How To Remove Berry Stains

The washing machine is arguably one of the best inventions ever made.  It saves hours of work every week compared to old-fashioned washing methods. While the washing machine has improved the quality of cleaning, there are still limitations.  No matter how good modern methods are there are times when your machine needs a little extra help, especially when it comes to removing berry stains.

The first thing to note is that all stains respond better when you use the correct products. Remove all sorts of stains like wine, coffee, dirt, food and more using a specially formulated laundry detergent.

Berry stains are no exception. They respond very well to the right laundering method and sunlight!

Dab First

The first step is to use a cloth to remove obvious pieces of berry and another cloth to dab the affected area. You’re not trying to clean at this stage, the aim is to minimize the amount of berry residue on your clothing.

Rinse

With the excess berry juice removed, you’ll need to rinse your garment. This should be done with cold water.

The water must come from the back of the clothing, effectively pushing the stain out. Do this for several minutes, the water starts colored and gradually becomes clearer.

Wash It Normally

At this stage, you should be able to put the item in your washing machine with the right detergent and wash as normal. The stain should wash out although you won’t know until you put it in the sunshine. 

If the stain is faded but still visible you can lay the item flat in direct sunlight or put it on your washing line. UV light is very effective at removing a variety of organic stains, including berry stains. You’ll need to leave it there for a while to allow the UV rays to do their job.

Extra Procedures

In most cases, this should remove the stain and you can wear your favorite item of clothing again. But, if it hasn’t completely gone then there are a couple of other things you can try before repeating the washing process a second time;

• Lemon Juice

A little lemon juice can be applied to your clothing or you can gently rub the stained area with a lemon. After a few minutes rinse the area with clean water, again rinsing from the back is more effective. 

Use a cloth or blotting paper to remove excess water and allow the item to dry, hopefully, the stain will no longer be visible. 

• Soaking Overnight

If that doesn’t work then simply soaking the item in cold water and a little detergent may do the trick. You can repeat this process as many times as you like, especially if the stain is reducing each time you soak it. 

It does require patience to remove a berry stain, although organic berry juice is one of the more potent stains you can face it will wash out, as long as you are patient and use a laundry detergent formulated for this purpose.