THINGS YOUR LAUNDRYMAN WOULD NEVER TELL YOU 3

HOW TO REMOVE PLANTAIN SAP STAINS 

FROM CLOTHES 

Plantain stains? Does that sound familiar? At some time you must have had some nasty experience with plantains/unripe bananas, unless you never had anything to do with the kitchen. During peeling, plantains and unripe bananas ooze a white sap that turns brown on exposure to air. This can wreak serious havoc on cloth and cooking utensils. On cooking utensils, rubbing oil on the utensil before washing off with liquid soap can help. But on clothes, plantain stains are usually permanent and cannot be removed by common washing detergent. But there is hope. Below are 4 different ways on how to remove them easily by yourself.

1. Alcohol: According to an article by LifeTips.com, alcohol is known to remove chlorophyll and other botanical stains. Depending on the type of fabric, alcohol may not completely remove the plantain/banana stain, but it may fade it so it appears less conspicuous. Soak the stained cloth in a bowl filled with rubbing alcohol for half an hour. Then wash the garment as usual on the warmest setting recommended for the fabric. If the plantain stained a small spot on the fabric, dab the spot with rubbing alcohol several times before washing.
2. Lemon Juice: According to Useful Cooking Tips, remove plantain stains can be removed from the hands by applying lemon juice. Likewise for clothing, apply lemon juice to the affected area(s), allow the lemon juice to dry on the clothing before washing off in warm water.

NB: Lemon juice can bleach some coloured garments, as such, you may want to test a small area before dousing your garment.

3. Vinegar: Here we come again with vinegar. Because of its high acidity, vinegar is effective in removing most difficult stains from fabrics. Soak the stain in a solution of equal parts white vinegar and warm water. After soaking the fabric, apply the vinegar directly to the stain. Then wash the garment as you normally would use your preferred laundry soap and warm water.
4. Salt: According to the Indian Beauty Blog, plantain or raw banana sap stains can be removed by immersing the stained fabric in concentrated salt solution. Allow the garment to soak for two to four hours, and then wash it in warm water.

Do not hesitate to comment if you got any other home tips to add on removing plantain/banana sap stains from clothing. 

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