Cleaning your clothes after the Holi festive celebrations

Holi is a major festival in India and around the world. This event is popular for friendly street fights, where participants throw coloured powder and spray water at each other. Almost always, everyone ends up covered in coloured pigments from head to toe.

Washing off these colours are usually easy, as most are made of natural plant-based compounds like tumeric, neem, dhak and kumkum. However, more people have been using commercial pigments in recent years, which may lead to hard-to-remove stains on clothes and skin.

If you're stuck with a stain after the recent Holi celebrations, fret not! Here are some ideas to help relieve or remove them.

The aftermath of a Holi celebration

Use Bleach

If your clothes are white, try soaking them in non-chlorine bleach. You'll also want to wash and dry them separately, which prevents the colour from leeching on to other clothes.

Use bleach to remove stains from white clothes

Use White Vinegar

Prepare 2 to 3 liters of cold water, and add half a cup of white vinegar and 1 teaspoon of Ariel in. The acid will pull the stain from your clothes, restoring it back to its original colour.

With white vinegar, you don't need to use commercial chemicals to remove stains.

Window Cleaner

Use a clear ammonia-based spray-on window cleaner, and leave it there for about 15-20 minutes. After that, blot the stain with a clean cloth, and then rinse and wash as per normal.

No, not THIS window cleaner. You know what we mean...

Lemon Juice

​The acid in lemon will help remove stains. Start by soaking the stain in lemon juice for 15 minutes, and then scrub gently with your hands. Wash as usual, but separate from the other clothes.

Lemons can make awesome lemonade, and also help remove stubborn stains.

Methylated Spirits (Alcohol)

Rub some undiluted alcohol onto the stain and rinse thoroughly under running cold water. Wash as usual, and check if the stain is cleared.

Lemons and alcohol - a potent stain removal mix?

More Tips Before You Go

Before you leave to find vinegar or lemon juice, here are a few more tips to take along with you.

• Wash stained clothes early, as stain gets harder to remove over time. Take non-washable fabric to a drycleaner (that's us!) as soon as possible and explain the stain.
• Most stain removal chemicals can be harsh on the skin. Wear gloves and use a soft old toothbrush, or a spray bottle with a stain remover solution, to apply the chemical to the affected area.
• Don't wash stained and clean clothes together, as some stains are stubborn and might need more than one round to remove. Do not dry the garment, or the stain will set permanently.
• Wash the treated garment thoroughly to remove all trace of the used chemical. You don't want to have that on you!
• Don’t use chlorine bleach on coloured garments. Remember, bleach will fade and discolour the fabric.
• If all else fails, don't be sad. Remember the fun times you had during the Holi festivities, and just make sure to bring along old clothes for the party in future.

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