You probably know how to clean a range of stains using a range of cleaning products, both natural and commercial. You know that the best way to remove blood from fabric is to use cold water, and that meths and/or eucalyptus oil removes grass stains from the knees of small boys’ trousers (and bigger boys’ trousers, too). But do you know what not to do? Have you been guilty of the biggest stain removal sins or are you a stain saint? It’s confession time!

Cleaning Chemicals

Reaching for the cleaning products first of all is a sin. I guess many of us are guilty of this one. After all, if you spill something on the carpet, it’s best to attack it with the strongest cleaning solution you have, right? Wrong! Instead, you should try to scrape, blot or sweep up as much of the spill or stain as you possibly can. Then you call in the cavalry.

Using hot water as a default

Hot water certainly makes soap lather more readily, and hot water also melts fats and oils so they can be washed or cleaned away more easily. While this is fine for some things – and boiling water does make a great natural disinfectant – hot water and heat of any sort is highly likely to set stains. Never mind that domestic cleaning guru Mrs Beeton recommended boiling water for carpet cleaning – for one thing, you’ll burn your fingers and in the second place, you can set the stain. And for some surfaces, you’ll make the problem worse by damaging the finish, which is the case for wood in particular. Always think before you get out the steamy stuff – even professional cleaners know better than to just barge in.

Using the wrong cleaning product

Soap’s great, but it won’t clean everything. Vinegar kills mould, but used neat, it can remove the finish off wood. Olive oil cleans leather but stains cloth. Chlorine bleach won’t harm the loo seat or the bottom of the bath (but it will harm your fingers so use gloves if you insist on using chlorine bleach for your house cleaning) but it will wreak irreparable havoc on your clothes, curtains and carpets. If you’re not sure how to clean a certain sort of stain or which cleaning product to use for what, then either call in the professional cleaners or get reading in a book or online.

Scrubbing like mad all over the place

Spot cleaning should be just that: done in a spot. If you use too much cleaning product and scrub too vigorously, you run the risk of doing two things. Firstly, you can spread the stain wider. The golden rule is to start at the outer rim of the stain and work towards the middle. Secondly, you can wreck the surface of whatever you’re scrubbing. If a stain doesn’t yield to gentle scrubbing and you’re tempted to scrub harder, don’t. And don’t use a wire brush for anything except removing paint prior to redecorating. Trust me on this one.

Procrastination

Too many people just leave stains (especially on the carpet) for a big once-yearly spring cleaning when they hire a steam cleaning machine. Even worse are those who wait until the end of tenancy cleaning before acting. Never ignore a stain. The sooner you get onto it, the less damage it is likely to do and the easier it is.