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When you have kids, stains are a fact of life.

But not all products are created equal when it comes to fighting vicious stains like ketchup and grass.

Your roughest stains *can* come out. Debby Whiston should know...she's brightened the whites on her son's Clark County football uniform many a time...getting out the blood, mud and grass stains on a daily basis with success.

So how does this super mom do it? Simple. Whiston says it's all about knowing what to use on which stains. Click here for the stain removal guide from the University of Missouri Extension.

"You can't just treat all stains with one product and expect to have a successful result. You're really going to have to look at the stain and identify it. "

Aerosol products like this are only effective on greasy stains...like french fry grease, and oil. Pre-treatment products out of squirt bottles and sticks are best for protein stains like fruit juice and grass.

Now get your supplies together.

Get a smooth clean surface, a white paper towel...with no ink! And a spoon or toothbrush to wash it out.

Test the products on an inside seam of the garment to make sure you won't harm the fabric...but the thing Whiston says you HAVE to remember is stain removal is all about taking your time.

To show you...Whiston fought several common stains right in front of our eyes.

The first is car grease and aerosol remover is sprayed, but it's how you work the stain that makes all the difference.

"Most people work on a stain from the top...but that means you have to push it through the entire fabric. But if you turn the fabric over...you can push it out from the underside. You're going to spray the stain remover on the front side and work in in to the fabric with your nails or even a spoon."

You can see the grease coming out.

"We have a ketchup stain and it's both a greasy and protein stain....so we're going to have to use a couple of products on it."

Aerosol first to get out the grease...then a good soak in pretreatment solution. The key is to give the stain time to dissolve.

Then the ultimate challenge for this super stain fighting mom.

Debby Whiston said, "I've washed a football uniform with ground in dirt, blood and grass stains, it doesn't just happen immediately. Most of the time it's going to take soaking it in stain remover for a half a day or a whole day and maybe change the water on that. If it's really heavily soiled we're not going to see results by just spraying stuff on it and throwing it in the wash."

But the key to take away from this story...you can save a lot of time and elbow grease by choosing the right stain fighter for the stain...and giving it a little time.

Whiston offers a couple more tips...use cool water...hot water will set the stain in for good.

And the sooner you can get to the stain, the more successful you'll be.

Click here to find out how to determine what kind of stain you're working with, and how to fight stains with common household materials...instead of name brand removers.