For stains I use regular Tide laundry soap soaked in for an hour or two before washing it. The only thing I couldn’t get out was olive oil.

@ Lynnae and girlcarew, I have seen those orange Terro ant traps, they have an outdoor one that I think I can put in a place where the kids can’t get it. Thanks for the tips!

You can use Cascade and Clorox 2 as a last ditch stain remover. Put 1/2 cup Cascade powder and 1/2 cup Clorox 2 Powder in the hottest water your clothes can tolerate and soak overnight. Then wash as usual. I’ve had very good luck with this, but it does fade some clothes, so only use if everything else fails.

Messy firewood — we haven’t found a good solution yet. We have a carrier and we still drop stuff on the floor.

Rain gutters — we got some of that plastic (not metal) mesh and it works great. Did not DIY, however, but got it on a really good deal. If you have lots of trees with little tiny leaves, I would wonder if it would be as effective, however. I’d give the name of the tree I’m thinking of, but I’m arboreally challenged. We have one with teeny leaves (think .25 inches wide and .75 inches long) and I think those might get caught up in the guard and still clog a bit — luckily it’s far from the house.

Stains — if it’s a grease/oil stain, try shampoo or dishwashing detergent (Dawn or the like). Both have grease cutters. Fels Naptha is a good one for other types of stains.

and Paid Twice, you may be right!!!

@ Bellen, I am going to try the vinegar and cinnamon (Jennifer suggested that too) on the ants. Will let you know how it goes. Also, I like the wood carrying idea, I will see if I can rig something.

@ Jenny, thanks for M30 suggestion, with a name like that is must be powerful! Can’t beat the price on it, I will tell my wife to keep an eye out for it.

@ Jennifer, great stain tips! Especially since with kids many of our stains are the nasty bodily fluid ones! As for the grits, do you use the box of grits precooked or do you cook them up and then serve to the ants? And I gotta ask, how and why does it kill the queen? Does the queen have Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) or something?

@ Andrew, good tip on washing clothes seperately, I think my wife does that?!? And thanks for the tag, I also enjoys those and this one looks like fun. From the looks of this post one of the classes should be Home Ec!

And wow, my wife’s been complaining about stains for a while now. We’ve tried a few different detergents, I’ve changed deodorants, etc. She uses Spray N Wash on the tough stains which seems to work somewhat. But washing our clothes separately from the messy kids clothes definitely helps make a difference.

Oh, and while I’m here, I just tagged you to go back to school: http://www.ultimatecoupons.com/blog/?p=314

For stains I have tried zout, oxy, fels-naptha, homemade stain remover, etc. And I don’t like any of them as well as my current systems. We haven’t had an article ruined by a stain in a very long time…here’s what I do:

Required products-Biz, Shout, & Enzyme Cleaner (found in the pet department at walmart, nice because its safe for kids & pets)

For all Bodily Fluid based stains I use the enzyme cleaner. This would be blood, urine, feces, vomit, etc from either person or animal. I saturate with enzyme cleaner & wash in cold water, check the garment to see if it is all the way out before drying. Blood stains that aren’t removed in one washing with enzyme cleaner can be removed with hydrogen peroxide as long as they haven’t been set with heat. Enzyme cleaner also sometimes works for grass stains and tomato stains and is a good back up stain remover when you are out of Shout.

All other stains= Shout + Biz.

The nice thing about Shout is you can leave it on the clothes after you spray it, even if you don’t wash for a week, so I spray the stain as immediately as possible and then toss it in the hamper until wash day. Add 1/4 of a scoop of Biz to the wash water (as warm as the fabric & stain will tolerate. (IE-no hot water for blood, etc.)

Check the garment after it comes out of the wash, but *before* drying. *IF* that doesn’t get the stain out I make a paste of Biz powder & Shout & work it in with an old toothbrush. Rewash in cold water & evaluate again before drying. (I usually have a stain stubborn enough to do this step once every 2 months or so.)

If it is still hanging on (this would be like a once in a year to 2 year occurrance that the stain is still not out) I get a big bucket of warm water, put in Biz and soak it for a few days, replacing warm water & Biz a few times a day. I don’t do just one article to the bucket, I also throw in anything that needs brightened (socks, undies, etc) , or old hand me downs that are ready to be used again that have had stains magically appear while they are in storage, the Biz soak for a day or two makes them look like new. No need to waste all that water & Biz on just one item!