Checking for Stains

Assess stains on items

The most common types of stains found on guests clothing and uniforms are:

• Food stains

• Oils and fats

• Ink

• Perspiration

• Blood and body fluids

• Cosmetic stains

• Food coloring and dyes.

Identifying stains

It is important to try and establish what each stain is and treat accordingly. An experienced dry cleaner will be able to recognize many common stains and treat them easily. Some stains may be a combination of products and so may require several treatments. Many stains can be identified by appearance or smell.

Stains can be:

• Water soluble (salt and sugar)

• Solvent soluble (oils and fats)

• Insoluble (clay, carbon, sand)

• Dye. Many foods and soft drinks have coloring added and in many cases the dry cleaner is faced with the challenge of removing localized color from a garment whilst retaining the color of the body of the fabric

• Chemicals (nail polish, paints, inks).

Spot clean stains as required

Anybody who attempts the pre-spotting of clothes and uniforms must be qualified. It is absolutely essential that this person has a thorough knowledge of fibers and fabrics and stain removal techniques.

Pre-spotting is carried out on the spotting table

Pre-spotting chemicals used on the spotting table usually include the following:

• Ink remover (for wet and dry ink)

• Protein remover (for blood, feces, egg, milk, perspiration and soil stains on collars)

• Paint , oil and grease remover (for paint, lipsticks, oils and greases)

• Rust remover (for residual blood stains)

• Tannin remover (for coffee, tea, red wine and some fruit juices)

• All-purpose spot remover (for general light soiling stains).

Spotting chemicals are all kept in individual small bottles with a pouring spout. These bottles must always be correctly labelled. To not do so may result in unintentional damage to garments. They are placed on the side of the spotting table along with spatulas and spotting (or tamping) brushes for easy access. The spatula is to break up any solids and the brush is used to loosen stains by tamping. Tamping is the gentle massaging of fibers rather than a vigorous scrubbing motion. If the scrubbing motion is too heavy, this could break some fibers and cause damage to the garments.

Most chemical companies who provide spotting board chemicals will also provide a stain removal guide chart which can be pinned to the wall for easy reference.