"Out, Damned Spot, Out, I Say!"

Of necessity, country people used to be amateur chemists, making their own cleansers, glues, inks, polishes and paints out of common household substances. Some of their concoctions were the products of experimentation; more often they were recipes handed down in the family or community for generations.

Example: Old-time paintmaking methods illustrate the ingenuity of farmers in adapting materials they produced on the farm or could find nearby. As a binder to hold the pigment they used sour milk, buttermilk, eggs, rice, sugar, or linseed oil. Chalk improved covering ability by making the mixture more opaque. Colors were provided by anything from charred potatoes to berries, herbs, barks, and local clays.

Today, many of the old farm and homestead formulas are still useful. Some are the basis of products that are now manufactured, others work as well or better than commercial products, and almost all are less expensive than their hardware store equivalents.

To my family, I am known as the "Spot Doc". When something has an unsightly stain deemed irremovable by them, I am the Doctor they call to make the spot go away. I guess you could just send the kids down the road ...... but, I hope that you will find a much better way to handle the situation by referring to the following information.

Look down this list, and chances are you'll find a tried-and-true recipe to solve your problem.

Always test stain treatments first, on a hidden part of the cloth.

Do not use water any warmer than is recommended on a garment's care label.

The type of fabric and age of stain will affect whether a stain can be removed completely, as well as which treatment works and how quickly.

Delayed treatment, hot water, and machine drying can set stains for good.

Two of my best tip are these:
1. For best results, attack stains right away!
2. Cold water is the first "line of defence" for most stains on washable fabrics.

Ballpoint ink

Who hasn't ever had a stain made by a "Bobby" ballpoint pen? Did I say Bobby? I meant to say "blobby." *grin*
1. Apply hairspray liberally to the stain.
2. Blot: first with a cloth dampened with the solvent and then with a dry cloth.
2. Wash only after all the stain is removed.
(This works especially well on polyester fabrics but I have had good success with other fabrics such as cotton, wool, silk and even leather.)

I read somewhere that ink stains can be removed by soaking in milk and then washing in hot soapy water. (I haven't tried this but it might work.)

Oh, oh, Johnny got into fisticuffs with the town bully today. Would you look at that shirt! Same procedure to remove ketchup.
1. Apply cold water (if stain is dried on, let soak a short time.)
2. If very subborn stain, apply ammonia.
3. Rinse & blot dry.

Fresh blood on leather
1. Dab on a little hydrogen peroxide.
2. After it bubbles, wipe it off.

Good thing it was Toot's jacket wot got it, not her hair!

1. Place garment in a plastic bag and put it in the freezer.
2. Scrape off frozen gum.
3. Apply non-oily nail polish remover or loosen gum by soaking
in white vinegar before laundering.

If Toots rubbed gum in her hair - don't stick her in the freezer! Here's a better solution:
1. Rub a bit of lard or butter in the hair to loosen the gum.
2. Shampoo.

It's hard to say what's worse - the chocolate stain on your favorite skirt or the fact that that delicious morsel has been wasted. While you ponder on that, read these instructions on how to get rid of the stain.

Don't use soap to try to remove this stain! Soap will leave a dirty ring.

1. Blot up or scrape off the excess chocolate.
2. Apply a solution of 1/2 teaspoon mild detergent in 1 pint cool water.
3. Rub gently with a toothbrush.
4. Blot with a clean white towel.

If the stain remains:
1. Apply solution of 1 tablespoon ammonia in 1 cup cool water.
2. Blot with a clean white towel.

If the stain still remains:
1. Use a 50-50 solution of white vinegar and water.
2. Blot again with white towel.

If you are at a restaurant when this happens:
Well, What are You Waiting For?
1. Grab the nearest friend's "clear" soda pop.
2. Run to the washroom to apply, dab and pray. *grin*

Oops! If you drink coffee black, this is a stain you'll want to attend to right now! If the coffee is laced with an abundance of cream, you can usually wait a bit before rushing to clean up.

Black coffee
1. Stretch the stained area over a bowl.
2. Pour cold water or soda water through the stain.

Coffee with cream - wash in cool soapy water as soon as possible.

We once had a neighbor's child slip a crayon into our dryer. It could have been a disaster if the following method had not worked.

1. Place the stained area between clean paper towels.
2. Press with a warm iron.

Druffas just climbed out of the laundry basket. Those were clean clothes! What to do?

1. Rub in a solution of vinegar or lemon juice and warm sudsy water.
2. Blot with a clean white towel.
3. Pour straight club soda over the spot and blot again.
4. Wash as regular laundry.

This same procedure can be used on furniture. (First test on an inconspicuous place for color fastness.)

You are ironing the dress you were saving for that special date when, "Oh, no!" you have set the iron a little too hot and it has left a scorch mark!

1. Don't panic.
2. Remove with equal parts of vinegar and salt.

If the stain is on silk or other delicate fabric it is best to have it professionally cleaned.

I promised that I would try to help anyone writing to me with a stain removal problem. I have had dozens of questions and most of these I have answered by email. I have, however, received this question over and over again and so I will give you a solution here.

When an iron leaves stains on your clothes, the cause could be rust inside the steam chamber or dirt on the ironing surface.

~If the substance stuck on the bottom of the iron is waxy, you should turn the iron onto its highest setting and run it across newspaper until the residue disappears.

~If the substance is oily, then just use a rag wet with ammonia on a cool iron. Then rinse the iron off with some water and the gunk should be gone.

~Vinegar works as a cleaning agent for many irons. Pour some on a clean cloth, and wipe the surface of your cool iron throughly. If that doesn't work, combine vinegar with baking soda. With a soft cloth, scrub the surface of the iron.

~You can get rid of any build-up in the vents of the iron by taking a cotton swab or a pipe cleaner and gently sweeping the residue out of the area. If you attempt to use something of a harsher nature, like a tool or a knife, you could scratch the base of the iron, causing future problems.

~To clean the reservoir of your iron, pour a solution that is one part vinegar to one part water in. Turn the iron on. Allow it to steam (onto a throw-away cloth)for about four minutes. Drain the iron, and be sure to repeat the process with clean water before you iron any clothing items.

Maintaining a clean iron can make the process of ironing clothes move quicker and smoother and eliminate nasty rust stains.

How many of you ladies' husbands has had to tinker with the car engine and neglected to take off that beautiful suede jacket? "Out, damned spot! Out, I say!"

1. Sponge with a cloth dipped in vinegar or club soda.
2. Restore nap of suede by brushing with a suede brush.

(Be careful - don't brush too vigorously - that will ruin the suede.)

That is a funny place to blot your lipstick, but never fear Spot Doc is here.

1. Apply non-oily nail polish remover.
2. Blot and repeat as needed.
or
1. Rub with Vaseline.
2. Wash in hot soapy water.

Sitting on the swing in the evening with a glass of wine is enjoyable until someone decides to "surprise" you with a big push.

This stain traditionally used to be sprinkled with a lot of salt then dunked into cold water to wash the spot out.I have found that it is far better to:

1. Stretch the stained area over a bowl.
2. Pour boiling water through the stain until it is gone.

Hubby's favorite shirt finally made it into the wash!

- Use a small paint brush or toothbrush and brush hair shampoo into soiled shirt collar before laundering.(Shampoo is made to dissolve body oils.)

or
- Mark heavily with chalk. The chalk will absorb the oils and once
the oil is removed, the dirt will come off easily. (This method may
require a few applications if the yellow line has been there for
some time. If the shirt is new, one application should do it.

or
- Apply a paste of vinegar and baking soda. Rub in and wash as
usual. (This method also removes dirt and mildew.)

What came first "Rusty" or the Rust. Rusty fixes things. Old bicycles, clocks and anything else with wheels. Rust always finds its way onto his clothes.

1. Cover the stain with Cream of Tarter.
2. Gather up the ends of the article so that the powder stays on the spot.
3. Dip the entire spot into hot water for about 5 minutes.
4. Ordinary laundering will complete the job.
or
1. Rub with lemon juice/salt.
2. Bleach in sun.
3. Rinse

This cheery, glowing candle is just one of thousands of beautiful pictures created by Will Borden. His comment: "It reflects warmth and vitality to the things around it like a person who radiates positive energy to those around them."

To see more of Will Borden's fine art click here

Wax Removal from linens

1. Scrape off the excess wax.
2. Place a white facial tissue, folded 4 times, over the spot.
3. Press with a warm iron.
Repeat with a clean tissue if necessary.

Wax removal from candleholders

Easy!
1. Place candleholders in the freezer for 15 minutes.
2. Remove from the freezer.
3. Apply a wee bit of pressure to the wax. It will flake off.

You caught Marney running around the lawn in her socks again today.
No problem!

1. Boil water.
2. Add a slice of lemon.
3. Place socks in boiling water and boil for 10 minutes.

Grass Stain
1. Rub in heavy suds(if fresh stain)
or
Sponge with carbon tetrachloride (if stain has set)
If this fails then you'll have to resort to "Bleach for Colorfast Clothes."

I know some people who have given away their silverware away because they just can't stand having to clean it. You don't have to do that! Here are a few ways you can handle this messy job simply and "unmessily." I know that there is no such word ... BUT...

HERE GOES.....

~ Toothpaste (any brand works well). Rub toothpaste onto silverware with one paper towel and using a fresh one polish it off, that's it and it works! l use a toothbrush to get into any small crevices.

~ Rub your silverware with a paste made of wood ash and water, rinse and dry.

~ Line a pan with aluminum foil and fill with water; add a teaspoon each of baking soda and salt. Bring to a boil and immerse silver. Polish with soft cloth. If you have a large quantity....take a piece of aluminum foil and put in the bottom of the sink (enough to cover most of the bottom), then pour 1 T. of regular Baking Soda (Arm & Hammer works well) over it and pour boiling hot water into the sink. Mix water and soda lightly with a wood spoon and then place your silverware in there - the tarnish comes off after about an hour or two of soaking, making it look brand new.

~ Another way to clean silverware (I asume you are talking about real silver) is to use a chamos cloth. They can be found at any instrument/music store and are inexpensive.

A few things you should keep on hand:

~liquid soap
~baking soda
~vinegar
~lemon juice
~shampoo
~salt
~hydrogen peroxide

These are prime ingredients for non toxic, cheap, eco-friendly and effective cleaning solutions.

Seriously, you don't need to waste your money on the expensive stuff when this is waiting for you in your pantry!

Company's coming for dinner this evening. You want to get a jump on the preparations so you pull out your favorite tablecloth. (You know, the one with the pretty passion pink flowers on it.) YIKES! How did those spots get on it! What can you do? How do you protect that colored hand embroidery?

Or

Every year you take out of storage and freshen up the beautiful linens your dear grandmother gave to you. They are precious to you, she had lovingly hand-stitched each piece just for you.

Oh no! "Out, damned spot, out, I say!"
That wasn't there when I put it away!

Below is a picture of a tablecloth presented to me for some major stain removal. This cloth had seen much service at various functions and had many coffee stains engrained in it. I was not sure how long these stains had been there, but I decided to try my "hot water" trick first.

Very few stains came out with this first procedure.

After much deliberation I decided to pull out all the stops, donned an old blouse, rolled up my sleeves and set to solving the problems with (gasp) bleach!

I usually try every other method available to me before I sink to using bleach, but this cloth was really, really stained and it had been, for a long time!

HERE IS WHAT I DID:

~Hung the cloth in a natural light so that all the stains were visible.

~Circled the stained areas with little "brass" pins to define the area.(Leave these pins in for the whole procedure.)

~Outlined the large stained areas with pins.

Please note:

Some of the stains were dotted around the rose patterns so, as you can imagine, I had to be very careful with the bleach in those areas.

Here is a picture of how I marked, with pins, one of the spots where colored embroidery cotton had to be protected.

This is possibly the hardest kind of a spot to remove because Crochet Cotton is so porous.

I poured undiluted bleach for colorfast clothes into a glass bowl.

(I did these steps without wearing rubber gloves.)

~Dipped a cotton swab into the bleach, dabbed it onto a paper towel.

~Traced around the colored area being very careful not to get too close to the colored embroidery cotton. This I repeated a couple of times until the stain was removed.

~Blotted the area with a clean white towel making sure to always use a fresh spot on the towel for each area.

~Rinsed the bleached area..How you rinse the clothe at this time is very important! Make sure that you always run the water away from the colored pattern.

~Hand washed the cloth in warm soapy water and rinsed it again until all of the soap was removed- hung it up to dry, leaving in the pins just in case all the stains were not removed and I had to repeat the process.

When the cloth was thoroughly dry, I went to work removing the spots which didn't have colored stitching.

~Put on some rubber gloves.

~Placed the pin marked areas one at a time into the bowl of bleach for colorfast clothes and left each there for no more than 2 minutes.

~When all the areas had received this treatment, I blotted dry with a clean white towel and then rinsed very thoroughly the bleach from these areas still being very careful not to let the bleachy water run into the colored areas.

~When I was sure that most of the bleach was removed I washed the whole cloth with warm soapy water, rinsed it thoroughly and hung it to dry.

~When the cloth was dry, I hung it in natural light again to ensure that all the stains were gone.

~The stains were all removed. I took out the pins.

Need extra storage in the Laundry Room?

Here is a picture of a space-saving wall-mount laundry shelf. It is a nifty way to tidy your laundry room and get your essentials up off the floor and out of the way.

Something like this should be easy for you handymen to put together for your mate. What a great surprise!

Lots of useful storage in a little space.

Three large open bins organize detergent, bleach, softener and other laundry essentials. Use the top shelf for sundries such as sponges and clothes pins.

There's a place to sort and hang clothes on the steel bar.

If you don't have the tools or inclination you can order it online at:
click here

I'm always on the lookout for better ways to remove stains, using things we may have on hand. Here is an article sent to me the other day. I think you will find some useful tips here. I added it to my list of things to try.

Someone spray painted your vehicle?
Read This!

Water Displacement #40: The product began from a search for a rust preventive solvent and degreaser to protect missile parts. WD-40 was created in 1953 by three technicians at the San Diego Rocket Chemical Company. Its name comes from the project that was to find a 'water displacement' compound. They were successful with the fortieth formulation, thus WD-40. The Conair Company bought it in bulk to protect their Atlas missile parts. Ken East (one of the original founders) says there is nothing in WD-40 that would hurt you.

Here are some of its many uses:

1) Protects silver from tarnishing.
2) Removes road tar and grime from cars.
3) Cleans and lubricates guitar strings.
4) Gives floors that 'just-waxed' sheen without making it slippery.
5) Keeps flies off cows.
6) Restores and cleans chalkboards.
7) Removes lipstick stains.
8) Loosens stubborn zippers.
9) Untangles jewelry chains.
10) Removes stains from stainless steel sinks.
11) Removes dirt and grime from the barbecue grill
12) Keeps ceramic/terra cotta garden pots from oxidizing.
13) Removes tomato stains from clothing.
14) Keeps glass shower doors free of water spots. It's the only thing that has ever cleaned that spotty shower door. If yours is plastic, it works just as well as on glass. It's a miracle!
15) Camouflages scratches in ceramic and marble floors.
16) Keeps scissors working smoothly.
17) Lubricates noisy door hinges on vehicles and doors in homes.
18) Removes black scuff marks from the kitchen floor! Use WD-40 for those nasty tar and scuff marks on flooring. It doesn't seem to harm the finish and you won't have to scrub hard to get them off. Just remember to open some windows if you have a lot of marks.
19) Bug smush will eat away the finish on your car if not removed quickly! Use WD-40!
20) Gives a children's play gym slide a shine for a super fast slide.
21) Lubricates gear shift and mower deck lever for ease of handling on riding mowers.
22) Rids kids rocking chairs and swings of squeaky noises.
23) Lubricates tracks in sticking home windows and makes them easier to open.
24) Spraying an umbrella stem makes it easier to open and close.
25) Restores and cleans padded leather dash boards in vehicles, as well as vinyl bumpers.
26) Restores and cleans roof racks on vehicles.
27) Lubricates and stops squeaks in electric fans.
28) Lubricates wheel sprockets on tricycles, wagons, and bicycles for easy handling.
29) Lubricates fan belts on washers and dryers and keeps them running smoothly.
30) Keeps rust from forming on saws and saw blades, and other tools.
31) Removes splattered grease on stove.
32) Keeps bathroom mirror from fogging.
33) Lubricates prosthetic limbs.
34) Keeps pigeons off the balcony (they hate the smell).
35) Removes all traces of duct tape.
36) Folks even spray it on their arms, hands, and knees to relieve arthritis pain.
37) In the state of Florida it cleans and removes love bugs from grills and bumpers.
38) The favorite use in the state of New York WD-40 protects the Statue of Liberty from the elements.
39) WD-40 attracts fish. Spray a LITTLE on live bait or lures and you will be catching the big one in no time. Also, it's a lot cheaper than the chemical attractants that are made for just that purpose. Keep in mind though, using some chemical laced baits or lures for fishing are not allowed in some areas.
40) Use it for fire ant bites. It takes the sting away immediately and stops the itch.
41) WD-40 is great for removing crayon from walls. Spray on the mark and wipe with a clean rag.
42) Also, if you've discovered that your teenage daughter has washed and dried a tube of lipstick with load of laundry, saturate the lipstick spots with WD-40 and re-wash. Presto! Lipstick is gone!
43) If you sprayed WD-40 on the distributor cap, it would displace the moisture and allow the car to start.

Try it on your stovetop. Voila! It's now shinier than it's ever been. You'll be amazed!

P S. The basic ingredient is FISH OIL.

The heating unit went out on my dryer! The repairman who fixes things around the house for me told me that he wanted to show me something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load of clothes.)

He took the filter over to the sink, ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material - I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like.? Well,...the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all!

He told me that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free -- that nice fragrance too, you know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box, well that stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. It is also what causes dryer units to catch fire & potentially burn your house down!

He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (& to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out & wash it with hot soapy water & brush)at least every six months.
He said that makes the life of the dryer last at least twice as long!

I certainly didn't know dryer sheets would do that and perhaps you don't either. So, I thought I'd share! This information is also backed up by the following YouTube.

Laughter is good for you

What is a Clothes dryer? (kloze dri*yer) n. An appliance designed to eat socks.

Ignorance is bliss
I'm working on a whirlpool electric dryer, terminal cracked. I start removing the power cord and the lady of the house stops and says, "Aren't you afraid you'll electrocute yourself?" So I say,"No maam, I have the dryer unplugged." So she says" what about the electricity left in the cord?" (grin) So I say,
"I drained that back into my laptop." I was planning on following that with a short explanation of basic electrical concepts but she says,"Well that's good, I wouldn't want it to start a fire back there."

Reducing Static Cling

Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress.

The same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose.
Place pin in seam of slacks and -- Ta DA! -- static is gone.

"A penny saved is a penny earned." An old saying, but very true.

1. Don't consign a stained or torn tablecloth to the rag bin. Instead, cut out an unmarred panel and hem it for use as a table runner; then cut out some smaller sections to turn into matching place mats or napkins. Use fabric paint to add your own touch. If the cloth is lint-free linen, you can make dish towels from it, too. You're limited only by your imagination.

2. Fabric paints, sold at craft stores and hobby shops, enable you to give new life to old sweatshirts, jeans, or sneakers you might otherwise throw away. Paint colorful designs or emblazon the clothes with your name.

Treat fruit stains with boiling water.
Treat almost all other stains with cold water.
If in doubt as to what made the stain or if the material is delicate, take to a professional cleaner.

I sincerely hope that this lens will help all of you other "Spot Docs" out there.

The other day I was eating in an Italian restaurant when I accidentally spilled some spaghetti sauce on my favorite white sweater.

I wasn't too distressed, though, because Mr. Wong down on High Street has been doing my laundry for years, and I knew that he could remove just about any stain and get it out like it'd never been there.

So I took the sweater down to Wong's Laundry and dropped it off; Mr. Wong said he'd probably be able to have it cleaned by Thursday. So on Thursday afternoon after work I stopped by Wong's again.

Mr. Wong looked quite distressed when he saw me. He brought out the sweater and, apologizing profusely, explained that somehow this stain was beyond even his power to expunge.

And sure enough, though fainter than before, there was still a distinct red stain on the sweater. In an attempt to make up for his failure, Mr. Wong offered to send the sweater to his brother across town, who had been in the laundry business for an even longer time, and who might have a clue as to the method of removal of this extraordinarily persistent stain.

The elder Wong brother would rush it through at no extra charge, and should have it looking as white and clean as new by Friday. So on Friday I went back to Wong's to pick up my sweater, but when I arrived, Mr. Wong regretfully informed me that his brother, too, had failed to remove the red blotch. "No charge," said Wong, "but you must take sweater elsewhere to clean."

The Moral: ... Two Wongs cannot make a white.

Here are a few suggestions of what to do if you have followed the advice of the Spot Doc and nothing works.

Blood - Spill more blood around area of stain so it won't stand out as much.

Grass - Write the name of your liquid detergent on stain. Wash. Hold up to camera, and show off the unbelievable results.

Coffee - Rub cream and sugar into stain. Apply oral suction. Enjoy rich, robust coffee-stain flavor.

Wine - Apply mixture of 1/2 rum and 1/2 Coke to self until you no longer care about some little annoying stain.

Chewing Gum - Using permanent marker, draw dotted line around stain. Cut carefully on dotted line.

Nail Polish - Nail-polish stains are actually quite lovely. Why not leave them in for a pleasing "homecrafted" look?

Print this off and keep it in your laundry room.

Rubbing alcohol: is great for grass stains.

Ammonia: The perspiration stain fighter.

Automatic dishwasher detergent: Keep this on hand as a bleach substitute and whitener/ brightener even if you don't have a dishwasher. Liquid, powder, and tablet form all work well. If you choose the tablet, make sure it has dissolved before you add clothes. Pour directly on stain, or soak.

Baking soda: Removes odors.

Club soda: My favorite ... Oh my gosh, how did I do that? spotter. Use it on any fabric or surface that can be treated with water. A slight dabbing on dry-clean-only fabrics is also permissible, just be sure to test first! Use club soda on any spill .. ask the waiter for some if you're dining out .. dab it on and blot it off. Club soda keeps spills from becoming stains and brings the offending spill to the surface so it can be easily removed. It's totally safe. I always make sure to have a bottle on hand.

Cream of tartar: I bet you have some of this in the kitchen cupboard, but how often do you use it? Well, here's your chance. Mix cream of tartar with lemon juice and you have a wonderful bleach for white clothes with food spots or other stains. It's even effective on many rust stains.

Denture cleaning tablets: The cure-all for white table linen food stains and white cotton with stains. Dissolve one tablet per 1/2 cup water. Pour directly on stain or spot.

Dishwashing liquid: A wonderful spotter, used undiluted on tough stains.

Glycerin: You can remove tar, tree sap, juice stains, mustard, ketchup and barbecue sauce.

Waterless Hand Cleaner: Totally awesome for removing grease and oil, including shoe polish.

Hydrogen peroxide: is super for removing bloodstains, especially if they are fairly fresh. It also is a wonderful bleaching agent for stubborn stains on white clothes. Combine 1/2 cup of hydrogen peroxide and 1 teaspoon of ammonia for an unbeatable stain removal combination. Make sure to use 3 percent and not the kind you use to bleach your hair!

Lemon juice: This is nature's bleach and disinfectant. I don't know where we'd be without it. Spots on white clothes .. apply some lemon juice and lay them in the sun. Apply a little more lemon juice prior to laundering, or prespray and launder as usual. This is really effective on baby formula stains.

Meat tenderizer: A combo of meat tenderizer (unseasoned, please, or you'll have a whole new stain!) and cold water is just the answer to protein-based stains such as blood, milk, etc.

Salt: Sprinkling salt on spilled red wine will keep the wine from staining until you can launder it. Mixed with lemon juice, salt will remove mildew stains.

Shampoo: Any brand will do. Cheap is fine. I save the small bottles from hotel/motel stays and keep them in the laundry room. Great for treating ring-around-the-collar, mud and cosmetic stains.

Shaving cream: That innocent-looking can of shaving cream in your bathroom is one of the best spot and stain removers available. That's because it's really whipped soap! If you have a spill on your clothes (or even your carpet), moisten the spot, work in some shaving cream, and then flush it with cool water. If the offending spot is on something you're wearing, work the shaving cream in and then use a clean cloth (a washcloth works fine) to blot the shaving cream and the spot away. A quick touch of the blow-dryer to prevent a ring and you're on your way. The best thing about shaving cream is that even if it doesn't work it won't set the stain, so the spot can still be removed later. Keep a small sample can in your suitcase when you travel. It's saved me more than once!

WD-40 Lubricant: Check out your garage or the "fix-it" cupboard. If you don't have any, pick up a can the next time you're at the hardware store or home center. Why? Because we've all had those nasty grease stains and oil stains on clothes: Salad dressing misses the salad and gets the blouse, or grease splatters when you are cooking -- or crayon or lipstick gets on your clothes! WD-40 is your answer. Spray some on, wait 10 minutes, and then work in undiluted liquid dishwashing soap and launder as usual. Works well on everything except silk!

White vinegar: A great spotter for suede .. used undiluted. It's also a wonderful fabric softener. Just put 1/4 cup white vinegar in the final rinse.

I have not listed all of the above suggestions here but, hopefully, the ones most useful.

By using these suggestions .. you too can be the family "Spot Doc."