So much more to offer than stains!

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We have discontinued our stain solution website.
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At Illinois Extension, our reputation is built on providing reliable, proven research-based information. It's behind every recommendation we provide, woven into the very fabric of every program, every encounter, and every word we write. Much has changed in the textile world since the Stain Solution website was created. We no longer have the expertise to confidently update the website to reflect those changes. 

We won't promise you something we can't stand behind. You deserve reliable information you can trust. 

Although we've discontinued the Stain Solutions website, there are still thousands of pages of content that can benefit your family, your business, and your communities. We hope you'll explore the many ways we can help you build a better world. When we are able to verify the information about stain removal, we'll begin again, a fresh start to helping you fix life's little hiccups.

 

Enjoy Our Blogs
Image of a bowl with tomatoes, red onions, and white beans, next a fork and napkin on a wooden tabletop

Explore the richness and health benefits of white beans

I recently tried a new white chicken chili recipe and it called for both cannellini beans and Great Northern beans. I have always used one or the other, but never at the same time. The two beans in the same bowl of soup allowed me to see and taste their similarities and differences, though honestly...
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A crocus 'Yellow Mammoth', winter aconite, netted iris, grape hyacinth and scilla flower.

Spring is just around the corner

It’s amaing how the little things can give us such joy, like seeing the first bee of the season, or a Carolina wren tearing out last year’s nest in order to rebuild it anew. But as a gardener, seeing the first blooms of the year completes that’s sense of renewal for me. My go-tos for early bloom...
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potatoes fresh from the garden with dirt

The great potato myth.

March is National Nutrition Month and what better way to celebrate than by debunking the great potato myth! In honor of all the Irish, or those who wish they were, we will talk about the lowly, much maligned potato. Myth #1: potatoes are fattening. In fact, potatoes are delicious and nutritious!...
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beef cattle in pasture

Too Late for Frost Seeding?

The first week of March is traditionally when many in central and northern Illinois are frost seeding clover. However, this year has brought a dry, mild winter and the grass as even started to green up. It feels like spring, and the plants feel it too. The question has come up quite a bit in the...
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Prairie Establishment at ClarkLindsey

On a sunny and cold day in early February, some Urbana residents helped to spread handfuls of native prairie seed on the ground.  Using tools as simple as a paper cup or their bare hands, the seeds were broadcast into the air, falling silently to the ground.  As these seeds are exposed to...
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The weight of winter: snow and ice on trees image of ice on dormant tree branches

The weight of winter: Snow and ice on trees

I write this article as I look out at a snow-covered landscape and give thanks for the warmth of my office. It is during these days that I’m reminded of the awesome adaptability of nature. Trees and animals can survive, even thrive, in a climate where temperatures can easily span one-hundred...
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Dark blue-purple elderberries hanging on pink stems

Ward off the winter blues with plant propagation

In a season of chilly air and cold soil, gardeners cannot help but catch “spring fever”. The remedy for most is trays of soil and tiny seeds – a start of the summer garden – but transplanting those seedlings is a long way off. If plant propagation by seed is too much to remember, try growing plants...
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Image of a bowl with oatmeal, blueberries, almonds, and cinnamon on a table with a poon and jar of honey

Take your oatmeal to the next level

Waking up to a warm bowl of oatmeal in the cold winter months is a good start to the day. Oatmeal has it’s perks; it’s quick and easy to prepare with a hundred different variations to keep it from getting boring, and it’s fiber content makes it both hearty and healthy, filling up your tummy while...
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Make healthier choices on any budget. 

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Pollinators are vital to both plant life and human life on earth.

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Feeding My Baby

When is the right time to introduce complementary foods?