You always look back to the days when you play all day with your friends, covering yourselves in mud. It's not just about making fake sandcastles in the backyard. It's about messing around your garden and getting some head-to-toe mud fight with your playmates. You go home and wait until your mother notices what you just did to yourself. You might have had fun frolicking in mud, but do you realizes how much hassle your mom goes through because of the mud stains on your clothes? Sometimes washing isn't enough to remove the mud stains on your clothes. Good thing your mom found out that all she needed was water, borax and baking soda. Later on you will also learn the significance of these materials. Here is a list of steps that you need to follow in case you have to deal with mud stains on your own.

The H2O, Borax and Baking Soda Trio

1. Prepare the stained clothes. Make certain that you have large globs of mud off the items since you surely do not wish to rub the mud to have it off the globs. If you do, the mud stains will only penetrate into the fabrics. The mud stains will set in harder, making it more difficult for you to get rid of it. Take away all the mud globs with a butter knife. It has a flat part which you will have to use to scrap the mud off the shirt.
2. Get potatoes to help you get rid of your mud stains faster. Simply cut the potato into two, because you will be using the raw part and have it rubbed over the mud stains. You have to use the part where the inside of the potato is displayed, because this part is where you will find all the juices that remove mud stains. Let the potato juices sit for about five minutes on the mud stains.
3. This where water, borax and baking soda comes in. Mix them all up to create a solution for your mud stains. Water should only be limited to four cups and should be warm. You will also need only one cup of borax and one cup of baking soda. Mix them up in a large container or pain, or in anything that is large enough to accommodate the solution and the clothing items that you will be cleaning. When it is draining time, turn your dial to spin. The clothes must sit in the solution for approximately two hours.
4. Washing is the last step that you have to go through to get rid of mud stains. By this time, the mud must be separated from the clothing item already, although not completely. The first three methods allow you to wash the clothes normally. Without the three items, you will have to wash the clothing items with all the mud spreading, making the stain worse.

Another Easy Trick

The next trick is a rather easy one and will only require you 15 to 30 minutes to accomplish. You will need a stain remover, a liquid laundry detergent and a vacuum cleaner. Follow these steps below:

• You have to wait until the mud stain is dry. You may have heard for a couple of times already that letting the mud stain set in makes it more difficult for you to deal with the stain. That's true, because you let the mud dry, and not necessarily the stain. The mud must turn dry to avoid smearing. You wouldn't want the mud to spread all over your shirt, do you? Wiping off the mud is not a good idea because this will only smear the stain.
• Vacuum or shake off the area stained with mud. If the mud is already dry, vacuum or shake the stained area. You will find it easier to remove the mud because you are working on dried clumps of mud.
• Next is detergent. Simply soak the clothing item onto the water with detergent in it. Rub the detergent into the affected area. Let the solution sit on the clothing item for around 15 minutes, but you can always let the solution sit for a longer period of time. Loosen up the affected area by lightly rubbing the stains between your fingers.
• This is where the use of a stain remover comes in. Sometimes, when you think that the whole process is over, you will see that there are still traces of stain on your shirt. If this is the case, you will need a stain remover, either a spray, gel, or stick. Apply any of these and then let stand for five minutes on the clothing item.
• Wash the clothing item with a good quality liquid laundry detergent. Repeat the steps until the mud stains are gone completely. If, after repeating the steps, you still see no improvement, you will have to work on steps three to five over again.

If all else fails, ask help from professional stain cleaners.

A Fast Tip

If you are dealing with mud stains on spandex, polyester, olefin, nylon, modacrylic, linen, cotton and acrylic fabric, you should let the mud, and not the stain, dry on the fabric. This method will make it easier for you to brush the excess. Launder it, and the remaining stain must be removed. You can also sponge the mud stain using alcohol, if your clothes need more treatment. Just don't use rubbing alcohol on modacrylic and acrylic. If sponging the stain and using rubbing alcohol don't work, you will have to sponge the stain again and then use a dry-cleaning solvent. You can use Afta Cleaning Fluid or K2r Spot Lifter. Wait until the fabric is dry, and then launder. Playing soccer and wallowing in mud is fun, but the ordeal that you or your dearest mom have to go through to get rid of all the stains is agonizing. Always be careful when playing outside, or when you know that you can easily get the mud onto your clothes. It's better to stay away from the ordeal , but if you can't avoid it, just turn to these tactics.