Say you're cooking a tasty stew and some of that savory meat juice splashes up onto your clothing. Or perhaps, you're eating a fresh-off-the-grill burger, just dripping in juicy grease, and on your first bite, it oozes all over your lap. Even when you have a bib or apron on (no judgments here), meat stains are a danger of being a carnivore. They're typically grease-based, and as a result they require special care to be successfully lifted.

Scrape any dried, crusty part of the stain off with a butter knife if the stain is older than a few hours. The best line of defense, however, is to act as soon as the stain occurs.

Dab any excess juice on the surface of your garment with a clean, dry paper towel or disposable muslin, then with a damp towel. Don't rub the stain in.

Rinse your garment in cold water from both the front and back.

Apply OxiCclean or another specialty stain remover to the stain's location and gently rub it in by placing your knuckles under the garment, folding it over your fists and rubbing the sides of the material together.

Soak the garment in cold or lukewarm water (as warm as your garment's washing instructions permit) for 30 minutes.

Wash the garment in the laundry machine according to its washing instructions. Throw in several drops of of liquid dish detergent and OxiClean or other stain remover.

Hang your garment to air dry. Do not dry it in the dryer because it will set the stain if it has not been fully lifted. If this is the case, repeat the above process up to two more times.