The picture has nothing to do with the post but it's my blog and I can do whatever I want because it's called "What Would Wanda Do?"

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(Self-portrait 1-1-09. This is the beginning of
Project 365. We'll see how far I get....)

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Carrie at Fully Caffeinated posted her question here:
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Beautiful poem and all, who doesn't love Hafiz? But, more importantly, how does one go about removing grease (specifically butter) stains from carpet, yellow upholstery, T-shirts, sports jackets, pajamas, etc.
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Thanks, Wanda!
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I am so glad you asked, Carrie. This is something I know about. When you have a salsa shelf chest like mine, you either learn some good laundry tricks or wear a bib. And then there was Larry my extreme geriatric cat (that's what the vet called him)--may he rest in peace. You know how old cats are. I learned a lot about cleaning up yellow spots from him.
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Let me start by saying that I get no kick-back from any of these companies, but if I had had some foresight, I would have bought stock in them. Never mind the economic downturn, I keep them in business on my own and I might as well be putting the profit back in my pocket. But I digress.
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I recommend Kids and Pets--the only place I have found it is Target--and Shout--you can get it at most grocery stores and maybe Target but not at Costco, not the one near my house anyway.
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Both of these are enzyme concoctions that work on the stains. Enzymes are magic! Enzymes require time to work so you have to let the stuff sit on the spot for a while before "rinsing" it up or washing the garment. K&P is for the carpet and furniture. You can probably use it on the clothes, too, but I keep Shout in a spray bottle near my laundry basket for the clothes.
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Pour K&P on the stain. Be generous--but you first might want to spot check somewhere it won't show to make sure it doesn't take the color out of the carpet or upholstery. Let it sit at least several hours. That might be enough time. When you rinse it up, start by blotting from the outside edges inward on the stain. Then pour fresh warm water on the whole thing and continue to blot inward using an old towel. I also have a handheld carpet cleaner (like a little wet-dry vac) that works really well to suck up the old dirty wetness. If you can leave the enzymes on longer (24 hours or even several days), they will have more time to work and may do a better job with the first application. However, repeated applications will do the same trick if you are concerned about leaving the stuff in place.
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I keep Shout in the closet with my laundry basket. When I remove a garment with a spill on it, I immediately spray the spots, roll up the shirt, and put it in the basket where the treated piece sits until time to do laundry again. Now,let me tell you about how I do laundry. One of two issues determines when it is time. Either I run out of underwear or I can't cram anything more in the laundry basket. I have a lot of underwear. When everything is clean, I have enough for at least 2 weeks. (TMI?) I have stacking laundry baskets--3 of them (whites, colors, darks). So unlike many mothers with children, I am not doing laundry frequently.
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If you do laundry daily, you might need to let some of the treated pieces sit aside for a while to let the enzyme do the work. I sometimes let it sit for a week or more and then do the laundry in the usual fashion. Even if you can't leave a favorite shirt in treatment for a week, leave the enzymes on for as long as you can. If you treat the spots repeatedly, they will come out.
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All that being said, avoid Spray and Wash. It used to be a good enzyme product and I can buy it at Costco. Now it has an additive that takes the color out of clothes if you leave it on the fabric to let the enzymes work. They have "new and improved" themselves right out of my market share. I avoid as many chemicals as I can, use free and clear and sensitive skin products, go for the unscented as much as possible. Some laundry detergents (Tide is notoriously bad for this) have neurotoxins in them. That's why good old enzymes without some kind of chemical booster are better for people, clothes, the environment, and all other living beings. Why, I even know of people whose depression went away when they stopped using Tide and similar products.
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(Perhaps Kids & Pets, Shout, and Target will want to advertise on my blog now. I hope so since I am really screwed when it comes to Spray and Wash, Tide, and maybe even Costco.)
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I hope this helps. Leave me another comment and let me know.
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Now for the picture (above) and Project 365. The idea of my project 365 is to take a self-portrait a day for 365 days. What better day to start than January 1st? So this is the first one. I opened the shot in Photo Studio and the color was way off, so I started fiddling. I slid the hue and saturation sliders all the way to one end and this is what I got. I kind of liked it so I decided to keep it. (Don't worry, I will post something other than self-portraits, too.)

I just figured out the connection between the post and the picture! The picture is the color of the salsa stains on my shirts!