Pre-soak for stains
What you’ll need
- Citric Acid
- Cold Water or Hot water
- Container/Bucket
- Rubber Glover
Method
- Mix up a soak solution in a bucket or container with 10-15 grams of Citric Acid per litre of water. Use cold water if you’re tackling a protein stain, so you don’t set the stains.
- Let the clothes soak for a few hours. This technique is best suited for white clothing since Citric Acid can have a mild bleaching effect on coloured or dark clothing and might cause fading over time. It’s also best to avoid using this on delicate fabrics.
- After soaking, put your clothes in the washing machine and wash as usual.
Use for:
Citric Acid is great for removing deodorant stains, sweat, ring around the collar, soap or detergent residue, coffee/tea, or hard water stains. It works well on dirt, mould and mineral deposits as well as on other acid stains (like coffee).Â
Electronic Screens:
Phones, laptops, tablets, televisions, etc., all come with a protective coating to reduce smudges. Citric Acid can break down this layer, revealing the layers meant to be protected.
Sealed Wood:
Citric Acid can degrade the wax sealant, causing the protective layer to break
down and leaving a cloudy appearance. It also makes the surface more susceptible to further damage.
Natural Stone:
Citric Acid can etch or pit stone, granite, marble, and quartz surfaces so it should never be used to clean natural stone surfaces. The enzymes in Citric Acid will break down the delicate surface layer of these materials, corroding slowly over time.
Store Citric Acid sealed tightly, in a cool, dry place, out of reach of children and pets.
Avoid breathing in Citric Acid as it can cause upper respiratory symptoms, always measure out the Citric Acid powder in a well-ventilated area. Whilst Citric acid is found in food items in a small quantity as a preservative if large amounts of Citric Acid are ingested it could cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea.
Citric Acid can irritate your eyes and skin. Take care not to spill the powder and wear rubber gloves when working with this substance.
B&M Pro-Tip:
Sunlight helps to keep whites white and bright, check your clothes after washing if there are any remaining stains, before letting them air dry in the sunshine. If you want to learn more about effective stain removal check out our Stain Removal Blog Post.