House Cleaning and Stain Removal Forum

[mountaindreamer124]

Lots of sheep and cattle out here in the French countryside, and unfortunately they bring the flies with them in the summer. And this year I've found flyspots on my sheets, which is horrid! I washed them, but the little black marks survived. How would you tackle them now, please?

[mrscleannw]

Mountain Dreamer,

The French countryside must be beautiful but the fly issue does not sound so nice – Fly spots come from flies that are regurgitating, excreting, or tracking small amounts of blood onto your sheets.

Fly spots should be treated just like any other blood stain, that is detergent and cold water and they should come right out. Unfortunately if your sheets have been washed in warm or hot water and dried, the stains may be permanently set.

First you can try using a detergent (dishwashing detergent, bar soap, or shampoo) and cold water, washing by hand and scrubbing the fly spot areas. You could even let it soak for 5 to 10 minutes prior to attacking those spots. Wash as usual in cool water and air drying. If necessary, repeat the process.

You might also try using hydrogen peroxide, to lighten the stain without damaging your fabric.
Sprinkle medicinal grade (3%) hydrogen peroxide directly on the sheets where the fly spots are.
Hydrogen peroxide converts to water when exposed to sunlight, so use it indoors away from light and let your sheets air dry. This may take a couple of times before you see any improvement.
Launder as usual.

Let us know if this helps in removing your black fly spots!
I hope you are able to save your set of sheets.

Mrs. Clean

[mathew]

Hey! you can clean the way I did. Use a little hydrogen peroxide and a little liquid soap to remove the fly-spots.

[cleanway]

It might be tough to get them out after having washed them repeatedly already. Especially the fly spots - they leave tough stains when not treated properly from the onset. Like suggested by others, you could use hydrogen peroxide (taking care not to harm the fabric) on the old stains for now and compare the results.

The next time it happens, soak your sheets immediately in cold water. You could also add mild shampoo to it (so you don't harm whatever fabric you are using). This should work out fairly well. In case it does not, sprinkle detergent powder gently on the spot areas and rub with water (so it has the form of soap foam on it). Leave it for some 20 minutes and rinse off. Dry the sheets in sunlight and not indoors. It does make a difference in fading out the stains from washed clothes.

Hope this helps.