Messes happen. When you’re camping, that fact is true tenfold! Instead of trying to control both the landscape around you and basic human nature, check out this ultimate stain removal cheat sheet! We’ve included common messes you’ll more than likely encounter while RVing, as spending time outside around a campfire is basically asking for a stain to happen!
Things To Remember
When a stain occurs, it’s important to act fast! Set-in stains are a lot harder to remove than fresh ones! It’s also imperative to carefully remove any excess material that made the stain, as if you try to dilute liquid onto it, it will spread the stain!
Oils
There are so many instances in which you might come into contact with oil while in or around your RV! From motorhomes motor oil to cooking oil in the kitchen, there’s a lot of opportunity for stains!
What you’ll need:
-
- Powdery substance like chalk, baby powder, or cornstarch
-
- Dish soap
-
- Heavy duty laundry detergent
First, saturate the stain with your powdery substance and press it into the stain. Baby powder should be left overnight, while chalk and corn starch will only take about ten minutes. Brush off the powder before washing on a heavy duty wash cycle. Dish soap is also a great alternative to powders. Pour it over the stain and let it soak in for about five minutes. Rinse with lukewarm water and repeat if necessary. If you have a rig that has a washer/dryer option, like this gorgeous Berkshire XL 40B-380 Class A motorhome, and you’re able to wash the garment right away, soak the stain with heavy duty laundry detergent and rub into the stain vigorously and put it in the wash immediately.
Beer/Wine
Did you accidentally spill some beer or wine while relaxing around the campfire? It happens! Luckily these stains aren’t too hard to remove!
What you’ll need:
-
- Dish or hand soap
-
- White vinegar
-
- Rubbing alcohol
-
- Enzyme presoak laundry liquid
Make a solution of one quart lukewarm water and a couple pumps of liquid soap and soak the garment in it for about 10-15 minutes. Rinse, then use a sponge to lightly dab rubbing alcohol onto the stain, starting from the middle and moving out to the edge of the stain. Prepare a solution of a quart of water and a tablespoon of the enzyme presoak and let it soak for another 30 minutes. Wash clothes in a normal cycle to see if the stain is completely gone. Repeat steps if it is not.
Ashes/Charcoal
With campfires and grills everywhere, it’s possible that you may get a stain from some ash or charcoal while RV camping! This one is really simple!
What you’ll need:
-
- Laundry detergent
Carefully remove any access charcoal and try not to spread it to any of the other fabric. If your RV happens to have a vacuum on board, that works great. Mix together about a tablespoon of laundry detergent with two cups of warm water. Use a clean white cloth (no colors) and dip it into the solution, then dab the material with the solution until the stain is gone.
Barbecue Sauce
If your campfire dinner decides to fight back and coat you in some colorful barbecue sauce, don’t fear! There won’t be leftovers once you’re done with this stain!
What you’ll need:
-
- Laundry detergent
-
- White vinegar
-
- Laundry pretreatment
First, saturate the stain with laundry detergent and let it sit for about five minutes, then rinse completely. Blot the stain with white vinegar, then rinse again. Continue these two steps until you remove as much of the stain as you can. Use the laundry pretreatment as per the package instructions, then launder. One way to avoid nasty barbecue stains on your favorite camping clothes is to ditch the BBQ sauce recipes and instead try something different, like these delicious Stuffed Peppers you make over hot campfire coals.
Cola
We know how kids can get when they have too much soda, so if they get a little too hyper and spill some cola on their clothing, it won’t be hard to remove it!
What you’ll need:
-
- Laundry detergent
-
- White vinegar
Combine a mixture of one quart of warm water, half a teaspoon of detergent, and a tablespoon of white vinegar. Soak for 15 minutes, then rinse and launder. If some stain remains, use a laundry pretreatment product!
Sap
Exploring in nature while camping can get you into some sticky situations! Sap is such a pain, but it doesn’t have to ruin your favorite hiking clothes!
What you’ll need:
-
- Ice (in a sandwich bag)
-
- Butter knife or putty knife
-
- Rubbing alcohol
-
- Heavy duty laundry detergent
-
- Laundry stain remover pretreatment
Try to remove as much sap as possible without spreading it to other areas. Place ice in a sandwich bag and rub the area with ice. This will help to harden the sap and make it brittle. Use your knife to pry the sap off. For any leftover sap, dab it with rubbing alcohol and a white cloth until all residue is gone. To treat the stain, saturate with heavy duty laundry detergent and let it sit for several minutes. Pretreat with a stain remover, then launder. *Use peanut butter on leather items. Massage onto sap to remove.
Ketchup/Mustard
When roast-your-own-weenie night turns into an explosion of color, you’ll be ready to combat stains with no problem!
What you’ll need:
-
- Heavy duty laundry detergent
-
- Laundry stain remover
-
- Liquid bleach (optional)
-
- Color remover (optional)
Use the laundry detergent to pretreat the stain. Let sit for about ten minutes, then rinse. Use a laundry stain remover according to the package instructions and launder. If this does not work, repeat the process. For white or colorfast clothing (clothing dyed in colors that won’t fade or wash out), use a chlorine bleach solution or a commercial color remover to totally remove the stain.
Blood
We sincerely hope that your camping trip doesn’t come to this, but if anyone gets a booboo and bleeds on their clothing, act fast! Of course, you should make sure that your loved one is ok first, but the sooner you treat blood stains, the better! Even the most sure-footed campers can stumble upon an injury while camping, like tripping over a log when engrossed in birdwatching.
What you’ll need:
-
- Hairspray, -or-
-
- Lemon juice
-
- Salt
First, if the blood stain hasn’t dried, rinse it from the opposite side of the fabric with COLD water. Make sure you do not use warm water, as it will encourage the stain to set and it will be harder to remove. If stain still remains, spray with hairspray and let it sit for a few minutes, then wipe with a damp cloth. For more set-in stains, soak the clothing in cold water, then place in a plastic bag with two cups of lemon juice and a half cup of salt. Let the solution soak into the clothing for a few minutes, then wring it out and hang on a clothesline at your campsite for a day until it is completely dry, then launder. It seems odd, but this pseudo bloody Mary vs. margarita process works! We hope that this ultimate stain removal cheat sheet will help you through some stained and strained camping situations! They’re really helpful for RV camping, as messes are almost guaranteed! Don’t have an RV to make a mess in? We have plenty of amazing motorhomes for sale at Motorhomes 2 Go! Leave us a comment with any other helpful stain remover tips. We’d love to hear them!
