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Author: Clare Flynn | Posted: Wednesday 12th August '09

This must be the most useful book ever written about stains and how to treat them. With The Easy No-nonsense Stain Guide to hand you’ll never worry how to treat a stain again.

Easy to use, highly practical and full of non nonsense advice: to use that old chestnut – it does exactly what it says on the tin.

Written by Stephanie Zia, The UK Guardian’s queen of stains (in Space Solves every Saturday in the Magazine), this book sets out some simple principles for treating different stain types.

Make it and Mend it commissioned Stephanie to write this exclusively for our members. To get your free copy just register on our site. >> How to get your copy

If you had already registered before this offer, don’t worry – just send us an email to mail@makeitandmendit.com with Stain Guide in the subject line and we’ll send you a link to download the book.

There are 12 comments

Posted by Elyse Alperstein (unregistered) on August 22, 2009 at 9:03am
I have blood stains on a mattress. How do I remove them please?
Posted by Clare Flynn on August 22, 2009 at 4:08pm
Have you downloaded our guide? That explains what to do with blood stains. The great thing about the guide is it tells you how to group stains into 3 basic types - and blood is a protein stain - COLD water and some washing up liquid as soon as possile - if it has already set on the mattress it may be too late to shift - but see the meat tenderiser idea in our book - that could work for you. Good luck and let us know how it goes
Posted by kaz3y on August 28, 2009 at 10:44am
i just sent an email to the address given and got an undelivered message
Posted by Marty (unregistered) on September 1, 2009 at 8:21am
Hydrogen Peroxide works also! Some of my nurse friends use it for getting blood stains out of their clothing. Pour on wet or dry, rinse and soak if necessary.
Posted by Clare O'Brien on September 1, 2009 at 10:57am
Wow, sounds drastic. Do you have to dilute it first? And I guess you wouldn't put on coloured fabric? I wonder if Stephanie Zia has a view on this too?
Posted by Clare Flynn on September 1, 2009 at 10:49pm
I am a big fan of hydrogen peroxide (ACE) and yes Clare it's safe on coloured fabrics. I use it loads as a pre-treater and as a laundry additive. It's colour safe and you don' t need to dilute.
Posted by Stephanie Zia (unregistered) on September 4, 2009 at 1:35pm
Yes, hydrogen peroxide bleach is brilliant at removing blood stains. It's non-toxic, biodegradable and actually a far closer relative to water than chlorine bleach - its chemical structure being just one oxygen atom away. It’s a powerful, highly flammable substance, though, with a wide range of uses from mouthwash to making bombs. Read all about it in the guide.
Posted by SusanG on September 19, 2009 at 3:09pm
Thanks for the Stain Guide. It's really helpful as once you learn the basic principles you just have to ask yourself which of the 3 basic stain types it is and then act accordingly. Thanks guys!
Posted by Snowflake on September 21, 2009 at 7:56pm
Mum always told me that salt is good for getting blood out. Cold water and lots of salt. As for hydrogen peroxide, you can get 2%-9% solutions from any local chemist for a couple of pounds and even that should be diluted so it lasts ages. Is also excellent for throat infection, although it doesn't take wonderful, and also for preventing infections for e.g. new pierced ears.
Posted by Supes (unregistered) on November 3, 2009 at 3:03pm
Please help!! How can I get a dark Cat pee stain off my oak floor? My neighbours' cat peed on my floor upstair. We didn't see this until the next morning and so- too late- it had left a dark coffee colour stain into the floor (NOT FORGETTING THE STENCH!). My neighbour promised to remove this (he's a furniture restorer)- and failing that would replace the boards. He put some hydrogen peroxide- & tried to sand it down- but not done anything much since (10 weeks ago). Is there anything out there that could save us having to fork out for their cat's mistake? Many thanks
Posted by Clare Flynn on November 3, 2009 at 11:22pm
Hi - poor you! - if he offered to replace the boards maybe you should hold him to that! Also as a restorer he should be very well placed to restore your boards to their former glory. Maybe you should hold the cat hostage till he sorts it out - as long as you can do that without jeopardising the remaining floorboards! Meanwhile we have posted a plea for help on our Facebook Page and will let you know when we hear anything (usually very fast).
Posted by Clare Flynn on November 4, 2009 at 1:39am
Right! We have a load of suggestions for your cat pee problem from our Facebook Fan page feed - check it out http://www.facebook.com/makeitandmendit