Stain Solver Cleaning Tips

Here at Stain Solver we know that a cup of fresh coffee is one of the great joys of life. But we also know that it can be a tough stain to clean! Luckily, Stain Solver is the best coffee stain remover we’ve ever used, and today we’re going to use it to clean another frequently stained coffee accessory, your stainless steel coffee pot. Note: If you’re like us and and sometimes spill some coffee on yourself… see our article on getting coffee stains out of clothes! A Stainless Steel carafe can make a big difference in your morning routine, keeping your coffee warm for hours while looking great on your counter, but the inside of it can get kind of gross with coffee residue over time. Stain Solver is the perfect solution to get rid of stubborn coffee stains in your stainless steel coffee pot, and in this article you’ll learn exactly how to use it to remove these stains and get your coffee pot looking as good as new. If you’re a visual person, we have a great video showing you the step by step process of how to clean coffee pot stains from your coffee pot. If you’d rather read about how to get rid of the stains on your stainless steet coffee pots, keep going! Why Do Stainless Steel Pots Get Stained By Coffee? The term “stainless” might be slightly misleading when it comes to coffee stains. This material is great at repelling rust and other sorts of stains, but it can’t keep coffee from depositing on the surface, especially on the inside of the coffee pot when it’s not getting thoroughly cleaned on a regular basis. But what’s getting stuck on the inside of your coffee pot? It’s a chemical compound called tannins. Tannins are the compounds in coffee that give it its dark color, which is beautiful to look at in a mug, but not so nice to look at after they’ve hardened at the bottom of your coffee pot! These kinds of compounds are present in notorious stainers like red wine, which Stain Solver also happens to be excellent at cleaning! These tannins, along with the lipids (or fats) in coffee are what causes the coffee stains to be so persistent. Step-By-Step Instructions on How To Clean a Coffee Pot If you thought that it was going to take a lot of scrubbing and effort to clean your coffee pot, you can take a deep breath! This method requires no scrubbing at all, and just a little bit of patience Here’s how you do it: Fill up the dirty pot with hot water. It’s important that the water is hot because this enables the Stain Solver powder to dissolve. Add 1 Tablespoon of Stain Solver powder to the coffee pot, and stir or shake until it’s completely dissolved. Let sit for several hours, we have found that leaving it overnight is usually a good option. Rinse, and be amazed! It really is that simple! You can also use this same technique to clean a tea kettle, stainless steel coffee mugs, or any other stained dishware you might have. Why Is Stain Solver So Good at Removing Coffee Stains? You might be wondering why Stain Solver is such an effective stain remover, and we don't blame you! Luckily there is no hocus pocus, and no magic in what makes our product so effective, just science! It all comes down to the use of our active ingredient, sodium percarbonate. The Power of Peroxide When you mix Stain Solver powder with water, a safe and natural chemical reaction occurs, leading the percarbonate to become hydrogen peroxide, yep, the same hydrogen peroxide as you probably have in your medicine cabinet right now! When that peroxide is created, the oxygen bubbles are what lifts the stains from the clothing, allowing you to safely and effectively remove coffee stains. Final Thoughts on Cleaning Stainless Steel Coffee Pots There you have it! Getting your stainless steel coffee pot to be looking as good as new doesn’t have to be a chore. With Stain Solver you can make your coffee pots look good as new in no time.

Hey there Stain Solvers, It’s Joe from Stain Solver here, and I’ve got a story for you… one that’s important if you wash your dishes in a dishwasher. I moved into a new apartment recently, and was on the lookout for places where I could use Stain Solver to keep things sparkling. One of the places that I knew food debris and grime could get trapped was in the filter of dishwashers, so I went to check it out. It was so much worse than I thought it would be. Brace yourselves… I was horrified! The plates, pans, silverware, and glasses that I eat off of go through that dishwasher, and who knows what kind of germs were growing in there. It was a hardened mass of food particles, dirt, hair, detergent residue, a banana sticker, and who knows what else. Be glad that the geniuses over in silicon valley haven’t figured out how send smells over the internet because it was… not nice. Luckily, here at Stain Solver we figured out the best way to clean your dishwasher filters, so you’ll never need to worry about food bits, calcium deposits, unpleasant odors, or other grossness lurking in your dishwasher. So without further ado, let’s talk about how to clean your dishwasher filter with Stain Solver. Do Dishwashers Have Filters That Need To Be Cleaned? As you can see from the above photos the answer to this question is a resounding YES! Dishwasher filters are a critical part of the appliance, and are what makes it possible for it to get rid of the left over bits of food that stay on plates when they go in the dishwasher. Just like any other part of your home, a little bit of maintenance goes a long way, and staying on top of keeping your dishwasher filter clean can help you avoid a situation like the one that I encountered with a truly disgusting filter that I had to clean. A Telltale Sign Your Dishwasher Filter Needs Cleaning Luckily, you’ll get a big clue that it’s time for a cleaning. It’s pretty obvious when your newly cleaned dishes aren’t getting as clean as they used to. If your glasses are starting to look cloudy, or food debris isn’t coming off of plates, it might be time clean the filter. The filter is a big part of how your dishwasher cleans your dishes, and if it’s not cleaned properly it can impede the ability of the machine to clean dishes. Why Is It Important To Clean Your Dishwasher Filter? It’s important to clean your dishwasher filter for a few reasons, but the most important one is cleanliness and safety. The warm, moist environment full of food particles that a dirty filter creates is the ideal breeding ground for bacteria and mold. Not the kind of things you want near plates and glasses you eat and drink from. Outside of the health concerns, we’ve already mentionde how a clogged filter can seriously impede the cleaning ability of your dishwasher. If your dishes aren’t coming out as clean as they used to, a dirty filter could be to blame. Finally, a dirty filter can small BAD! If there’s a nasty odor coming from your dishwasher, a gross filter might be the cause. How do I know what kind of dishwasher filter I have? Dishwashers will have one of two kinds of filters in them, a self-cleaning filter, or a manual filter. Older dishwashers (those made before 2010) will have the self-cleaning variety. There is one pretty important caveat here, as the self cleaning filters don’t really do that good of a job of cleaning! The dishwasher that held the mess you saw above was a self cleaning one, so even if that’s the kind you own, you should still clean your dishwasher filter. Newer models will have manual filters that are explicitly designed to be taken out and cleaned. Manual filters require cleaning on a regular basis to keep your dishwasher working at top capacity, it’s just a part of the routine maintenance of those appliances. If you’re not sure what kind of filter your dishwasher uses, a quick google search or perusal of the owner’s manual should be able to help you find out. Finding and Accessing The Dishwasher Filter For self-cleaning models you’ll have to remove the spray arms in order to get to the filter. Here is where I located mine: In newer models with manual filters you should be able to see it at the bottom of the dishwasher when you pull the lower dish rack out. Take the filter out of the dishwasher (in some older models you’ll have to remove the center part from the circular plastic grid that surrounds it) and get ready to clean! How to Clean Your Dishwasher Filter Now for the fun part, the cleaning! When I first pulled the filter out I tried to take a sponge to the outside of it and break up some of that dense junk on the inside with dish soap, but to no avail. This is where Stain Solver came to the rescue. Step-By-Step Instructions to Clean a Dishwasher Filter Here’s how I used Stain Solver to give my dishwasher filter a thorough cleaning. Filled up a large bowl with hot water and added a half cup of Stain Solver, and stirred until completely dissolved. Removed the center portion of the flat filter from the apron and submerged it in the Stain Solver solution. Let sit for an hour, then removed from the solution. If your filter isn’t as gross as mine was this might be all that you need to do, but this first soak was enough to get the gunk loosened, but not removed. Here’s what I did next. Used a sponge, hot soapy water, and the end of a fork to dislodge some of the debris from the center of the filter. I also was able to use a soft bristle brush (you could probably use an old toothbrush if you’d like) to start to remove some of the gunk stuck on the outside. Avoid using a wire brush here as it could damage the filter. Poured out the old Stain Solver solution and made up a fresh bowl, and put the filter into the new solution. Periodically rinsed the filter with warm water as new debris got dislodged, until all of the gunk and foreign objects were gone. Used a sponge with dish soap to gently scrub the remaining bits of gunk off (sometimes a little elbow grease goes a long way!) and then rinsed with warm water. The Results It’s a few more steps than some folks might like to take, but once you see the results I think you’ll agree it was worth it! Check out how clean the filter looks: It looks like a brand new filter! I’ve noticed a serious difference in the cleaning performance of my dishwasher as well. More Dishwasher Cleaning Tips While this article focuses on a deep clean of your dishwasher filter, there are some other things that you can do to ensure that you don’t have to do this sort of manual cleaning as often. Scrape food left over off of your plates before you put them in the dishwasher. This helps avoid the kind of buildup that you saw in my filter! Extra points if you rinse your dirty dishes completely! It takes just a few minutes, but can really make a big difference in getting your dishes clean and and keeping your dishwasher running at its best! We might sound like a broken record, but rinse your dishwasher filter often! A little bit of effort every few weeks helps you avoid a big job like the one I had. Give your dishwasher a vinegar bath! Fill a bowl up with distilled white vinegar and place it on the top rack of your dishwasher, then run a wash cycle using hot water. Final Thoughts We hope that this helped you figure out how to clean the filter on your dishwasher, or maybe just inspired you to take a look under the hood and make sure there wasn’t a gross mess lurking there!

Tell me if this has ever happened to you: you cook a wonderful meal, but when you're trying to clean up afterwards you notice some burnt on grease that has become firmly stuck on your cookware. No matter how hard you scrub, this baked on grease stays put, and you wonder whether your cookware will ever look sparkling clean ever again. Don't worry, we're going to show you a simple and easy way to remove baked on grease that can accumulate on stainless steel frying pans using Stain Solver, a safe and effective oxygen cleaner. How do you get baked on grease? Before we talk about how to clean your pots and pans, let's first go over what exactly happens to make those nasty bits of baked on gunk and burnt on food. Fats are present in almost all food, and when they're exposed to heat they soften and break down, turning them from solid to liquid. But when they get to a high enough temperature, like when you cook food on a stove, the heat causes the oils to polymerize, or bond together and harden. These polymers are what create the non-stick surface on a cast iron pan, but they can be unsightly and problematic on stainless steel or glass. How To Remove Baked On Grease on Stainless Steel In this blog post we are going to cover how you can use Stain Solver to remove the toughest burnt grease from your stainless steel pans. First, check out this pan before Stain Solver was used to clean off the burnt grease stains: Not a pretty sight! You could soak this pan in dish soap for weeks and it wouldn't remove this baked on grease. Check out how well Stain Solver was able to remove grease on the pan we showed above: The pan looked almost unrecognizable! Luckily, with Stain Solver, hot water, and a little bit of elbow grease, you'll be able to get results just like this. Step by Step Instructions One of the best parts about Stain Solver is just how easy it is to use. Here are the steps that we took to clean off this frying pan. Step 1: Prepare and Mix the Stain Solver In order to see the best possible results, it's very important that you mix the Stain Solver properly. Fill up your sink with the hottest water that will come out of it, or even get boiling water if you're feeling enthusiastic, and then mix in 1 cup of Stain Solver. Stir until completely dissolved. Step 2: Soak Your Pans This is where the magic happens! Simply place the affected pots and pans in the Stain Solver solution and let the cleaning bubbles do their work. The Stain Solver will loosen up the stubborn grease with oxygen power.  For really dirty pans we recommend leaving them in the solution all day. When you start to see bits of congealed fat come to the surface of the water you'll know you're on the right track! If after a day there is still a substantial amount of baked on grease, you should drain your sink, repeat step one, and let it sit overnight. Step 3: Final Touches When you take the stained pan out of the water you'll notice that nearly all of the baked on grease has disappeared! The grease will have loosened considerably, and for the very last bits we recommend using warm water and dish soap with a non-abrasive sponge like brillo pads, and giving the affected areas a good scrub. What is Stain Solver and why does it work so well? Stain Solver is an oxygen bleach powder that can be used to tackle tough stains in your home, including stubborn grease built up on baking pans. It’s non-toxic, biodegradable, and safe to use around pets and children. It works by releasing oxygen molecules when it comes into contact with water, which helps to break down organic matter like oils and fats that are present in grease. When the safe chemical reaction occurs, the powder becomes chemically the same as hydrogen peroxide, which is a safe household chemical that happens to be very effective at removing baked on grease! Other Kitchen Messes Stain Solver Can Clean If you were thinking that there are other grease stains or kitchen messes that Stain Solver can help solve, you're quite right! It can help clean burnt on grease on all sorts of kitchenware, like cookie sheets, baking sheets, and even glass top stoves! Last Thoughts Removing baked on grease from frying pans doesn't have to be difficult—or dangerous—when you've got Stain Solver on hand! With its safe yet powerful formula capable of breaking down even stubborn grease deposits quickly and effectively without leaving behind any streaks or residues afterwards, what's not love about this amazing product? Plus, now that you know how easy it is thanks to this handy guide we've provided here today…what're you waiting for? Get out there and get cleaning!