Tell me your stain fighting secrets please!

[newmomx2]

Now that my girls are eating solids it is wrecking havoc on their clothes. As you all know it is a miracle to just stay caught up with the laundry let alone have time to go through each piece of clothing individually checking for stains then spray rub wait ect. Is there something you can just throw in the wash with the clothes that is safe for baby clothes and babies sensitive skin? Any other suggestions? TIA

[CalaRei]

I used hydrogen peroxide on a lot of stains. Generally better for greasy, bloody or pukey stains than straight up food, but it's saved a lot of clothes for me.

I think my biggest surprise was how badly banana stained!!

[duckmom]

Oxi Clean is safe and can be used as a booster, but I have much better results soaking with it. I've yet to find a stain it won't remove. You could pause or turn off your machine for an extended soak time for the entire load (without sorting or pre-treating.)

[ASusan]

Another vote for oxyclean soak.

[PatienceAndLove]

Charlie's All-Purpose and Borax

Spray the all-purpose on the stains, and soak in 1/2 c borax for 30 min. Add another 1/2 c borax and your detergent- wash.

I find that this method really works on stains.

[lajn]

For berry stains, use boiling water. Place the piece of clothing over a bowl in the sink, hold a kettle of boiling water about 10 inches above and pour directly over the stain. I've used this method for years on my kids' clothes - fresh stains literally disappear as you do this.

[ChetMC]

Me Too

Originally Posted by duckmom

Oxi Clean is safe and can be used as a booster, but I have much better results soaking with it. I've yet to find a stain it won't remove. You could pause or turn off your machine for an extended soak time for the entire load (without sorting or pre-treating.)

Oxyclean works well on all organic stains. It won't remove rust stains. On dye stains it often changes the colour of the stain because it removes the organic part of the dye colour, but there are often non-organic components as well.

For really, really tough stains I soak or wash in the hottest water the fabric can take. I believe that Oxyclean is active for six hours so you can do a good long soak if you need to.

The one thing you have to be careful with is on dark/vivid colours. A couple of times, if I left a heavily pigmented item with Oxyclean for a long time the original colour faded where the stain was. I've never had this issue with whites or pastels... which are what usually need stain treatment anyway.

I love Oxyclean. I don't spot treat stains. I just add it to the wash for whites and light colours. We have four kids. We have lots of food stains.

I buy oxyclean in the large box at Costco. The small containers are a rip off.

There is a version of Oxyclean without the additives, but I've never been able to find it where we live.

[nicky85]

Kind of crazy, but I found that Desert Essence toothpaste was great for stains. I squirt it on the stain, rub it in, run some water over it and then throw the clothing in the hamper.

[PatienceAndLove]

Walmart carries OxyClean Free

[proudmomof4]

Originally Posted by CalaRei

I think my biggest surprise was how badly banana stained!!

Same here - I still haven't figured that one out and my oldest child is 17y! (Read: advice welcome! We're definitely beyond the "trying solids" phase in our family but even banana shakes make bad stains. Ugh.)

If you do treat stains individually: gall soap helps with a lot of stains. I've also treated fat / oil stains with dishsoap.

For carrot and pumpkin stains: often just drying things in the sun will be enough to bleach it out.

Most important: really use bibs and don't kill yourself over them - that's what they're for.

[PatienceAndLove]

Originally Posted by proudmomof4

Most important: really use bibs and don't kill yourself over them - that's what they're for.

This.
I used those really big bibs- the ones like painting smocks- when DD was starting solids. It saved me a lot of staining grief.
I know that Babies R Us carries them. I am not sure about Walmart or Target, but it would be worth checking!

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index...ductId=2904273