Most stains are removable if you get to them before they're dried in, and before the dryer gets to them. Heat is what makes a stain permanent. Treat it, wash it, and check it while the garment is still wet.
Always check the care label, and test any product on an inside seam first.
Blot up as much as you can. Flush the back of the fabric with cold water. Work in a drop of dish soap, then rinse. On white cotton and linen, a mix of equal parts 3 percent hydrogen peroxide and dish soap usually takes out what's left; peroxide can lighten colors, so don't use it on anything dark. Wash in the warmest water the label allows.
Rinse from the back with cold water, then rub a little liquid laundry detergent into the stain and let it sit 5 minutes. If there was milk or cream in it, stay with cold water, because it's partly a protein stain. Wash as usual.
Don't use water first. Cover the spot with cornstarch or baking soda for 15 minutes to pull up the oil, brush it off, then work in a drop of grease-cutting dish soap. Let it sit 10 minutes and wash in the warmest water the fabric can take. Grease stains often look gone when wet and reappear when dry, so check before drying.
Cold water only. Flush it from the back right away, then soak in cold water with a little detergent. On whites, dab 3 percent hydrogen peroxide on the remaining stain; it will fizz. Rinse and wash in cold water.
Grass is a mix of plant pigment and protein. Pretreat with an enzyme-based detergent, rubbing it in gently, and let it sit 15 to 30 minutes. Wash in warm water if the fabric allows. A soak in oxygen bleach helps with stubborn ones.
Make a paste of baking soda and water, or dissolve oxygen bleach in warm water, and work it into the underarm area. Leave it an hour, then wash. Skip chlorine bleach on sweat stains; it reacts with sweat and antiperspirant residue and can make the yellow worse.
Put a paper towel under the fabric and dab the ink with rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball, moving to a clean part of the towel as the ink transfers. Keep going until no more ink lifts, then rinse and wash.
Foundation and concealer come out with a little dish soap or micellar water worked in with your fingers, then rinsed. For lipstick and mascara, dab with rubbing alcohol first, then use dish soap.
Scrape off the excess, flush with cold water from the back, then work in dish soap. A little white vinegar dabbed on afterward helps with the red color. Wash in cold water and air dry until it's gone.
Red napkins and wine at the same dinner is asking for trouble. Treat the linens the same night if you can, with the wine method above. Our holiday cleaning checklist has more on getting the house ready for guests and back to normal afterward.
Use cold water when you don't know what the stain is, and always for protein stains like blood, egg and dairy, because hot water sets them. Grease stains do better in the warmest water the fabric allows, after they have been pretreated.
Blot it, flush the back of the fabric with cold water, work in dish soap and rinse. On white cotton or linen, equal parts 3 percent hydrogen peroxide and dish soap removes most of what's left. Then wash as usual.
Some stains, especially grease, look gone when the fabric is wet and reappear as it dries. Check the garment before drying and retreat it if any trace remains. A dryer's heat can make a stain permanent.
Avoid chlorine bleach on yellow underarm stains. It can react with sweat and antiperspirant residue and make the yellowing worse. Use a baking soda paste or oxygen bleach instead.
