You just laid out your beautiful white tablecloth, the one that comes out once a year. Maybe your wearing that new top for your dinner party – and then – bam! someone spills on it. Obviously you don’t freak out – but you do need to act fast. Once a stain sets, it’s really hard to remove naturally.

Here are THREE tips to help you tackle all kinds of sticky situations:

TIP 1: Treat it On the Spot 

If food spills on your perfect white tablecloth – it would be crazy to pull it off during dinner to clean up…. Here’s what you do to treat the stain at the table:

• dab a cloth over the spill to soak up as much as you can
• spray diluted dish soap over the spill and let it sit. This will pre-treat the stain until you can launder the fabric.
• get back to eating 🙂

TIP 2: Be Prepared 

You don’t want to be mixing up solutions in the middle of a party. Be prepared with this simple solution that breaks up stains and prevents them from setting:

ingredients: 1 cup water / 1 tablespoon dish soap / mix together in spray bottle and label it – Stain Remover

Tip 3: Know your stain

Here’s your stain removal cheat sheet for the 5 stains that you may come face to face with:

One: Red Wine

1. Pour neat vinegar over the stain to act as a natural bleach
2. Pour salt over to keep the stain from setting.
3. If it’s on a shirt, you can apply the vinegar with a cotton swab and skip the salt
4. Dab with a dish cloth to soak up as much as you can
5. Spray with diluted dish soap to act as a pre-treat stain remover
6. Wash the fabric as soon as you can

Two:  Tea or Coffee:

1. Pour neat vinegar to remove the stain. Let it soak in
2. Flush with water
3. If you still see the stain, rub with an ice-cube to keep the stain from setting, then spray with your diluted dish soap.
4. Wash the fabric as soon as you can

THREE: Grease (gravy) Stains: 

1. Scrape up food particles with a butter knife
2. Blot as much as you can with a dish cloth
3. Pour over cornstarch to soak up as much oil as possible
4. Pre-treat with your diluted dish soap.
5. Wash the fabric as soon as you can – on a cold setting – heat will fix the stain.

FOUR:  Tomato Based Stains (ketchup, sauces): 

1. Scrape up the sauce with a butter knife – you don’t want to spread it all around
2. Blot over the area with a dish cloth
3. If you see a stain, pour over neat vinegar
4. If the stain persists, add a drop of hydrogen peroxide and pre-treat with your diluted soap
5. Wash the fabric as soon as you can

FIVE:  General Food Stains:

1. Scrape up food particles with a butter knife
2. Blot as much as you can with a dish cloth
3. Pre-treat with your diluted dish soap
4. Wash the fabric as soon as you can

BONUS TIP: before you apply vinegar or soap over the stain, first place a dry dish cloth under the fabric to avoid a big wet mess!

Hope these tips help you out! Stains are inevitable,  but now you have the tricks to keep a stain from sticking around!

Now it’s your turn

I bet you have a few good tips too! In the comment below: What stain removing solutions have you discovered?