09.01.01
Dearest Ask Pixie:
1. What's the best way to remove underarm stains from shirts?
I've read a variety of solutions to this question. I'll share some, and then my own.
According to J@nothanks.com:
"I read on another home forum site to use oven cleaner believe it or not! It's apparently a Martha Stewart cleaning tip. I haven't been brave enough to try it though. Also try boiling the shirt in vinegar on the stove. I've done this and it works for light sweat stains."
According to this stain removal guide:
"New perspiration stains are normally acid and may be removed by washing. If the dye is affected, hold the mark in fumes from an open ammonia bottle.
Older perspiration stains turn alkaline and sponging with 1 Tbsp. vinegar in ½ c water will often restore the colour. This treatment also helps to remove perspiration odours.
To remove perspiration stains from unwashable garments or for any stubborn marks, apply a paste of 1 Tbsp. cream of tartar, 3 crushed aspirins and warm water. Leave for 20 minutes. Rinse well in warm water. Repeat if necessary. Follow this with vinegar and water to restore the colour if necessary."
According to Bob Allison:
"For perspiration stain removal, use 2 T. cream of tartar per gallon of water. Soak until stain disappears then launder as usual."
According to my mom:
"Treatment varies on fabric type and color. White cottons and bleach-safe fabrics are often easily remedied with a diluted bleach solution. OxyClean is also amazing for stain removal, but you have to test the fabric for colorfastness before use."
My personal thoughts? I'm going with mom and the bleach/OxyClean solutions. OxyClean rocks my world, as I am the inadvertent creator of many varied stains, and OxyClean addresses most of them quite nicely. I also tend to throw clothing away if they are irrepairably stained, like a certain non-colorfast light blue dress that just got circularly filed.
2. How long will tomatoes stay fresh in the refrigerator? Should you refrigerate them at all? Or set them on the counter?
Sunlight doesn't ripen tomatoes, warmth does. Store tomatoes with stems pointed down and they will stay fresher, longer. I generally refrigerate ripe tomatoes that I don't want to get any riper or to spoil. This keeps them safely at a usable level of existence for up to a month or so. (The already ripe ones, that is.)
Ones left out on the counter in my house tend to be no so quite ripe, and are allowed to ripen this way. Another keen trick, with fresh tomatoes, is to get a variety of them that range from very ripe for immediate use, to barely ripe for later use. Unripe tomatoes will be ready for use in only a couple of days, so if you have a great bloody lot of unripe ones, you can store them all in the fridge, and then place them out daily for future use. This way, you can have fresh tomatoes every day for a month or so, depending upon how large your stash is.
In summation: Refrigerate ripe tomatoes so they won't spoil. They will last until they are gone, or from a few weeks to a month. Refrigerate unripe tomatoes and they will keep a longer amount of time, but need to be ripened at room temperature.
-- pixiemartin
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| (disclaimer: as you can imagine, askpixie is not a licensed therapist, nor is she a doctor of anything. she has, however, had enough problems in her life, and enough damn therapy, that she can pretty much handle most of what you could probably throw at her. and whatever she can't directly answer herself, she will do her best to find an answer for you elsewhere. unless otherwise noted, all thoughts and opinions expressed herein, therein, and whereverin you're looking, are © pixiemartin, 2001. you gotta problem with that, punk?) |
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