Holi Moly! Dealing with Paint Stains

White tshirts holi

Get ready to paint the town red, LaundryRevolutionaries!

And also blue, green, yellow and all the other colours of the rainbow, because this week, powdered paint will be flying all over London. Across the capital, events are taking place to celebrate the Hindu festival of Holi, building up to the day of Holi itself on Monday 17th.

holi painting

Originating in Northern India, Holi is traditionally a festival that celebrates the end of Winter and the arrival of Spring.

It’s a festival of love, colour and togetherness, and it’s celebrated by the Play of Colour – a mad free-for-all of paint throwing, water spraying and general festivities!

dad and son holi cropped

Celebrated by rich and poor, young and old, men and women alike, Holi brings everyone together in a celebration of Spring’s return.

Everybody has a riotously good time covering each other head-to-foot in brightly coloured paint – but what do you do when the festivities end and your clothes are completely covered in paint stains?

Luckily, you needn’t worry – here’s LaundryRepublic’s handy guide to removing paint stains from clothing.

Paint stains can be water-based or oil-based. The good news is, Holi usually involves throwing Gulal powder paint and water, which is a little easier to deal with than oil-based paint.

girl tshirt holiThe most important thing is to rinse the stain as quickly as possible. Brush off any dry powder paint before you begin, then flush the stain from the other side of the fabric with a forceful stream of warm water. Next, dissolve a little laundry detergent in some water, and work it into the stain, soaping and rinsing until the stain has gone.

You might need to repeat this a few times – if any patches are particularly resistant, put a little nail-polish on an absorbent cloth and dab on the offending area.

Don’t forget, if the stain has dried into the fabric, or if any of your clothes are delicate or dry-clean only, just send them to LaundryRepublic for a speedy, professional service!

Image credits:

rudresh_callsgreeno777Alam Singh

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