lifted by spraying the area with neat white vinegar and sprinkling with bicarbonate soda, this will cause a volcanic like reaction which will lift the stain straight out.
Another tip for removing that after party boozy beer smell is to leave a cup of fresh coffee grounds out to absorb the smells.
Pumpkin Innards and Goop
Blot your pumpkin stain with washing up liquid and warm water to dampen the stain and make it easier to remove. Slightly scrub the carpet or fabric that is stained to loosen the stain, then blot with paper towels. Rinse with a clean cloth and warm water, if necessary spray the area with rubbing alcohol and blot until the stain is fully lifted.
Silly String
I hate hate hate silly string! It's basically pointless, its super flammable and its a bugger to get out once its stained. My advice is don't buy silly string really. But if you have got it all over your house and up the walls get as much of the silly string off as quickly as possible. If you have a silly string stain on clothes the best way to remove it is to soak the clothes in warm water and vinegar solution overnight, then apply a paste of biological washing powder and warm water. If you leave the paste on the silly string stain for a few minutes then wash the clothes as normal the stain should come out.
If the stain is on soft furnishings or walls blot away with warm soapy water, say a few prayers and hope that it lifts. The only stain remover I've had any success with removing these stains is Vanish - the magic pink saviour of the cleaning cupboard. The foam cleaner is literally a godsend when removing hard to shift stains.
Jelly Shots and Other Assorted Food Dye Stains
Really you just need to follow the advice for fake blood stains as often the dye in fake blood is actually food dye.
Puke.
Not unrelated to the aforementioned Jelly Shots... Vomit at Halloween is pretty much unavoidable, a toxic combination of Sugar overload and copious amounts of booze. First things first are to get the drunkard (or small sugar-fuelled child) to a loo, then go crazy with the paper towel to absorb the liquid. Throw all the paper towels away into a black bin bag, then cover the area with bicarbonate of soda. The soda will absorb the smells, the moisture and act as an antibacterial, then sweep the mixture up with a dustpan after leaving it to work for about five minutes. Once that has been dealt with a spray with a kitchen cleaner will remove any final trace of the vomit, that is if it's on a hard surface on fabric clean up is a little more elaborate.
Cleaning up sick from a carpet is difficult but bring out that magic pink spray and it should be a breeze to clean up.
Cleaning up sick from a carpet is difficult but bring out that magic pink spray and it should be a breeze to clean up.
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