Stains are the biggest enemies of clothes. They can get on your beautiful clothes at any time and ruin them instantly. One such stain is the crystal or gentian violet stain.
How to remove crystal violet stains from clothes?
We often receive this question from people across the world. Crystal violet stain is one of the toughest stains you can have to deal with. It is very strong and doesn’t leave the fabric of the cloth very easily.
If you want to know how you can remove the crystal violet stain from your clothes, then you are at the right place. We are here to teach you everything about crystal violet stains and how you can treat them for complete removal.
What is crystal violet
First of all, you need to know what crystal violet is. It will help you better understand the properties of crystal violet and how you can deal with its stains.
Do you know crystal violet is triarylmethane dye? Crystal violet is used a histological stain for the classification of bacteria in Gram’s method.
Moreover, crystal violet also has very significant medical properties such as antifungal, antibacterial, antitumor, and much more. This is the reason it is widely used at medical and industrial scales.
Will crystal violet stain clothes
The answer is yes! Crystal violet will stain your clothes.
The reason is obvious as we said above that crystal violet is a triarylmethane dye and we know that dyes leave stains on clothes.
Crystal violet can not only leave strong stains on your clothes, but it can also leave behind permanent stains on your skin upon contact.
It is very toxic and that’s why experts recommend you should deal with it very carefully.
Now you might be worrying if the crystal violet stains on your clothes are removable. Well, it is possible to remove crystal violet stains from clothes and there are many methods present out there that can help you do so.
Is crystal violet the same as gentian violet
This is an interesting question.
Some people think crystal violet and gentian violet are the same whereas some people think they are different. This has led to confusion.
What’s the reality?
Well, the answer is that crystal violet and gentian violet are the same.
If we look back the history, crystal violet and gentian violet were considered separate. But now, they are called synonyms of each other.
It means that gentian violet and crystal violet are the same things.
Does crystal violet stain come out of the clothes
Let’s get some facts straight.
No matter what crystal violet is, all you want in the end is to remove it from your clothes, right?
Are crystal violet stains removable?
The answer is yes. Crystal violet stains can come out of the clothes if you wash them according to the right technique.
Several different methods have been in use for effectively removing crystal violet stains from clothes. If you want to learn how to remove the crystal violet stains from clothes, then get ready, and let’s start it.
How to get rid of crystal violet stains from clothes
Here is a complete detailed guide that will teach you how to remove crystal violet stains from clothes in a stepwise manner.
Total Time: 45 minutes
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Prepare a solution of vinegar and detergent
When removing crystal violet stains, you will need something for applying to the stains. A solution of detergent and vinegar can be brilliant for this purpose.
Take some vinegar and detergent and mix them to form a cleaning solution.
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Soak the clothes in the cleaning solution
You have to take your clothes affected by crystal violet stains and put them in the cleaning solution for the whole night.
The cleaning solution will do its job and make the crystal violet stain soft. This way it will be easier to remove.
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Scrub the crystal violet stain with a toothbrush
You will take out the clothes from the cleaning solution.
Take a used toothbrush and start scrubbing the crystal violet stain present on the surface of the cloth. The stains will start coming off.
Keep pouring the cleaning solution in the stain between intervals. Continue scrubbing the spot. Once the majority of the stain is gone, then you can rinse the clothes with clean water.
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Apply alcohol on the crystal violet stain
There are strong chances that the crystal violet stain might not go away with simple scrubbing by the toothbrush.
If the stain is still on your clothes, then take some alcohol and drop it over the crystal violet stains.
Make the entire stained spot saturated and wet with alcohol. Leave it for at least 10 minutes and allow the alcohol to sit on the stain.
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Blot the crystal violet stain with a paper towel or absorbing pads
Take some absorbing pads or paper towels. Use them to blot the crystal violet stain and absorb as much of it as you can.
Start with blotting the outer region of the crystal violet stain and slowly move towards the center of the stain.
All the material on the cloth will start absorbing into the absorbing pad or paper towel.
Keep changing the absorbing pad or paper towel once it gets full with the crystal violet stains.
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Soak the clothes in the ammonia and detergent solution
Now you are entering the last steps of cleaning the crystal violet stains.
Create a solution of equal volumes of ammonia and detergent.
Soak your clothes inside that solution for about 30 minutes. Doing this will help you get rid of any remaining crystal violet stain and also remove its smell.
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Scrub again and rinse
Take out the clothes from the ammonia-detergent solution and place them flat on a surface.
Take a toothbrush and scrub the crystal violet stain once again. Once the stain is completely removed then you can rinse the clothes with clean water.
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Dry the clothes
Air-dry the clothes and then carefully inspect them to see if the stain is there or not.
If there is no stain left then you can even put the clothes in the dryer.
However, if the stain is still present then you should never put the clothes in the dryer because the high heat will set the stain permanent.
You can also air-dry the clothes only if you want.
How to remove Crystal violet stain from skin
One of the best methods you can utilize to get rid of Crystal violet stains is using bleach and water solution. Check below for directions on how it can be applied.
- Make a solution from the mixtures of 1 tbs. of bleach and a gallon of water. Or for a better understanding of the proportion, you can mix 10 parts of water with 1 part of bleach.
- Dip a cotton ball into the solution, get it soaked, and rub it on the affected surface until the stain starts to fade off.
- Once the stain completely fades off, rinse treated spots thoroughly with water.
Note; Bleach is highly corrosive, and therefore, you should ensure that your skin is not sensitive to its use before applying.
How to remove Crystal violet stains from the floor
You can get rid of that stubborn Crustal violet stain from your floor using baking soda. Check below for usage directions.
- Make a solution from the mixtures of half cup of liquid dishwashing soap, half a cup of water, 1 2/3 cups of baking soda, and 2 spoons of distilled vinegar.
- Stir the mixtures thoroughly until all lumps are dissolved.
- Pour the solution into a spray bottle.
- Spray the solution generously on the floor
- Mop the floor applying pressure as may be required until the stains are completely gone.
- Rinse treated spot afterward.
Note: This solution is very effective, however, it is not suitable for all kinds of flooring. Therefore, you should test the solution on an inconspicuous part of the floor before use.
The End of Guide
This was our complete guide about removing crystal violet stains from clothes.
We dropped all the effective crystal violet stain removal techniques that you can try any time to get rid of crystal violet stains from clothes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is crystal violet a basic dye?
Yes, crystal violet is a basic dye. Basic dye is any dye that dissolves in acid but remains insoluble in basic solutions, and they consist mainly of amino or imino compounds of triarylmethane or xanthene. Most dye under this categorization is used mainly for ink. Crystal violet meets these criteria and therefore it is a basic dye. In fact, the three main basic dyes are, Methylene blue, Basic fuchsin safranin, and crystal violet.
Is crystal violet stains acidic or basic?
Crystal violet stains are basic. Almost all the dyes used for staining bacteria are basic. This is the case almost all the time because nucleic acid of bacterial cells stimulates the positive ions of the stains. Examples of dyes in this category are Crystal violet and Methylene blue.
What does crystal violet do to a cell?
Basically, what crystal violet does to a cell is that it binds with the DNA and proteins of the cell. This is one of the widely used methods for detecting the maintained adherence of cells. This process involves the intercalation of dye which will enable the quantification of DNA, which will be held in proportion to the number of cells contained in the culture.
Any cell that goes through cell death loses its adherence and will automatically be lost from the total number of cells thereby resulting in the reduction in the overall population of staining (crystal violet) in a culture.
How fast do Crystal violet discolorize?
According to Filippone 7In findings, it was discovered that Crystal violet decolorizes at the rate of 0.132 M/s.
Can crystal violet be used instead of Nigrosin stains to perform a negative stain?
No, Crystal violet cannot be used as an alternative to Nigrosin stains to perform negative stains. You can stain whatever you want, but not bacterial cells. This enables chemists to see the cell in its natural form (unstained) and study their morphology more closely, (their shape, and their arrangement in group). The cells on their surface had an overall negative charge, do by their nature, they are only meant to attract only positive charges. Therefore, since Crystal violet has positive charges, it will adhere to the cell surface and stain it. Which is usually not the intention for carrying out negative staining.
How long does Crystal violet stain skin?
The truth is, do not get your fancy cloth or any surface stained with Crystal violet. This is because even though there are strong cleaners that can be utilized to get rid of the stains for good, it takes time. Depending on how long you got your cloth stained with Crystal violet, the stain could either be permanent or take weeks before it can be finally removed.
“Your home is a representation of yourself, and it should only be filled with clean items that you enjoy and use”
Professional cleaning expert
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