Best Ways to Clean Common Stains from Kids Clothing

Best Ways to Clean Common Stains from Kids Clothing

Part of having kids is cleaning up after them and it’s their clothes that usually take the brunt of life’s little accidents. But with the importance of sustainability, most of us would rather clean than replace an outfit every time it gets a stain on it, so it’s good to know there are some tried and true methods out there for removing most stains from children’s clothing. While it may seem easy to get rid of a stain, a number of variables can cause it to be much more difficult to remove than previously thought.

The following are some of the most popular remedies for food stains, art and craft stains and stains that happen to them in the great outdoors.

Food stains

Kids love their food, but sometimes it doesn’t always make it into their mouths, so here are some popular methods for removing common food stains from their clothing.

• Chocolate – scrape off any excess chocolate with a spoon, then gently rub some liquid laundry detergent onto the stain. Leave for about five minutes and then wash with some vinegar.
• Fruit juice – soak the garment in cold water for about 30 minutes and then sponge white vinegar onto the stain. Let it sit for another 30 minutes and then put the garment in the wash as per normal.
• Jam – rinse the garment in cold water and then soak for about 15 minutes in a bucket of warm water containing one tablespoon of white vinegar and half a teaspoon of liquid laundry detergent.
• Ketchup – scrape off any excess and then rinse with cold water from the inside of the garment. Apply liquid detergent to the front of the stain and scrub it with a toothbrush to break up the stain. Rinse again, sponge with white vinegar and then give it a further rinse. Repeat this process until most of the stain is removed and then launder with vinegar.
• Mustard – dampen the stain and rub in liquid laundry detergent. Leave for about 5 minutes and then rinse. If the stain is still there, soak in hot water and detergent for about an hour, then launder as per usual.

Art & craft stains

There’s nothing clean when it comes to being creative and their greatest masterpieces are often on their clothing, so here are some laundry quick fixes for those craftier spills and stains.

• Crayon – place the stain between dish cloths and press with a warm iron, swapping out the towels as necessary. Then rub in a little dishwashing liquid and launder.
• Craft glue – scrape off any excess glue, pre-treat the fabric with a prewash stain remover and wash in very hot water.
• Markers – place face down on some dish cloth and dab rubbing alcohol on the back of the stain, starting at the edges and working your way in, changing out the dish cloth as required. Then rinse thoroughly and launder.
• Watercolours – rinse in warm water and then sponge the stain with a solution of dishwashing liquid and warm water (50/50). Repeat as required, and then rinse and launder.
• Chalk – shake off excess chalk and then place face down on some dish cloths. Blot the back of the stain with rubbing alcohol, then rinse. If the stain is still visible, rub in some liquid dishwashing detergent, leave for about 5 minutes and then machine wash.

Outdoor stains

When kids head outdoors, they tend to come back with even more reminders of what they’ve been up to and here are just some of the stains they’re likely to encounter, along with some simple ways to deal with them.

• Grass – rub liquid laundry detergent with enzymes into the stain and leave for about 5 minutes. Then, wash with very hot water and vinegar. Be sure to treat grass stains right away, as the chlorophyll makes them hard to remove after time.
• Tree sap – pre-treat with prewash stain remover and then launder in hot water and vinegar. If any sap remains after washing, sponge the stain with rubbing alcohol and rewash.
• Mud – wait for the mud to dry and then brush off as much as you can. Then pre-treat with a prewash stain remover or alternatively soak for a few hours in a mixture of soap and dishwashing liquid before laundering as normal.
• Blood – if fresh, simply soak in cold water, then machine wash. If the blood stain has dried, then pre-treat or soak in warm water with a liquid detergent before washing.

Choose a stain remover that is right for you

The chemicals contained in bleach and commercial stain remover products can be bad for our skin, our health and the environment in general.

For normal washing, we recommend using a plant-based product like bio-home Laundry Detergent or bio-home Delicate Laundry Detergent.

A welcome alternative to chemical based detergents, these products are kinder on the skin, contain no toxic ingredients and are readily biodegradable when released into the environment.