I am shocked at how much my baby's clothes get stained by his baby food. I try to scrub the stains that I see (I actually use dish soap and a dish scrubber) and it usually works. But even stains that are really little that I think will come out don't seem to come out ... and there's always little spots that I miss. I've used stain stick and a pre-treatment stain remover, and nothing seems to work. I use cold water for all of my washes. Also, I put bleach straight on a onesie and it came out of the washer in shreds. Are there any tips on detergents that work well (I use regular Tide) or pre stain treatments (I've used Baby Oxiclean and it isn't doing much). Any tips would be appreciated! (also, any tips on getting Poly Vi Sol out? I spilled it on my glider chair and it wont' come out!)
I love oxy clean liquid stain remover. It's in a blue bottle in the laundry department... it is the best I've ever found!! It even works on baths, etc.
S.
My two favorites that do the job nearly every time are regular OXYCLEAN (for soaking clothes with multiple stains) and ZOUT (for spot cleaning). Good luck! We moms know how vigilant we have to be with all kinds of stains!
Try Dreft - it is like spray and wash, but designed for babies... I get it in the baby aisles at Wal-Mart. If the stain is really set in, I spray it, let it sit for a few hours and wash it in hot water then hang to dry. Dreft seems to get every stain out.
biz bleach could be your new best friend. Also, hang your whites in the sun to brighten them up!
use the real oxyclean stuff. I did a soak on a lot of my first son's clothing after pulling it out of storage and finding all sorts of yellowing all over the clothes. It took all the stains out. period. I just filled a dish tub with warm water and the max amount the tub suggested for really stuborn red stains on a white onesie- it came out looking like new! You just need to make sure the tub is someplace your little one can't reach because it takes a good 24 hrs to soak the stain out- but well worth the wait! good luck!
We use the spray and wash dual action (I think thats what its called). I'm really bad about putting it on the stain right away. I've even left stained clothes in the laundry room and then had my husband do laundry. He NEVER looks for stains so he washed it and set the stain in. Next time i washed it I used some of the spray and wash and it still came out.
Hang your clothes to dry in the sun, for stubborn stains hang in a window for days.
I use regular oxiclean, it helps to scrub it in there. I usually wear rubber gloves and rub the sides of the fabric together, it just works best.
With bleach you want to put it on, rub it in until the stain basically disappears, then really rinse it before it goes in the laundry. The key is to hurry and get the bleach out before it ruins your clothing, which it will. For whites you can also leave them out in the sun and stains will fade that way as well.
B.,
Now I'm not to baby food stains with my newest, BUT I did get back some clothes that my sister in law had not cared for with any sort of love and I just gave this one spot remover a shot. Spray'n'Wash with Resolve took it out. These stains were two years old!!! Don't leave home without it!
V.
I love Dreft Stain Remover Spray. It is amazing, gentle and works great on adult stains too. Give it a try - you won't be disappointed.
If it's Poly-Vi-Sol with Iron, you might try rust remover. For my second son, we did (and still do) OxyClean and Dreft in every wash, Shout Advanced for stain remover for spots that seem stubborn. He was a spitter, and it saved most his clothes. We're using the same for our daughter now. Very rarely do I have something that doesn't come out with that. We use All Free and Clear with OxyClean for everyone else, and haven't had any problems, although we do use more of the Shout for us, but the Shout really lasts a long time since we use it so little. I do very little to treat stains anymore. It's great! With this combo, I've even had set in stains come out. My son cut his hand really badly and bled all over one of my shirts really badly. So far, a lot has been removed. I think we might make it yet. It's great!
I have to agree with Vikki W- spray-n-wash with resolve. I got a ton of hand me downs from my sister-in-law with layers of dried in stains and this took them right out- you can't pretreat very far in advance with it, but if you do it 5 min before the wash it works wonders.
Also should note, even if you choose to wash in cold, you should run the hot water for a few min to fully disolve your detergent before switching to cold and putting clothes in. I preffer the warm/warm setting as it gets more detergent out of the clotes.
Your signature says your son has reflux- have you tried using lactose free products- we thought my daughter had reflux until the nutrtionist at WIC had us try a lactose free formula (not soy, just lactose free) and all of her problems cleared up.
EASIEST METHOD! I put tide (or any good detergent) in a dishsoap bottle or shampoo bottle. When the kids get anything on their clothes I put a dot of detergent on the stain and throw it in the hamper.
I then just wash the clothes normally.
I like tide clear and free the best or Method non scented.
More than 99% of the time this works. Even with Grape juice. It doesn't work as well if I wait until the next day.
SAHM of 7 and 3 year old girls. Sounds as if your baby is like my 3 year old. She is always an adorable mess!
Finally on my last baby I have figured out how to get those pesky stains out. First if the stain is large I take her clothes off right away and scrub it out. If that is not a possibility (with three kids I do not always have the luxury of time) then when I give her a bath at night I use the Johnson's baby shampoo (silly huh?) and actually wash her clothes right in the bath water and just put the soap right on the stain itself and rub the clothing together and rinse until it is gone. When the bath is done then I just hang the clothes over the currtain rod and they are dry and perfect the next morning ready to put away. The only time I have a hard time getting stains out is when I leave them until laundry day. They just get too set in. Good luck!
I have found a naturally based laundry soap that does wonders. It does not have the caustic chemicals like bleach so it will not eat the clothing. There is a liquid soap and brightener. I use them together. It even gets out the chocolate Pedisure.
They are also 6x concentrated so it doesn't take up too much space in my little apartment. They use a 1/2 oz pump (which is one load)so I do not have to use the little cup. There is also a stain pre-spot for harder stains. I order them online at Melaleuca. If you want more information I would be happy to get it to you.
S. Broadbent
Mother to Kai (18 months)
www.HomeWithKai.com
B. - I agree - Oxyclean powder works wonders on those protein and spit up stains.
It will discolor colored clothes so be careful. I fill the sink with HOT water, add alot of Oxyclean, especially right on the stains and let them soak, adding hot water along the way. I found you need a lot stronger solution of Oxyclean that is noted on the instructions to get these stains out.
I was able to save many of my first son's whites this way so I didnt have to buy them for my 2nd.
Poly Vi Sol will not come out once it is dry. I ruined my favorite shirt with a spot in an inopportune place -- I spent close to an hour using everything I know to get it out. My pediatrician recommended giving it to them in the bathtub to avoid stains.
I use spray and wash for babyfood/spitup stains -- it works great in combination with the regular oxyclean. But I also wash baby clothes on hot. Straight bleach will dissolve your clothes -- as you have discovered, unless you rinse it out right away. If you are worried about detergent residue, just give the clothes an extra rinse -- and unless you wash your own clothes with baby detergent he'll get it from being against your clothes.
Good luck in the battle against stains!
I don't like the baby oxi-I much prefer the regular stuff. It works better-even got some green acrylic paint off of my 2 YO's onesie & he had wiped his hands on his shirt. I've heard vinegar will help to get the formula stains out-I use a regular detergent-sized full load cup of vinegar w/my funky big boy loads now.
Try spraying Kids N Pets on there before you wash them. I haven't tried it with baby food because my kids never ate it very well but it works great on poop!
I finally started putting a full scoop of Oxyclean in every load and that has helped a lot. If I don't think it will come out that way I will soak it in extra concentrated Oxyclean for a couple of days. I was able to get a whole bunch of taco sauce out of white linen pants this way. Take a look at the stained clothing when it comes out of the wash and if the stain is still there soak it in Oxyclean again. Warm and hot water remove stains better than cold water. I always wash lights in warm and whites in hot.
