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Baby clothes always seem to come in light colours, yet babies seem to be stain magnets! It’ll be early on in motherhood when you find yourself wondering how to get stains out of baby clothes, and you won’t be the only one!
I truly believe the only ones out there who truly know how to wipe out stains, are the ones doing the washing. I asked my favourite parenting group for advice, and mums shared what worked for them.
Since asking the question, I’ve managed to try some of these methods, but I can’t vouch for all of them. If you’ve got a great tip to share, let me know. Otherwise, don’t forget to share this post with your friends to help other parents out.
Real Mums Share Tips on How to Get Stains Out of Baby Clothes
I’ve found the most common stains babies attract seem to be food-related. If they’re not dribbling milk around the collar of all their sleepsuits, then they’re lathering themselves in orange baby food (why is it always orange?!), no matter how well covered you think you’ve got them in a bib!
Below are the top tips real mums swear by.
1. Soak in cold water
One mum recommends that as soon as the stain hits, get the clothing off the baby and plunge it into some cold water. This is supposed to help stop the stain setting. They suggest after soaking in cold water for half an hour, you then need to soak it in hot water before washing it with some stain remover on a hot wash.
2. Pears Soap and Fairy Liquid
I’d never heard of this one before, but this mum swears by scrubbing the stain with Pears soap, rinsing it, then scrubbing with Fairy liquid before washing it in a normal wash cycle. I guess these detergents are good at breaking down grease.
3. Elbow Grease Degreaser Spray
I can’t vouch for this one, as Elbow Grease spray is bright yellow, so I can’t bring myself to try it on my whites, but it is a powerful degreaser when I’m cleaning my kitchen, so I guess it could be good. Only for the brave, I think.
4. Laundry Bleach
This is a nice, simple option if you’re dealing with whites, but anything with a pattern on, or any other colour might not be safe. I use laundry bleach on my older children’s school shirts but wouldn’t dare try it on anything that has other colours.
5. Napisan Nappy Detergent
Napisan is the go-to for cloth nappies, so it makes sense that it can tackle any stain. The mum who recommended this suggests you soak the items in this for a few hours then wash as normal.
6. Milton Sterilising Tablets
While Milton tablets are mostly used to sterilising bottles and baby equipment, one mum has found they get rid of stains really well too. Soak in the Milton solution then wash as normal.
7. Good Old UV Rays
Learning that the sun bleaches out stains absolutely blew my mind. I had to try it for myself and I’ve been doing it ever since! The trick is, wash the item and face the stain towards the sun (ideally on a very sunny day). The UV bleaches out the stain and turns your whites bright again. I’ve found stains need at least 8 hours in the bright sunshine, and if that doesn’t quite nail it, you need to stick them out the next day too, even if they’re dry. If the sun manages to fade the stain, then it’ll definitely remove it, so just soak it in sunlight longer.
8. White Vinegar Spray
White vinegar is an old tried and tested stain removal technique. I remember my grandma recommending it to my mum. You can buy spray bottles now to make it easier, but if have a normal bottle just dab it on. It seems to work well for dissolving fatty stains.
9. Vanish Oxi Action
Vanish Oxi Action is probably something everyone has heard of, but I had to include it because I think it’s great! You can use it as a paste or soak clothes in a more diluted solution, but I prefer the paste, especially if you’re dealing with coloured clothes because I don’t think it bleaches it.
One of the key themes in these snippets of advice was to treat the stain immediately, don’t let it sit. The longer the stains stay on the clothes, the harder they become to get out. So whatever your method of choice is, make sure you act fast.
Another repeated recommendation was using a Bibado when you’re feeding your baby. These are special bibs that cover the baby and the high chair, offering maximum protection from stains! Obviously, this won’t stop your baby crawling through mud or grabbing something out of your hand and splatting it on themselves, but it’s definitely worth looking into for mealtimes!
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