Maybe you have kids who like playing in the garden, or perhaps you live with somebody who plays rugby in all weathers: whatever your circumstances, there is bound to be a point somewhere in your life when you will be faced with horrid, dripping, mud-soaked clothing.
Whilst mud is a naturally occurring substance which is fairly harmless, it can be pretty tough to remove if you don’t set about cleaning it the proper way;
Let’s take a look at the steps you can carry out the next time you end up having to clean up a muddy mess…
Preparation
- Before you attempt to tackle the muddy article, make sure to let it dry out totally; wet mud can be next to impossible to remove effectively, so do yourself a favour and stretch the clothing out somewhere to dry.
- Once your fabric article is bone dry, take it somewhere that you can safely scrape off the dried-in mud without worrying about where the fragments end up dropping: for example, outside in a garden or, if this is not an option, indoors, over a few sheets of newspaper to catch the debris.
- Once in a safe location, use a hard, rounded object, such as a tablespoon, to gently prise the clumps of dirt off the fabric.
- Finish off your work by grabbing a gentle nail brush and give the article a good scrub, to loosen as much of the dried dirt as possible.
Removing the stain
- Squirt some liquid detergent onto the discoloured parts of your article where the dried mud has been removed and gently work it in to the fabric.
- Pour a splash of water onto the stained area.
- Give the stain a good scrub on both sides of the fabric with a clean, soft nail brush: this will help to agitate the fibres and lift ingrained dirt to the surface.
- Repeat as necessary, until no more dirt appears to be coming off as you scrub.
- Prepare a basin of water and toss in a few tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda and a splash of white vinegar.
- Toss the fabric article into the bicarbonate and vinegar solution and let it soak there for half an hour (or longer if the stain has been on the item for a long period of time).
Finishing touches
- Now that the stains have been dealt with, before the article can dry off, drop it in your washing machine;
- Make sure to follow the washing instructions on the label of the fabric and have a read of your washing machine instructions: some machines even come with a special ‘mud wash’ programme, designed to tackle this category of stain.
