Does Holi Powder stain?
Most of the time our Holi Powder will simply wash out without any effort. If there's excessive amounts or some cheaper powder is used it is possible for a stain to occur if it's not treated properly. For the most part, wash any 'powdered' clothes in a cycle of their own with the maximum amount of water your machine will provide, as per normal make sure you seperate your coloured clothes from your whites.
Most of us love a good colour run even though there's a lot of confusion surrounding how to get Holi powder out of your clothes. Call it confetti smoke, haze, colourful powder -It's all so much fun until you finding yourself scrubbing your clothes in the laundry only to cause more damage.
Hopefully we can save you a bit of stress and make life a lot easier, here's our top 5 methods for removing Holi Powder:
1. Bleach your Whites!
It may seem obvious, but Holi Powder will always show the best on white clothes, much the same way as you will find it easy to read text on a white piece of paper. When you were a child and would enter a colouring in competition you'd always start on a blank white canvas.
Aside from Holi Powder looking great all over your white clothes the best part is that you can simply bleach them in some warm-hot water with bleach, but make sure you don't include any other coloured clothes other wise they may become 'bleached' out. If you need to bleach your coloured clothes be sure to choose a non chlorinated bleach.
2. White Vinegar
Ad a little over 150ml (just over ½ a cup) of white vinegar and a heaped teaspoon of Vanish/Napisan (or similar) to 3 litres of cold water. The acidic qualities of the vinegar will assist the napisan in removing any colour from your clothes.
3. Windex White
OK, we're not crazy here nor have we watched too much of My Big Fat Greek Wedding but it really can fix everything. Make sure you use the clear version of windex to spray on any stains. let it soak for around 15 minutes and then dab it with a clean cloth or paper towel, then rinse and wash like you otherwise would.
4. Lemon Juice
Lemons are well known for their cleaning qualities. Just soak you holi powder marks in lemon juice for 15 minues and scrub lightly with your hands. Wash as per normal.
5. Metho (methylated spirits/alcohol)
This should be done with great care as methylated spirits certainly aren't great for your skin, eyes, or your body as a whole. Just rub some alcohol on the areas required and rinse thoroughly under cold water. Wash as per normal after.
Additional pointers on cleaning Holi Powder
1. Wash the clothes ASAP! The longer the colour stays there the harder it is to clean. If it's not a washable fabric then you should take it to the dry cleaners and explain what it is. Dry Cleaners are great fore removing normal stains that didn't come out in the first wash. We've all missed a stain and had it permanently 'wash on' because we failed to use the stain remover spray.
2. Other than Napisan most of the chemicals used to remove stains don't co-operate with the human body in the best of ways. Try wear gloves and maybe even an old un-used toothbrush toa pply the chemicals. Those cheap stain remover spray bottles you can buy from the supermarket will perform surprisingly well.
3. If you have stained clothes be sure to wash them separately to your normal clothes. Never mix two stain removal products, sometimes you may need more than one attempt but don't let the item dry or the stain may become permanent.
4. Wash your clothes thoroughly, don't do an eco or low water wash. The chemicals you use to can should be removed properly or they can irritate your skin causing a rash or even an allergic reaction.
5. Make sure you avoid using a chlorine based bleach on coloured clothes as it will discolour and ruin them.