How do I diagnose a "mystery stain" on a piece of clothing?

Question

I have a pair of pants which I've noticed have a stain somewhere. What I'm seeing is a small ellipse-shaped stain on one of the 'legs' - a darker color than the fabric's original color. The thing it, I haven't worn them for a while and for the life of me I can't remember how they got this stain and what from. The pants have recently been dry-cleaned.

How would I go about "diagnosing" which stain this is for the purposes of removing it - so as not to set it in stronger or harm the fabric trying to remove it?

Note: The stain doesn't have any thickness or different feel to it - other than the color it feels the same as the surrounding material.

Answer 1

I suggest you try the following to remove the stain. Diagnosing does not provide a meaning here, even after the same you should resort to some of the following methods for removing it. Hence, adding them up below:

• Try to get a club soda, apply it on the affected part with a clean cloth and scratch the surface to remove the stain.
• Combine lemon juice with tartar cream, wash the cloth in the laundry machine. If it goes, then you can be of sure that the stain was tomato soup or red wine.
• If the affected part is so small, then there is no use in washing the entire cloth for that. So use an ordinary toothbrush and toothpaste(not gel) on the affected part. Mostly, this method is used for plant related stains(grass stains).
• If the stain remains so strong, then soak the part, apply table salt and rub gently so as to remove the same. As the stain goes, wash the cloth in the laundry machine and you can be of sure that the stain was the blood stain.
• Another life hack is to use shampoo on the affected part, try removing it on rub after applying the same. If it goes, it would be an ordinary dirt or collar dirt.
• Rubbing the affected part with a slight of alcohol can remove the stain, in which the stain would be some ink marks.
• If you wish to try with chemicals, you can, of course, give it a go with baking soda on the affected part, and soon stretch the part, apply boiling water. This reveals that the stain is because of red wine.
• You can also use hacks from your kitchen, prepare a heavily saturated sugar syrup, soak the affected part in a bowl of these. If the stain gets removed, then you can claim that they are tea stains.

Answer 2

I suspect this stain is caused by some oily or greasy substance because the colour of the cloth is the same, only darker.

To remove it, moisten the area with water, apply a bit from a soap bar and rub the cloth for a few minutes, then rinse well. You can also use dishwashing liquid (not the dishwashing machine type).

If the cloth is 100% cotton, before washing it as described above, put a thin layer of wheat flour on the affected area, place a white, clean and thin layer of napkin paper on top of the wheat flour and then heat it with an ironing machine. This way, part of the oily substance migrates in the thin layer of flour and the cloth is more easily washed afterwards. Be careful not to burn the cloth when ironing and choose the proper level of heat.