How to Banish 6 Easter and Passover Stains

Fend off chocolate smudges, egg dye spills, and more.
Fend off chocolate smudges, egg dye spills, and more.

If an Easter egg hunt leaves your son's new khakis grass-stained or a glass of Manishewitz spills on your best tablecloth, don't let it spoil the festivities. With these techniques, you'll forget the stains and keep the happy memories, instead.

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1. Easter Egg Dye
On countertops that wind up just as colorful as the eggs hidden in the backyard, use an all-purpose cleaner that contains bleach to erase the stains.

2. Chocolate Candy
Wait -- don't touch! Scraping chocolate from clothing while it's melty can push the stain further into the fabric. Allow the chocolate to dry and harden, then scrape off the pieces and treat with a stain remover. Wash in warm water with an all-fabric-safe bleach, or Clorox's Smart Seek Bleach, which is safe to use on most printed and patterned whites.

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3. Gravy
If you missed the plate when serving the brisket, scrape off the dribbles of gravy on your tablecloth with a dull knife. Then blot the oily stain with a paper towel. Later, launder the tablecloth as you normally would.

4. Grass
Your best defense is an enzyme-based liquid laundry detergent (most stain-fighting detergents have enzymes, but check the packaging to make sure). First, rub a little detergent into the stain. Then wash the item in the hottest water safe for the fabric, and use chlorine bleach if the garment label permits it.

Related: Are You Using Too Much Laundry Detergent?

5. Oil
Spill some on your shirt? Sprinkle a little salt onto the stain and pat it to absorb the grease. Let it sit for a few minutes, then brush off. When you get home, treat the area with a stain remover and launder in the hottest water safe for the fabric.

6. Red Wine
If the tablecloth is wearing your third glass of wine (whoops!), blot up as much as you can and sponge with cold water. Put a pad of dry paper towels on and beneath the spot. Cover the towels with a serving dish to add pressure that will continue to blot the stain through the rest of dinner. Launder as usual (and add bleach if it's safe for the fabric).

- By Christina Peterson, Good Housekeeping Research Institute

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