Enjoy the Season’s Last Cookouts!

Labor Day weekend heralds the official end of summer for most folks—the kids head back to school, the days grow shorter, and temps start falling, too. But there’s plenty of time to warm up the old grill for a few more cookouts. So when your sauce goes squirt on your favorite shirt, here’s how to stop the spot:

• If the stain is greasy, squirt some grease-cutting dishwashing liquid on the spot. Make a paste with dishwashing liquid and baking soda, and work it in with a toothbrush if the stain is extra-stubborn.
• Slice through grease stains with a dab of shampoo for oily hair. There’s no need to let it set for a while—the shampoo will do its stuff during the wash cycle.
• If you accidentally tossed a ketchup-stained garment into the dryer, try rubbing glycerin into the spot (on both sides of the fabric) with your fingers. Wait about 15 minutes, then launder the item in cold water.
• Remove a dried mustard stain with…mustard! It may seem like backwards logic, but the fresh stuff will help lift the dye out of the fibers, so the cleaner you use for the next step won’t have such a tough task. Use the same kind of mustard as the original stain, and squeeze a dab right onto the spot. Let it sit for about a minute, and then rinse the spot with warm water. Rub some liquid laundry detergent into the stain, wait about 10 minutes, and launder the item as usual.
• Red wine stains can be remedied by blotting on white wine while the spill is fresh. You can also pour club soda on the stain; the fizzy bubbles will lift out the red wine in a hurry. Wait a few minutes, and then blot up the excess moisture with paper towels.