How to tackle spills and spots fast—from coffee, tea, and wine to mustard, tomato sauce, and moreBy Janet SirotoPhotographs ...

Remove any excess material on the garment ... If fabric has discoloured, try treating fresh stains with ammonia and old stains with white vinegar.

Dab the stain with a solution of equal parts ammonia and cold water, then launder as usual. Not only is this an effective way to remove blood stains, but it works well on sweat and urine stains too.

For a dry stain, soak in salt water for a few hours and rinse. Then apply with ammonia solution (one part ammonia to two parts water). For instructions on how to remove even more stains ...

Carpet: Blot, or scrape with a butter knife to remove excess, then saturate the stain with ammonia solution (1 tablespoon of clear household ammonia to ½ cup of water) from a spray bottle ...