INPUT ARTICLE: Article: The longer a stain is allowed to sit on your nice tablecloth or summer dress, the harder it will be to get out. Whether a stain is from food or ink or anything else, drawing it out from linens will work best when it hasn't yet dried.  Some older stains require dry cleaning to be removed. Dry cleaning can ruin linens so it’s imperative that you try and treat stains quickly so that you don’t have to resort to harsher methods to remove the stain. Use a flat butter knife or spoon to gently lift off any residue. For example, jelly can be scooped up with a spoon so that there’s less of a mess to clean up. You want to remove as much of the substance as possible before beginning to treat the stain.  Do not squeeze or press the linen or stain. Doing so may grind the stain substance into the fibers of the linen and make it harder to get out. You can gently shake off residual liquids like wine or juice instead of wringing them out. Gently dab up and down with a paper towel, for example, to lift the stain from your linens to the towel. Work from the outside of the stain’s perimeter to the inside. This will prevent the pressure of blotting from spreading the stain. For best results, use a specific product for removing stains rather than regular soap. A chemical reaction is an efficient way of removing stains from your linens. Lay out your linen and place a few paper towels or rag clothes underneath to catch excess liquid.  Sprinkle baking soda on the stain and add a few drops at a time of vinegar. Blot the stain with a paper towel to soak up the moisture. Lemon juice will help whiten any dingy materials. Squeeze some juice onto a stain or discolored linen item and let it sit until you see it begin to lighten, and then rinse it out. You can also buy a stain treatment to apply to the stain like Tide or Oxyclean. Don't even rub a stain. Rubbing and applying too much pressure will help a stain to set into the linen rather than get it out. Let the faucet run long enough to fill a sink, bathtub, or washing machine with enough water to cover the linens you’re washing. Hot water should only be used with an additive to help lift the stain. Heat makes stains settle into the fabric so make sure you’re adding another ingredient to the water. Because hot water alone is detrimental to proper stain removal, you need to pair it with another cleanser. You can either purchase a specific stain removal product or make your own with household items.  An example stain removing recipe is as follows: 1 scoop of Oxyclean, 1 cup of Biz, ¾ cup of ammonia, and a gallon of hot water.  White vinegar will help to cut grease as well. Use an ⅛ to a ½ cup based on how big your load of laundry is.  A mild dish detergent will work well too. Use a quarter to a full cup of detergent depending on how much you’re washing. Make sure the fabric is completely saturated and under water. Let the material soak for at least an hour or overnight. Every once in a while, stir the water with a wooden spoon to agitate the water and make sure the solution is dispersed well. Put them on a gentle cycle in the washing machine and not in hot water so that the delicate fibers aren’t ruined. You can add more white vinegar, Oxyclean, or mild dish detergent to the load to help fight stubborn stains. Your dryer is another heat source that could cause a stain to set into the linen. Instead, air or line dry the fabrics so that you don’t undo your progress after soaking them. Hanging linens to dry also helps minimize wrinkles.

SUMMARY: Act quickly to clean the stain. Scrape off excess liquid or solids. Blot the stain with a white cloth or towel. Apply a chemical solution to the stain. Fill a sink with hot water. Add another cleanser to the water. Submerge your linen items in the sink. Drain the sink and wash your linen items normally. Hang to dry.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: You can download software to edit digital pictures for free. There are also paid versions, such as Adobe Photoshop. Choose the software with the features and price that you want and download it.  StarStaX is a commonly used program to edit and combine photos. If you are not using a digital camera, you will need to develop the film or send it off to be developed. Once you have an editing program ready, you’ll need to import the pictures. Connect your camera to the computer via USB cord. If your camera uses a portable memory device (e.g. SD card), you can remove the device and plug it into your computer. Select the pictures you want to use from the memory and upload them to the software program. If you chose to do a series of images, the first thing you will need to do is stack them. When you tell the program to stack your images, it will layer them one on top of the other to form one picture. Then, use the healing brush and other features to remove imperfections in the pictures. If you took one long exposure image, you do not have to do the stacking step. Go straight to the other features. For example, you might adjust the brightness of the picture or use the healing brush to hide an unwanted spot on the picture.

SUMMARY: Download editing software. Import the picture(s). Polish the photo(s) to create a final image.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Get pH testing strips at your local pool store, big-box store, or order them online. Follow the product’s instructions, which are typically dipping the strip into the water and checking its color against the range listed on the product. Some pH test kits require you to fill a small tube with pool water and add drops which change color based on the pH. Record the pH level in a small notebook to track the change over time. The pH of your pool changes frequently due to many causes. This is why it's important to check often. Write the pH down in a notebook to track it as it changes over time. . Test strips change color when exposed to water. The color corresponds to the pH level. Match the color to the package and you’ll find the current pH level. The ideal pH level for a pool is between 7.4 and 7.8. Determine how many points you need to raise the pH. For example, the color of your test strip might show the yellow of a banana. According to your product, this means the pH level is 7.2. You’d want to raise the pH by a minimum of .2 and a maximum of .6.

SUMMARY:
Test the pool water's pH level with test strips. Check the chemical levels one to two times per week. Aim for a pH level of 7.4 to 7.8.