A hypoallergenic, plant- and mineral-based laundry stain remover from ATTITUDE — the fragrance-free version, for people who react to scented products.
The rule that decides whether a stain comes out. Never put a stained garment in a tumble dryer, and never iron over a stain. Heat denatures protein and polymerises oils — it sets a stain permanently into the fibre, and once that has happened no product on earth will remove it. Check garments as they come out of the wash, and if a mark survives, treat it again and re-wash before anything hot goes near it. This single habit saves more clothes than any stain remover.
The second rule: match the water temperature to the stain. Protein stains — blood, egg, milk, sweat, grass — must be treated in cold water. Hot water cooks the protein and bonds it to the fabric, exactly as it would set an egg white in a pan. Grease and oil stains are the opposite: they need warmth to soften and lift. Getting these the wrong way round is the commonest reason a stain treatment fails, and it is why a single generic instruction on a bottle can never be right for every mark.
Why hypoallergenic and fragrance-free matters here. Fragrance is by a wide margin the most common cause of cosmetic and household contact allergy, and laundry products are a particularly persistent exposure — residue stays in fabric and sits against skin for hours a day, every day. For eczema, for babies' clothes, and for anyone who has ever reacted to a washing product, removing the fragrance is the most useful single change available.
Treat it fresh. Almost every stain is easy in the first ten minutes and hard after a week. Blot rather than rub — rubbing drives the stain deeper into the weave and can damage the fibres.
Available at Só Verde, an organic concept store in Foz, Porto.