Summer Laundry Tips

Simple cleanup tricks for grass, mud, sand and whatever else comes your way.

It's summer, which means the kids are home from school. It also means they're free to run wild through grass, mud and whatever else they can find to make your life as a parent a bit more complicated.

Nobody likes seeing their kid run through the door covered in grass stains, but we all know avoiding summer messes is almost impossible unless you're Rapunzel's parent. Understanding how to get rid of common summer stains can help you and your kids have a cleaner (and less stressful) summer.

Summer laundry tips

There are a few messes you'll probably run into throughout the summer:

Grass. Whether it's from a soccer match or a spill in the grass, grass stains can be frustrating. You want to tackle them as quickly as possible-the more time the stain has to set in, the harder it will be to remove. To remove a grass stain from clothes, the following steps should get the job done:

1. Soak the clothes for at least 15 minutes in a 60/30 mixture of water and white vinegar.
2. Dab at the stain with a clean white rag.
3. Wash the stain with an enzyme-based detergent. Grass stains are primarily made up of protein, so the enzyme-based detergent can help lift the stain.

Mud. With summer comes rainstorms, which means mud stains. Mud stains can be annoying, since throwing a piece of clothing with mud caked on it into the washer is more likely to make everything slightly muddy than it is to clean the stain. Unlike grass stains, you want to let mud stains sit until the mud dries. Once the mud is totally dry, it will be easier to get the stain out. Here's what you want to do:

1. Scrape the dried mud with a butter knife or a hand vacuum to remove clumps. Try to avoid pressing the mud deeper into the fabric.
2. Rub some liquid detergent into the stain and allow it to sit for around 15 minutes.
3. Use a stain remover. This should eliminate any final traces of the mud stain and prevent it from discoloring the fabric permanently.
4. Run the clothing through the washer and dryer like any other piece of laundry.

Sand. As Anakin Skywalker once said, "I hate sand. It's rough, and coarse, and it gets everywhere." If you take your kids to the beach over summer break, you probably agree with him. To get rid of sand in your clothing, take the following steps:

1. Shake the clothing out when you get home. This should get rid of the bulk of the sand.
2. Soak the items in cold water for ten minutes. This allows the grains of sand to separate from the fabric.
3. Air-dry the fabric. If you let it dry completely, the grains of sand won't be attached as firmly, so they should be easy to brush or shake off.

Of course, no number of home tips will replace a good washer or dryer. Check out our selection at Queen City Audio Video, and make summer cleaning a cinch!