Stacey Solomon has shared an unusual cleaning hack for absorbing tough grease stains in an episode of Sort Your Life Out on BBC One.
In episode one of the second series, the TV icon ventured to Richmond in south-west London to help parents-of-two Char and Dan take back control of their cluttered rental home. The couple’s two-up two-down property was crammed with possessions, and the pair confessed to regularly bulk buying products.
Char said: "I think it’s because we worked really hard to get where we are and things cost money and there isn’t a lot of money. Financially, it’s better for us to bulk buy. Unfortunately, this house is not built for storage, so we actually have nowhere to put it."
Dan continued: "You can’t move in from one room to another without tripping over something. Cost-of-living has risen, which makes it very difficult for us. We scrimp and scrape and we try and put some money aside so that one day we can eventually buy this house off the council and officially call it our own."
As the team tackled the cluttered home, household expert Iwan Carrington addressed a common problem that many parents are faced with. Holding up a white school shirt with a large discoloured stain, the cleaning whiz said: "It looks like something greasy has been spilt down this.
"I like to use chalk because what that will do is absorb all the grease before you put it in the wash and that will help to remove it." Using a white chalk stick, Iwan rubbed over the stain before placing it in the washing machine.
Whether cooking oil splatters on your sleeve, or a slice of pizza lands on your lap, Iwan reassured that your grease-stained garment isn’t ruined forever. According to Maytag, grease can be difficult to wash away because the lipid is insoluble in water.
This means the oily substance clings to the fibres of the fabric, making it difficult to remove in an average laundry cycle. Cleaning expert Jill Koch has explained the science behind chalk’s absorbent properties, as she told Homes & Gardens: "Chalk is typically made from a form of limestone called calcium carbonate.
"As you apply the chalk to the oil stain, it will absorb the oil and essentially hold onto it. Then you can brush the chalk away and the oil along with it. Chalk today [usually] includes other ingredients, too, but calcium carbonate is often still the main ingredient."
Shoppers can purchase 12 white chalks for £1 from WHSmith and Hobbycraft, setting you back by 8p for one product. Later in the episode, Iwan shared a nifty trick for making reusable wipes for a fraction of the price.
He said: "Bamboo paper is an eco-friendly alternative to household wipes, and is very strong meaning won’t fall apart." Iwan then filled a long glass jar with one cup of water, half a cup of vinegar, a small amount of washing up liquid, and a few lemon drops.
Placing the bamboo roll in the jar and soaking it in the cleaning solution, he said: "The idea being, the paper is pre-soaked when you come to using them." The cost-efficient hack means each sheet can be washed and reused up to 120 times before being discarded. "No nasty chemicals, home-made, and reusable. We can literally wash these afterwards and use them again," concluded Iwan.