My son works for a concrete outfit and his jeans come home caked with clay, or mud, or just plain dirt. I have a terrible time getting them clean. Any suggestions?
By MrsMom from Cumberland, WI
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Try the following:
Mix 1/2 tsp. of dish washing soap or fabric detergent into 1 (8 oz.)cup of warm water. Then blot it out... be patient as it may take some time. If the spot or stain turns brownish when dry, mix 1 part white vinegar and two parts water. Apply a small amount and blot.
Dawn
http://frugalforlife.blogspot.com
My latest stain remover, from this site, is Dawn Dishwashing Liquid, the original blue one.
I filled an old spray bottle around 3/4 with plain tap water and added Dawn. I didn't measure the Dawn, but the water rose as I squeezed the Dawn in. Now I use it for all my laundry.
But, for cement, I'd start with washing them in the sink. I'd do warm water and Dawn and soak overnight. What could it hurt? You might have to do it again (and again).
Good luck. Write back and let us know what works.
If he is old enough to work in concrete he can wash his own clothes. Tell him to hose them off good before he puts them in the washer. If you have a power washer that will work even better. Personally I would take them to a laundryette once a week. Why put that in your washer.
No offense to Metro but do you really think this woman who has raised this grown man should stand over the sink and wash his clothes? Over and over? Maybe my thinking is off.
If your son is old enough to work in concrete he is most definitely old enough to wash his own clothes. What a disservice you are doing to him, and any girls he may date and live or marry in the future. He's going to think its her job. Teach your son to respect women, not that they are supposed to do his personal chores for him.
I am a stay-at-home mom and I love to care for my family. My son has the knowledge and capabilities to do his own laundry, and he does when the need arises. However, I am more than glad to provide these daily little love-chores for my family! Thanks for your responses. I'm going to try the hints out.
Good for you Mumma, I wash my sons clothes too and he is very capable of doing his own. All I see here is a whole lot of judgment and very little solution. I too find it hard to get the heavy cement dust out of work clothing and seek a solution.
Agree with a few other posters, especially AnnParker. Get him to hose down in the backyard before coming in the house, leave his work clothing somewhere to drip so they're not gunking up your other laundry or your washer.
And direct him to the nearest laundromat on his day off.
We had three girls and a boy, and all of them learned how to do their own wash, cook to stay alive, change a flat and balance a checkbook ( among other things, you get my drift) before they grew up and moved on.
My son does a better load of wash than his wife, and she is better at car repairs.
Don't kill yourself; give him the opportunity to do for himself. He'll better appreciate the clean uniforms, that's a promise.
I think we've lost focus here. Your original question was how to remove the cement not whether we should or should not remove the cement !?
Let's be constructive.
I agree, so much judgment and no solutions really. It is cement dust we are trying to remove, not chunks of cement.
Well well I ask if any one knew how to remove , concrete from blue Jean pants , my grandson works 12 hours a day and I noticed he had a bag of pants he was going to throw out he takes them to the laundromat but these ones are so covered over and over again he says he cannot get the concrete out so I was looking for a solution that I could try and save his pants then I could let him know what to do and he could do it his self hes 24 he works 6 /12 hour shifts and he does his laundry on Sundays dont worry about who does what for other people if I could be there for my grandson if I lived closer I would do his laundry every week he also drives an hour and a half in the morning and an hour and a half at night back and forth to work . So once again , Is there anything that removes concrete from blue jeans??????
For those of you posting "let him wash his own clothes" apparently have never had any one that has worked construction before. My husband went to work Thursday morning at 3:30am and worked 18 hours, counting driving time, he got home at 1am Friday morning and had to leave at 1:30am to go back to work. They have a hard job and the least I can do is wash his clothes for him. That doesn't make him lazy. He works long hard hours to provide for our family and I love him for that. There's nothing wrong with a mother helping her son!!!
I completely agree! My fiance works nights on bridges and only has a day and a half off on weekends. I'm off weekends and the least I can do is wash his work clothes. I usually scrape off the excess concrete and stuff before washing them. It's cut down on the chunks and pieces of crud in the washer and dryer.
I'm sure this woman's son is fully capable of doing his own laundry. Work schedules and how physically exhausted they are has to be taken into consideration. Giver her hints and advice, but DO NOT bring her and her son down because he busts his butt and she's taking the laundry off his list of other things to worry about.
Well said. My son works construction too and I have trouble with the concrete. He can and often does do his own laundry but he works long hours and I am happy to help him with laundry. To you people to say he should do his own laundry, no one asked for you opinion on that. The question was how to get the concrete out NOT for your judgement. What if the woman had said it was her husband, what difference does it make?? To the people to are helpful in this conversation, I have tried siaking the bottoms of his heams in vinegar and salt before washing then, it seems to break up the concrete and help. In regard to the suggestion if having him rinse then when he takes them off, as I said he is up early and works long hours and sometimes it's too cold to be outside doing that (especially in winter, he works year round, not just on nice days) and often be the time he gets home its already dry on him clothes.
Bottom line the vinegar and salt soak seems to work
So totally agree... my boys do wash their own clothes , my youngest who is almost 20 only asked me if i could help him try to get the cement out and like your husband both my boys work hard and do the long hours we are mums all our lives not till they grow up ... my oldest son is nearly 35 he is a tree lopper but just started cementing on night shift as well as keeping his 1st job and if ge asked me to travel to do his washing i definitely would
Whether you wash your sons/husbands clothes or not is your business, others can reserve their judgment. Good luck for the solution as I am seeking the same.
Sounds like your husband may be cheating....thats the most insane work schedule Ive ever heard....think about it....prayers that he is not...
Hey i have 2 sons in cementing business as well and am at this very moment filling my washing machine up with hot water, vinegar , and sard soaker to soak for awhile and see if that removes the cement and like your boy , mine are capable of doing their own washing , but i dont mind helping them out .. after all it was my choice to give birth to them .. i cop shit all the time bout what i do for my kids but hey they do alot for me too . . Hopefully my boys clothes come out relatively cement free and i have done this before and they did come out cleaner that was when they were apprentice brickies now they are full cementing no more bricklaying
Obviously these women who say to tell the young man to rinse his close off have absolutely no knowledge of the construction industry. If you pour concrete early in the day, you still have to finish the rest of your days work. What do you expect the young man to do? Tell the boss he needs to change clothes? It doesn't work that way. The concrete is going to dry during the day; at that point making it difficult to remove. It's the nature of the business! My husband and son both work in the construction industry and as a loving wife and mother I want to be their helper. It's not my job to do their laundry - it's a labor of love. So judge yourselves!!!!
You can try a few drops of dry cleaning solvent on a white cloth. Keep moving the cloth to blot the stain out.
I agree the question was what gets out cement stains not for advice on how to make someone else do their laundry. To each their own. I have more than 1 family member in the construction industry long hours sometimes 7 days a week all year round. It's always nice to help them out with doing laundry. My son does do his laundry but I too like helping him out.
Those saying he should do his own laundry need to go work for a concrete company and work their hours there are days I dont see my husband but two hours and hes ready to go to bed cause he had to be at work at two in the morning but to answer this question I use vinegar
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My 3 year old was playing in wet cement in her new jeans, and they now have cement stains on them. I soaked them immediately in water, however this had no affect. Any suggestions?
Cass Q from Melbourne, Australia
You need to be more concerned about the fact that a child was playing in wet cement rather than worrying about the stains on the jeans! Wet cement can cause extremely serious burns to the skin. No one should allow wet cement on their skin for more than a brief moment. Wash it off quickly or you could be in serious medical trouble! Do a search on "dangers of wet cement" or something similar. I have personally seen grown men in horrible pain and with severe damage to their skin because they thought they could "work" the concrete while wading around in it barefoot or it running into their shoes or boots or kneeling directly on it to "finish" the surface. Some people refer to it as cement poisoning or cement burns. I know kids love to put their hand-prints into wet cement and you can do that.....but wash their hands quickly afterward. (06/01/2006)
By Grandma Margie
My husband is a cement finisher (of 35 years) and I have never found anything that gets cement off his jeans or work shirts. (06/02/2006)
By LEONA LABINE
Try using "Lime-Away" or "CLR" since cement is a lime based product. I used "Lime-Away" on a bathtub and downspout that had some cement on it. It ate it right off. Just make sure you rinse the clothes in cold water to remove the chemicals. (09/16/2006)
By Jodie
The Lime-Away worked great! My four year old got some splashed on her from watching her dad mix it. She came in, I rinsed it, and was troubled that it would not come off. I found this site and tried a lime rust bathroom cleaner. I tired it in an inconspicuous place and was astonished that with a little rubbing from a cleaning brush it washed right away. It did remove it all. Thanks for the great advice! I am not sure it would work for dried on cement, but it was great for an immediate treatment! (10/13/2007)
By Eliza
How about respondents sticking to answering the question instead of phychologizing about whether Mama shd or shd not be doing the washing. That WASN'T the question!
