How To Easily Clean Chocolate Stains On Clothing

So there’s a reason I know how to clean chocolate stains and smears so easily from fabric and clothing. My chocolate cleaning powers have to do with my childhood. Growing up, I never learned to eat chocolate properly without making a giant mess! You may think every child has problems with “properly eating”, but my poor candy eating skills go far beyond basic kid blunders.

See, I was raised by a self-proclaimed chocoholic AND a small-town dentist! This parental combination was confusing and challenging for me. It may be hard to understand, but I would like you to imagine these memories from my upbringing...

I would find my mom's ever-present, old, half-eaten Hershey’s bars hidden throughout the entire house. It felt like there was a constant temptation of forbidden, freshly made brownies in my mother’s kitchen. Then, “You are going to rot your teeth!” would ring in my ears as I peeled back the foil on the brownie pan. Despite the constant stream of chocolate in our house, the Hershey’s and brownies belonged to my mother, and she…did…not…like…to…share! I didn’t even dare to ask for such delicacies for myself. 

Since my father was the town dentist, to be publicly seen at the Main Street Ben Franklin buying chocolate sweets was simply not permitted. Despite my mother’s chocolate obsession, Halloween was for apples and CandiDent at my house. I was never taught to properly eat chocolate because it was taboo to have it in the first place. So when I eat chocolate as an adult, it is next to impossible to not cover every nearby surface in its melted goodness. 

Since moving from the cooler temps of Minnesota to the sweltering heat of Oklahoma, I frequently practice properly eating the divine delicacy as it melts so much faster! I have learned to easily clean up the smudges, stains and smear that milk, dark and semisweet chocolate leaves behind. So if you need to remove chocolate stains from your shirt, I have you covered with this easy cleaning tip:

How To Easily Clean Chocolate Stains on Clothing

What You Need :

  1. Access to cold water

  2. Dull knife (a butter knife does fine)

  3. Enzyme Detergent (I like TIDE)

  4. Extra clean cloth on hand

  5. Pre-treatment spray or hydrogen peroxide (in case this chocolate stain is really set in)


-Amy Bates

How To Quickly Remove Red Wine From Fabric

I received a bottle of wine this week as a holiday gift! It's a sleek red wine blend called "Tulsa Deco Streamline" inspired by Tulsa's art deco architecture. It will be a great compliment to the unseasonably warm December day we are having in Oklahoma today. But whether you are enjoying a glass of red wine on your outdoor patio or inside during a dinner party, accidental spills will happen! For example, I wore my Mom's wedding dress when I married and had a full glass of red wine dumped on it! But guess what?! Every single trace came out from the heavy brocade fabric! Want to know how? - Watch my cleaning tip on how to quickly remove red wine from fabric:

What you need:

  • ice water or chilled club soda
  • paper towels
  • salt or corn starch
  • rubber bands
  • large bowl
  • water pitcher or teapot
  • hot water