My mum used undiluted oil of cloves to clean her new shower cabinet , PVC shower liner . She saw this tip on a TV show but missed the bit about diluting it,  anyway it has caused some ugly brown stains down the liner and on the shower tray and as yet nothing I have tried will touch it . Any hints or help hear will be greatly received . Thanks P.C. (name supplied)

If the fabric is cotton or similar, squeeze a lemon and gently rub the juice into the scorch stain.  Rinse and leave to dry in the sun.

If you don’t have a lemon handy, try dampening a cloth with white vinegar and rubbing that gently across the scorch stain.  Rinse with cold water and dry in the sun.

These methods work best on lighter coloured items.

The key like treating any stain is to get to work on removing the stain as soon as possible before the stain sets in.

If it is a blood stain, dampen the stain with cold salty water and dab with a sponge or damp cloth until the stain has gone.

Urine stains can be sponged with dishwashing liquid diluted with water, then rinse thoroughly.

A hairdryer is good for drying the damp spots. Make sure you keep drying for a long time after the damp area seems to be dry because it is likely to be damp underneath and that dampness won’t become noticeable until someone is sleeping on the mattress again.  A child won’t notice any remaining dampness and yet that can cause colds and simliar illness later.

It is easy to remove mildew as it is killed by sunlight or frost.

If you have mildew on your curtains or drapes, take them down and hang them on  the washing line or drape them over a balcony or chairs outside on a sunny day.  If that doesn’t work, try leaving them outside on a frosty night.

For a really bad dose of mildew, you may need to use diluted bleach ( try it on a corner first in case it takes the colour out ).

Another solution is to dampen the mildew stain and then cover with baking soda. leave for a few minutes, then rinse off.  This will only work on washable stuff.  Lemon juice is another option – gently rub the lemon into the mildew stain, leave for a few minutes and rinse it out.

Leave to dry in the sun or overnight when it is frosty.

Blot up as much of the orange puddle as possible with an old towel or paper towels. Then dilute the remaining stain with cold water and blot up the excess water, again using an old towel.

If there is still a stain, make a pad of an old rag or a folded paper towel.  Dampen with a little dishwashing detergent and water.  Cover the stain with the pad and leave until the stain is soaked up into the pad.  Replace the pad from time to time if necessary.

When all signs of the stain have gone, flush the area with cold water to dilute the detergent mixture and blot up the excess moisture with an old towel.   Repeat if necessary.

Try to keep people from walking on the damp area until it is completely dry.

This will work for most soft drink stains.  If this doesn’t completely work, its best to contact a professional carpet cleaning company. 

And remember it’s always easier to remove a fresh stain and a dried out stain.

All is not lost - there are several ways of dealing with this and with other stains on carpets.

Start on any stain on the carpet with a dry paper towel or old cloth and blot up the worst of the stain, especially if it is liquid.

Try not to rub the stain too hard at any stage of the cleaning process as this my push the stain further into the carpet fibres.

It is always best to attack a stain when it is fresh as it is easier to remove when the stain hasn’t set.  Unfortunately this isn’t always possible.

Red wine
A well tried solution is to pour salt on to the red wine, leave for up to 30 minutes then blot up with an old cloth or paper towel.

Or you can pour cold water on the stain until it disappears, then mop up the water with old towels.  If you have a crowd in the house, this may work better than salt as you can leave the towels on the floor so guests don’t keep walking on the stained area and adding dirt to it.

Stop press.  See comments at the end of this post for another remedy for red wine spills.  ↓

Greasy marks
If the stain is fresh and damp, cover with baking soda, leave to dry for up to 30 minutes ( no longer or the baking soda will cake) and vacuum.

If the stain is dry, you may need to soften it with warm water, then apply baking soda and vacuum when dry.

Urine
First try the baking soda treatment as for greasy marks. If this isn’t effective, then try a mixture of 3 parts white vinegar to 1 part liquid detergent and dab on the stain.  Leave for 15 minutes then rinse and blot dry with an old towel.

Tea and coffee (black)
For a fresh stain from black tea or coffee without milk, saturate the stain with cold water, then blot up the excess moisture with old cloths or towels.

If the stain needs more treatment, try:

1 litre warm water
a few drops of kitchen detergent
1 tablespoon white vinegar

Blot gently with a soft cloth and remove excess moisture with an old towel.
Leave to dry.

Tea and coffee (milky)
If there was milk in the drink, you have to deal with protein (in the milk). Protein sets with warmth so you must only use cold liquids to remove the stain.

Saturate the stain with cold water, then blot up the excess moisture with old cloths or towels.

If the stain needs more treatment, try:

1 litre cold water
a few drops of kitchen detergent
1 tablespoon white vinegar

Blot gently with a soft cloth and remove excess moisture with an old towel

Vomit
While this it not the most enticing topic, vomit stains are not uncommon where there are young children, dogs or cats.

Scrape off as much of the vomit  as possible.

Pour cold water onto the stain. Leave for 30 seconds.

Blot the vomit stain with a clean dry cloth, soaking up the stain. Replace the cloth as it becomes wet. Repeat until no more vomit stain will come up.  Leave to dry

If there is still a stain when the carpet is dry, try a mixture of 3 parts white vinegar to 1 part liquid detergent and dab on the stain.  Leave for 15 minutes then rinse and blot dry with an old towel.

 Blood
If garment is washable, soak it in cold water to absorb the blood. 

If blood has dried, you may need to apply white vinegar to dampen the stain, then gently rub in some salt.  Leave for 15 minutes and rinse.  Repeat if necessary.

If you are left with a water mark on the garment, wash the whole garment and the water mark will disappear.

 Chewing gum
Cover the chewing gum with cooking oil and gently dab the oil over the gum

Wash the garment to remove the oil residue

 Grass
Dampen the stain with cold water, then cover with a laundry detergent that has enzymes added.

Rub the powder into the water so you have a paste over the stain.

Leave for several hours and wash as usual with more of the enzyme loaded detergent.

Dry in the sun.

 Ink (Liquid)

Soak as soon as possible in cold milk.

Rinse away the milk and wash as normal

 Ink (ballpoint)

Dampen with white vinegar and coat with baking soda. Rub in gently and leave for 30 minutes.

 Red wine
Dowse with cold water until stain disappears then wash as normal.

Rust
Rub a cut lemon over the stain. 

Cover stain with salt and rub in gently. 

Leave for up to one hour, rinse and repeat if necessary.

Alternatively use baking soda instead of salt.

Where the oil has dried, you will need a bucket of hot soapy water and a very stiff scrubbing brush and a good dose of elbow grease (a.k.a. hard rubbing!).  If the oil is caked on, use an old paint scraper first.

Failing that, you can buy cans of engine degreaser spray from most automotive stores. Be careful when using the spray – ensuring no over spray gets on cars, animals, kids etc and always read the safety instructions on the can before use. Use the soapy water to remove degreaser residue and if possible, hose it off the concrete.

If all else fails, talk to your local automotive store and see what they recommend.

To clean and polish stainless steel, moisten a paper towel or a soft cloth with undiluted white  vinegar and wipe clean. This will remove the film and leave the stainless steel shining.

If vinegar alone does not remove stains, spray your baking soda and vinegar cleaning solution on to a soft cloth and rub gently. You will find that heat and other stains will disappear

Baking soda and vinegar will work for stainless steel cutlery, a stainless steel kitchen sink or stainless steel saucepans