Little ones love Easter because they know the Easter Bunny will pay them a visit.
They might not understand the true meaning of Easter but they do know it involved a whole lot of chocolate that the Easter Bunny magically leaves in the garden for them to find.
Whether you believe in the Easter Bunny or not, young or old, one thing is certain, chocolate will be consumed.
Which means messy sticky fingers, broken off chocolate bits hiding and melting between your clothing creases and brown smears on couches.
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Chocolate stains, especially dark chocolate, can sometimes be stubborn to remove.
Fortunately we have Cleanipedia, South Africa’s first online, one-stop hub for easy cleaning and organising site, to offer some advice on how to remove chocolate stain from washable and non-washable fabrics.
Washable fabrics
Luckily, with some fast action and a little bit of elbow grease, it’s not too difficult to remove chocolate stains from everyday washable fabrics like cotton, linen, nylon, or polyester.
Scrape or blot away any excess chocolate from stain. Be gentle when doing this, as you don’t want to grind the chocolate further into the clothing fibres.
Flush the back of the stained fabric with cold running water or soda water. Ideally, hold the reverse of the fabric under the tap or — if that’s impossible — saturate the stain with cold water or soda water. This will help loosen the chocolate particles and drive them out of the clothing fibres.
Rub a laundry liquid or dishwashing liquid into the stain. Do this thoroughly (but not too roughly) and make sure the detergent saturates the fabric.
Soak the garment in cold water for 15 minutes, and gently rub at the stain every 3-5 minutes or so. Keep on doing this and rinsing, until the stain is gone. You may need to re-apply more detergent for a particularly tough stain.
If the stain persists, apply a commercial stain remover. Follow the directions.
Launder as usual in the washing machine, and the stain should be gone! If not, repeat steps 2-5. Be sure to check the stain is completely gone before you tumble-dry or iron the garment.
Non-washable fabrics
Acetate, silk, rayon, wool, and other non-washable fabrics may require a more specialised approach to chocolate stain removal. It might be easier to take any clothing to the dry cleaners rather than risking any damage.
Always read your garment care tags first.
Act quickly once your clothes have been stained. The longer you wait to treat chocolate stains, the harder it will be to remove them.
Always use cold water to treat a chocolate stain, as hot water can cause a chocolate stain to set.
When treating as stain, ideally place a clean cloth or paper towel underneath the stain, so it does not spread onto the fabric underneath.
Remember, persistence is key to stain removal! If the stain doesn’t disappear on the first go, try again – stubborn chocolate stains need perseverance! With these easy steps, you now know how to remove chocolate from clothes so you can indulge in chocolate carefree this Easter.