It happens every year: Summer hits and you're hyped to wear white again, so you throw on a cute outfit with some white jeans. Then, disaster strikes. Chocolate ice cream drips off the cone. Salsa falls off a chip en route to your mouth. Coffee spills in your lap. Your period shows up unannounced. A pen explodes in your pocket. You learn your lesson and throw them in the back of your closet for the rest of the summer, mostly because you have absolutely no idea how to get stains out of white jeans.
Good news for you — that cycle ends today. Behold this awesome DIY stain remover that my aunt found a while back and my family has been using ever since. It'll work not only on your white jeans, but on any clothing item with any type of stain imaginable. And the best part is that you can make it right now with products you already have at home.
To prove to you that this stain remover really is the sh*t, I whipped out a pair of too-small white jean shorts to operate on. Let's pretend I managed to get the trifecta of stains—Cheeto dust (top), chocolate syrup (bottom), and ketchup (right)—all on my shorts over the course of a day. This is something that would actually probably happen to me, so don't be too alarmed.
Instead of panicking, I would simply traipse to the kitchen to retrieve my three life-saving ingredients: Dawn dish soap, 3 percent hydrogen peroxide, and baking soda.
Step 1: One Part Dawn
One "part" simply means any unit of measurement—cup, pint gallon, etc. That being said, hopefully you do not get a stain so large it requires three gallons of DIY stain remover. In this example, I used one tablespoon of Dawn.
Step 2: Two Parts Hydrogen Peroxide
As with Dawn, add two tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide
Step 3: Add Baking Soda
You don't need a lot, so just eyeball it. In the original recipe, it's optional, but I use it every time and consistently get great results that way.
Step 4: Stir It All Up
Stir the Dawn, hydrogen peroxide, and baking soda mixture until combined.
Step 5: Apply It to the Stain
After taking a moment admire the very pretty blue color of the mixture, use a brush to apply it. An old toothbrush works great for gentle but generous scrubbing. If you prefer, you can pour the mixture into a spray bottle and spray it on.
Step 6: Wash It Like Normal
Be sure to use a cycle with warm water—the stain has a better chance of washing out the first time that way.
One Washer and Dryer Cycle Later, And...
BAM! Suddenly, you're blinded by the newfound whiteness of these pants. My shorts are just as good as they were pre-stain, and no one will ever know that I deliberately rubbed Cheeto dust onto them to prove the effectiveness of my homemade concoction.
If the stain still lingers after a treatment and a wash, stay calm. Whip up some more stain remover and repeat the process. It may help to apply the mixture and then let your clothing item sit and soak it up for a bit before washing. However, if you're applying the stain remover to a colored item, I advise not to let them sit too long or else you run the risk of discoloration.
There you have it. You've been blessed with the knowledge of how to get stains out of white jeans. Yank those suckers out of the back of the closet. Unearth them from the clothing mountain on your bedroom floor. Steal them back from your sister. Put them on and wear them without fear, because you're basically invincible now.