Being today is the 4th of July, your man Jeeves is celebrating regardless of his British heritage. It seems that mustard stains are the order of the day.

What makes mustard such a difficult stain to remove?

Mustard gets it’s signature yellow color by the addition of turmeric, a spice, to the recipe. Turmeric is also used as a dye which is the reason for the difficulty.

Along with the yellow hue the stain may also contain grease as a bit of the juice from the burger of hot dog is usually mixed with the mustard.

If the stain in on a washable garment, pre-treat the stain with a bit of vinegar or fresh lemon juice to counteract the turmeric and add a small amount of laundry detergent to remove the grease.

Do not rub. Allow to sit for about 1/2 hour and then wash as usual. Check the stained garment before putting in the dryer. If the stain was not removed, repeat the above procedure.

For garments that are “dry clean only”, blot the mustard, but do not rub. Please do not try any home stain removal techniques as depending on the fabric, you may end up damaging the garment by chafing the fibers or removing the dye around the stain.

Adding seltzer to a mustard stain will not help.

Mustard stains need professional attention as they can prove difficult to remove. If you get a mustard stain, have Jeeves take care of it right of way, as the longer it sits the more difficult it will be to remove.

New York Magazine called Jeeves the “best dry cleaner in New York for difficult jobs” (http://nymag NULL.com/bestofny/services/2011/dry-cleaner/)and can be contacted at JeevesNY.com. (http://jeevesny NULL.com)

Thanks for listening and enjoy the holiday.

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