Out, Damned Spot!

Right now, I am obsessed with getting rid of these chocolate stains on my t-shirt: My Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt from the long-shuttered downtown Minneapolis location.  I remember the hubbub of its opening.  It was supposed to anchor the Block E downtown entertainment district, which had a nightclub and a theater.  The mayor of the city at the time, R. T. Rybak, had a grand opening speech which he finished by smashing a guitar on the ground.  It was open for nine years, when I went in for, oh, a handful of times.  (I remember one time my waitress got real pissed when I told her the total I was going to leave with her, with tip.  I think I may have miscalculated the 15%.)

Anyway, as is my practice, I always get a medium white logo tee from every HRC I encounter.  Since this place closed in 2011, it's important for me to keep it.  And that's why I have taken to soaking this in dishwasher soap and baking soda for several times now to vaporize the stain.  I got it, by the way, eating ice cream; damn chocolate dripped onto it, I was going to be out for much of the rest of the day, and it apparently dried and caked in by the time I put my Tide pen to it once I got home.

I usually don't care about such spots.  That's why I threw it in the hamper and left it there for weeks before washing a load of white clothes several days ago.  But when I pulled the t-shirt out of the washer and saw that those goddamn chocolate stains were still there, I didn't want to make the mistake of putting it in the dryer and setting the spots in it for good.  So I went online real quick to see what I could do, and a website recommended dishwasher soap and baking soda.  There's a bunch of the former lying around, and I have a couple boxes of the latter soaking up odors in the refrigerator because my parents are away and won't make a stink about me buying said baking soda.

I applied both to the stains, then soaked them in this shallow pan in the laundry room.  I went back down there the next day to look at the tee; I think they've faded somewhat, but they're still there.  So I did it again, last/Tuesday night; they're fading just a tad more, but somehow there's a new stain, right below the collar.  Did I transfer the chocolate stain from one part of the shirt to another?

So back I went.  And I'll probably do it again, and maybe even again, and maybe through till Saturday, when my folks come back.  At some point I have to stop because I can't keep going like this.  Maybe on Saturday I'll throw the t-shirt in the washer, put it on maximum soil, throw in as much bleach before I pass out from the fumes, and have the washing machine agitate the hell out of my shirt to get as much of the chocolate stains out.  And then ... well, it'll still be there, and therefore my Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt will still be ruined.  Dammit.