How to Remove Stubborn Cherry Stains From Clothes and Sofas
I can’t stand cherries. Not that they taste – they’re great – although I never once thought, “Oh my gosh, I can’t wait to dig into my bowl of cherries.” It is their ability, unparalleled among fruits, to stain surfaces, clothes, faces and fingers almost in plain sight, which literally penetrates my skin. (Especially in the hands of small children who eat cherries in my house in an unreasonably casual way. Does the first bite have to be on your shirt and pants? Come on, dude. Take it easy.)
And why are they colored like that? “Just like red wine and many other berries, cherries contain tannin, a chemical that is often used as an agent for fabric dyes,” Becca Napelbaum, executive assistant at Handy , told The Kitchn . This puts cherry stains on par with red wine stains in terms of the difficulty of removing them.
Since we can’t expect kids to eat cherries responsibly anytime soon, and even adults have their mishaps with cherries, let’s talk about how to get the dreaded cherry stain out of your fabrics.
How to remove cherry stain from clothes
The first rule is to clean it up as quickly as possible – handling it quickly increases your chances of removing it. The second rule is never rub it in. This will only force the color to penetrate deeper into the fabric. And the third rule? Cold water. (At least at first.) After you’ve scraped off the cherry pieces with a dull knife, rinse the inside of the garment under cold water to push the dye out of the fibers.
However, there is a difference in how fresh and old stains are treated. If the stain is already ingrained in the fabric, Napelbaum recommends breaking it down first by saturating the stain with a natural acid, such as lemon juice or vinegar, before rinsing—again, on the side that wasn’t directly exposed.
Apply the prewash stain remover with a soft-bristled brush and leave on for at least 15 minutes. (If you don’t have a stain remover on hand, try regular laundry detergent or a paste made from baking soda and water .) Then wash in the hottest water recommended for the fabric. Make sure the stain has been removed before drying, as the heat can set the stain permanently.
(If the cloth is dry-clean only, blot the area with a paper towel or white cloth to remove as much liquid as possible before taking it to the dry cleaner. If the cloth is white cotton or linen, according to The Spruce , “Mix a solution of bleach and warm water in a bucket or sink following package directions. Completely submerge soiled items and let soak for 30 minutes or as recommended.”)
How to remove cherry stains from carpet and upholstery
A similar process can be used when cleaning carpets and upholstery – just be careful not to get your sofa cushions too wet as this can lead to mold.
First, use a white cloth to blot the damp stain, working from the outside in to reduce the spread of the stain. You can use commercial upholstery cleaners or make your own cleaning solution with one teaspoon of liquid dish soap and two cups of warm water. (You can also add a few tablespoons of vinegar to it.) Dip a white cloth into the solution and use it to blot the stain, swirling constantly to clean areas of the cloth until the paint no longer soaks through.
(For white carpets or sofas, apply a few drops of hydrogen peroxide and let sit for an hour before getting wet.)
Cherry spots on fingers
If after you painstakingly remove all the panic-inducing and suffocating seeds that are inside the cherry so your kids can enjoy this all-American holiday of stains, washing with soap and water still leaves your hands reddish purple, you might want to try rubbing your hands. . hands with lemon juice. If that doesn’t help, use nail polish remover. Or you could just lean towards meanness and ban all cherries from your house.