Pin With Abandon, Execute With Caution

Pinterest is a big thing right now. Most of you have probably used it. I have found about a million cool things on there. I’m not a huge pinner or anything. I don’t look at it every day. But it is fun. And I’ve picked up some neat tips. So when I pulled out one of my favorite sweaters and discovered that there were hideous yellow stains on it, I remembered seeing a pin about getting yellow stains out of white clothing and headed over to Pinterest to look it up. It is a simple tip: mix 2 parts hydrogen peroxide with one part dish soap and put it on the yellow spots. Let it sit for a bit and then wash. I tried it out last week but I didn’t let it sit for very long because I didn’t want to damage my sweater. The site where I got the info showed it being used on white t-shirts which can stand up to a lot more abuse than a sweater can. So I was cautious and nevertheless was pleasantly surprised that the stains were considerably lightened.

So today I had planned to repeat the whole procedure to see if I could completely eliminate the stains. I mixed, soaked, and then threw the sweater into the washer with a white towel to balance the load and without any detergent because there was already plenty of soap. If only I had really thought that one through before proceeding. But then all y’all would not have the pleasure of snickering at my lack of brain power... For those of you who don’t have front loading washers, here is a tidbit that will become vital knowledge in just a couple of minutes: if you get too many soap suds in the washer the water won’t drain. That is why there are different detergents recommended for use in your high efficiency front loaders. So when I happened to peek in partway through the wash cycle and notice that there were suds ¾ the way up the washer door window, I started to think that I might have a problem. But I had a white sweater and a big fluffy white towel in there so I was seeing those as well and it was not all suds, right? Right?! Wrong. When the machine finished the cycle there were still suds halfway up the washer window. Not a good sign. I ran one more rinse, desperately hoping it would at least decrease the amount of suds, but to no avail. If anything, the more it got splashed around the more voluminous the suds became. At that point I knew it was time for plan B.

Plan B involved laying a big baking sheet with sides and several towels down in front of the washer and arming myself with a medium sized mixing bowl (a good size for scooping suds), a roll of paper towels and a garbage sack. In spite of the lack of brains that began this whole adventure, I am smart enough to know that in order to get the suds out I was going to have to open the washer and that opening the washer meant that gravity was going to help those suds get themselves out of the washer…which it did. But due to my mid-disaster planning, I actually ended up with very little soap or water on the floor. I scooped up suds and deposited them in the garbage sack until I could get to the sweater and towel. Then I put those in the biggest bowl I own and placed them in the sink to be rinsed. I continued scooping suds and water until it was no longer deep enough to be scooped with the bowl. Then I sent Matthew for the turkey baster. The entire time I was doing all this I was thinking about all those t.v. shows and movies that feature an idiot who puts too much laundry detergent in the washer and ends up knee-deep in soapy water. I’m usually a pretty smart chick, but let me tell you that I have my moments…and this was definitely one of them. Although as far as stupidity goes, if this is the dumbest thing I do all year I will count myself as lucky.

(This is after I got the sweater and the towel out of the washer. All that stuff left in there is suds and about an inch or two of water. And that garbage sack? Completely full of soap suds. I kid you not. I didn't know what else to do with them. If you ever have an opportunity to buy a house with a sink in the laundry room, don't even think twice about it. Just do it.)

Once I had gotten as much water out as I could, I used paper towels to wipe away as many suds as possible. Then I ran another rinse cycle with an empty washer to see what would happen. Luckily for me, the water drained, the suds diminished and three pre-wash cycles later I was able to put the rinsed sweater and towel back in the washer. End result? Although they are not completely gone, those stains appear to be faded enough that I can wear my sweater without feeling like a slob. And the inside of my washer is squeaky clean. :-) It could have been so much worse. I was really hoping that I wouldn’t need to call Kev at work and tell him that we needed to call a plumber to come get me out of a watery mess. And I really, really didn’t want to mop the floor. (I know, my priorities are a bit mixed up. But I really hate mopping.) So in spite of losing my entire afternoon to the mishap, I think it turned out as well as I could have hoped for.

So let me comment on the whole peroxide/dish soap thing. It works. Just be careful how much you use. Or don’t be careful but then don’t come crying to me when you can’t find your turkey baster.

One final word of advice: if you do not own a turkey baster, go out and get yourself one posthaste. I only use mine for actual basting once or twice a year but I use it for more random things than I had ever thought I would. So go. Buy yourself one. When you are in the midst of a stupidity induced near disaster, you’ll thank me.