Stain removers might lift too much

Dear Readers: If you are working on a stain and the fabric changes colors, can you return the fabric back to its original color? Heloise Central checked with our good friends at the Drycleaning and Laundry Institute. They pointed out that a test for colorfastness should be done before attempting any stain removal. It is important to know what stain remover you are using because it might distort the color of the fabric.

If the area appears lighter after using a stain remover under normal light, and much brighter and whiter under bright sun and ultraviolet lighting, the cleaning agent itself probably has caused the color change. Once the fabric contacts a whitening agent or optical brightener, the original color cannot be restored, sadly.

If the fabric is a bright color like blue or green, use care when working on a stain. Remember the three S’s of stain removal: soon, slow and several times. Heloise

P.S.: Anything silk, even washable, must be treated with care. Don’t rub the material, and work on the backside so you don’t damage the fibers.

Dear Heloise: I like to be creative, so when I wrap a gift, I try to think of something unique to wrap it with. Here are a few of the things I have come up with:

USheet music for a music enthusiast.

UDish towels for a chef.

UComic pages for a child.

UA plastic tablecloth — great for those who entertain outside.

Elaine E. in Houston

Dear Heloise: I have a great hint for the best container to use when taking potato salad to an event such as a potluck at a park. I used my ice-cream maker and filled the outer bucket with ice. It would be great for those events where your salad might be sitting in a car before it’s time to be served. A 5-pound bag of potatoes fills the ice-cream maker two-thirds of the way. Judy Prince, La Mesa, Calif.

Dear Heloise: I’ve been doing cross-stitch embroidery for a number of years and have accumulated many skeins of floss.

I bought three of those plastic boxes with multiple drawers, numbered each drawer, then sorted the thread by colors and numbers. I made a list of the numbers on a sheet of paper for each box, and I keep that list on top of the boxes for easy referral. In many cases, I’ve had the correct color thread already on hand, saving myself a trip to the store. Flo Jones, an Alabama reader

XSend a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or you can fax it to (210) HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.

King Features Syndicate