Mrs. Fixit:Valentine's Day

February 8, 2009

If you got flower's you want them to last, but flowers only come with one pack of preservative.

How can you replicate it? Well, preservatives have three main components sugar for food, citric acid for controlling the ph and an antibacterial ingredient to kill germs.

To make your own: a capful of hydrogen peroxide or bleach will take care of the antibacterial. And for the sugar and citirc acid it's a two-fer, a tablespoon of powdered lemonade mix has them both!

How about chocolate covered strawberries? If you have chocolate on your clothes, scrape away as much as you can with a dull knife, then working from the back of the fabric rub white shaving cream into the spot with a soft bristed toothbrush. This method should push the stain back out of the fabric.

As for the strawberries, lay the item over a sieve in the sink. Then pour boiling water over the stain, through the sieve. It will loosen and remove the stain in short order. This also works well on red wine stains.

Champagne stains can be treated with club soda. It contains both sodium and carbonation these elements work together to keep the spill from becoming a stain.

As with any stain removal tip, make sure you test the item in an inconspicuous spot to make sure that the solution won't damage the fabric! I'm Mrs. Fixit and it's just that simple.

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