Removing Berry Stains From Clothing - Video And Instructions

Below is a video which provides 4 home remedies for removing berry stains from clothing.

What I like about this video is that it gives methods for removing fresh stains, old stains, and even a method of last resort if nothing else works.


Before the video here is a brief summary of the tips provided:

Boiling Water Method

Step 1: Rinse stain with cold running water.

Step 2: Stretch stained clothing over a heat proof bowl and secure it with a rubber band.

Step 3: Pour boiling water (carefully -- you don't want to burn yourself!) over the stained area, at a height of 2-3 feet.

Step 4: Repeat as necessary until the stain is gone.

Step 5: Launder as usual.

***UPDATE - I've found several more tips, including here and here which suggest this boiling water technique for removing berry stains, so I definitely believe it is a good one! In fact, if you scroll down this page you'll see another one from a reader who had great results with this technique.***

Use Lemon Juice

Step 1: Rinse stain with cold running water.

Step 2: Soak spotted area with lemon juice and let sit for 30 minutes.

Step 3: Rinse again, with cold running water.

Step 4: Launder as usual.

Note: This method, I think, is not very effective unless the stain is light and/or very fresh.

But if you try it and it works great, please contact me and tell me of your success, so I can reassess my beliefs on this one.

***UPDATE*** One reader did actually update me about how lemon juice worked for her, and it has helped me reassess my opinion of lemon juice as a berry stain remover. You can read her story about how she got out blackberry stains with lemon juice by scrolling down this page.***End Update

Glycerin Method For Old Stains

I like that a suggestion was made for how to remove old stains caused by berries, because sometimes you just can't treat a stain quickly, or you didn't even know about it.

Don't you just hate it when your kids throw something in to be washed without informing you of the big stain?

If that happens with berry stains you can loosen up the stain, according to the video, with a solution of equal parts glycerin and luke warm water.

Let the stained clothing soak in that solution for an hour or so, and then treat with additional berry stain removal techniques.

Last Resort Method: Denatured Alcohol

Finally, I like this video because it gives a realistic look at stain removal, especially in regard to berries, because sometimes they just seem impossible to get out.

In that situation, as a last resort, you can try dabbing the spot with denatured alcohol (also known as methylated spirits).

The reason this is a tip of last resort is that denatured alcohol can adversely effect some fabrics, especially in regard to color fastness.

Therefore, before using denatured alcohol as a stain remover you should spot check on an inconspicuous place on the garment, to make sure it will not harm the fabric.

Here's The Video For More Details

I hope you found that video useful.

Check out my A-Z Guide for more tips on how to remove specific berry stains, including, but not limited to:

• Blackberry;


• Blueberry;


• Cranberry;


• Raspberry; and


• Strawberry

Do you have a stain removal tip to share? If so share your tip here, I'd love to hear it!

In addition, scroll down to see what other readers have suggested for removing berry stains, including some responses about how these remedies mentioned already worked for them.


Top photo courtesy of Muffet

Get Out Blackberry Stains With Lemon Juice

by Amy
(Utah)

Hi - I visited your site looking for advice on removing blackberry juice stains. My husband was making blackberry jam this evening, and got several splatters of hot blackberry juice on his light green, cotton shirt.

I didn't have any liquid laundry detergent, hydrogen peroxide, or color-safe bleach on hand, so I went the lemon juice route.

You mentioned you didn't have personal experience with this method and would like to hear the results if anyone tried it. Great news! It worked!

By the time I noticed the splatters, some of the stains were up to 3 hours old. There were at least 20 individual stains - most the size of a pencil eraser. I was pretty sure this wasn't going to end well.

First, I ran cold water through each stain. Then I laid the shirt out on our kitchen table and put several drops of lemon juice on each splatter mark. For the bigger stains, I squeezed the bottle briefly to create a stream of juice.

As I was about to walk away to let it set, I noticed one dime-size splatter mark I'd missed completely, hiding in the fold of a cuff. I did not run cold water through this spot, but I did squirt it liberally with lemon juice.

When the timer went off at the 30 minute mark, I was on the phone and whispered to my husband to rinse the juice out of the shirt. I expected him to just leave it on the bathroom counter after the rinse, but instead, he tossed it in the dryer! Unfortunately, I didn't discover this until an hour later.

My original plan had been to rinse out the juice in the sink and run the shirt through the washer; then, IF the stains came out, I would put it in the dryer - but not before. I thought for sure I would find several baked-in blackberry stains all over that shirt.

Instead, there was just one, very faint purple stain - the dime-size mark I didn't run cold water through before applying lemon juice!

In summary, a cold water rinse is clearly important, and lemon juice is simply incredible!!! I couldn't believe my results. I checked the shirt over in good light, and with the exception of the one aforementioned mark, I could not find any sign the shirt had been accosted by hot blackberry juice. Yay!

Lemon juice is my new best friend! Such a simple solution. Love it. Thanks for the recommendation.

Taylor says:

Wow, Amy! Thanks for sharing your great results with me.

I love lemon juice too! In fact, I have a whole article about uses of lemon juice for cleaning and stain removal. I'm going to have to add this use too!

I love it when you can find a natural stain remover that works well, because it is better for the environment, your health, and generally also your wallet.

Too bad your husband threw it in the dryer, because you're right that it is much more difficult to remove stains once they have been heat set in the dryer. Fortunately the spot is not in a very noticeable area.

***Update: Another reader tried this exact tip, and it worked great for her as well. Here's what she told me:

Amazing result!

I had some blackberry stains on my sweater after blackberry picking today.

Washing them with cold water + dish detergent didn't work so I tried to find some stain removal tips online.

It just happened that I had half a lemon sitting in my fridge so I dripped a few drops of lemon juice on the stains and voila! - the stains disappear instantly.

Thank you so much for this tip!

***End Update

So, does anyone else have any great stain removal stories to share? You can submit your own stain removal tips here, and if you used a specific stain remover with success, you can share your stain remover reviews here.

In addition, you can share your own tips and uses for lemon juice here.

Photo by steve_lodefink

Presoaking Berry Stains With BIZ Works Wonders

by SR101 Reader

I am very familiar with these types of stains. I always presoak them in BIZ powder. It works miracles.

The sooner you can soak the clothes the better, but I have also gotten out old stains (including grass, tomato sauce, blood, etc.) with BIZ, just soaking a bit longer.

I also use BIZ to keep summer white slacks really white, as well as stain free. I think if it were not for BIZ I probably would not own a pair of white slacks!

Boiling Water Worked Great For My Raspberry Stain!

by Kelly

I got this comment from Kelly on Pinterest (follow me please!) when she read a similar boiling water tip as the one above on this page about removing fruit juice stains.

Kelly says:

Boiling water works!!

I removed a set in raspberry stain perfectly. :)

I did pour vinegar over the stain as well before pouring water unto the clothing, and the stain is history!!!

So happy I found this, I'm sure I'm going to need this time and time again!

Taylor says:

Glad it worked for you Kelly!

Does anyone else have tips for removing any type of berry spot or stain on clothing or elsewhere? If so, I'd love to hear it, and you can share your tips here, or read even more already submitted.



Top photo courtesy of jocelynarcentales from Flickr CC

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