When it comes to stains on our laundry, Murphy is in charge: if something can drip, spill, run, or ooze, it will do so on your favorite jeans or shirt.

Don’t worry though: we have collected the right formulas for removing any kind of stain from your clothes. I always feel like a mad scientist when removing stains. After all, this stains-removing thing is practically a science, since I always experiment with different ingredients (safe ones because I’m not that mad) – baking soda, lemon juice, a raw potato, white vinegar, and so on. If you’re not a fan of experimenting, check out these tips for removing all kinds of stains.

Luckily, most common stains can be easily treated with items we all have at our home.

We have already told you how to remove grease, grass, and red wine stains, but let’s see the removing tactics for other common stains.

• Chewing gum

Chewing gum stain is something that happens way too often, right? In case of a chewing gum stain, you should rub the gummy spot using ice in order to harden the area. Then using a dull knife, scrape away the gum (as much as possible), saturate the remains of the gum with a pre-wash remover, and wash and rinse as usual.

• Blood

Blood stains are also easily removed, only if you immediately soak the clothing in cold salt water and leave it for four hours. Rub the blood stain with liquid detergent. A lot of people think that chlorine bleach will remove the stain, when in fact, it makes the stain worse.

• Coffee and tea

The stain in these drinks comes from the milk, sugar and tannin. Vinegar is the solution for coffee and tea stains. You should soak the clothing in enzyme-based stain remover right away. However, if the stain is old, you should rub it with glycerin or sodium perborate.

• Lipstick and cosmetic stains

Ladies, don’t you just hate lipstick and cosmetic stains on your favorite shirt? With pre-wash stain remover pre-treat the stain and then wash the clothing as you usually do – in the water temperature that is recommended for the fabric.

• Gravy

You should cover the gravy stain with salt, flour, baking soda or cornstarch – everything that can soak up grease. Then, brush the substance off and pour hot water and liquid detergent directly onto the gravy stain.

• Berry stains – blueberries, strawberries, cranberries

I internally scream when berry stains happen. If the stain is fresh, you can remove it by laundering the clothing using liquid detergent in hot water. Soap flakes will make the stain more difficult to remove. If the stain is old, you should treat it with bleach. If the garment is white, you can use chlorine bleach, but colored fabrics need to be treated with color-safe bleach.

This is just a small part of the most common stains. I’ll make another list with common stains that also happen when you least expect. Oh, and remember: whatever the type of stain is, make sure you prevent it from setting.