The Six Types of Stains

Stain removal is a type of everyday chemistry: when you use a cleaner on a stain, you’re starting a chemical or physical reaction that breaks down the stain. The key is to use the cleaning agent that most efficiently breaks down the particular stain you need to remove.

Finding the right cleaning agent would be difficult if every stain had different chemical properties. But, luckily, almost all stains fall into six basic categories:

The stain removal methods for stains of the same type are very similar. For instance, the technique for removing one protein-based stain, such as blood, is a lot like the method needed to remove other protein-based stains, such as egg. As long as you identify the type of stain you’re dealing with, you can remove nearly any stain by using the information in the table below.

Some stains may fit into more than one category. For instance, fruit juice is acid-based, but the natural dyes in fruit are organic. So to treat a fruit juice stain, first blot with a solution of water and white vinegar to counteract the acid, then blot with rubbing alcohol or an enzymatic treatment to take out the remaining natural dye stain.